This is Stefano Bertoncello's Blog (ステファノ・ベルトンチェッロ - トゥーグッドイアーズ − ブロガー、オーディオ＆ミュージック・コンサルタント) devoted to pacific topics like Music - live and reproduced - i.e. discs, audio, guitars and whatever musical: concerts, workshops, exhibitions, etc. Furthermore: travelling - as a mind-game and real globetrotting - and books, movies, photography... sharing all the above and everything which makes Life better and Earth a better place to stay, enjoying Life, in Peace. Proudly ads-free since 2007! Enjoy.💫
That’s TD-9’s tachometer 😳
Yes, B3 and B4 are blown and B6 isn’t original… but that’s haute horlogerie not audio 💫
One day in New York, Oliver Sacks attends a meeting organized by a drummer with about thirty people with Tourette's syndrome: everyone appears to be gripped by contagious tics, which spread "like waves." Then the drummer begins to play—and as if by magic, the group follows suit with their drums, blending into perfect rhythmic synchrony. This astonishing example is just one particular variant of the prodigy of "neurogamy" that occurs whenever our nervous system "marries" that of those around us through the medium of music. Presenting this and many other cases with his customary ability to empathize, in "Musicophilia" Sacks explores the extraordinary neural robustness of music and its connections with the functions and dysfunctions of the brain. Auditory hallucinations, amusia, disharmony, musicogenic epilepsy: what disruptions in the two-way connection between the senses and the brain cause them?
As always, the investigation of the anomalous sheds light on opposing phenomena: perfect pitch, phonographic memory, musical intelligence, and above all, the love of music—a love that can flare up suddenly, as in the memorable case of the doctor who, struck by lightning, is assailed by an "insatiable desire to listen to piano music," to play, and even to compose. Thanks to the testimonies of Sacks's patients, we thus find ourselves reconsidering fascinating questions from a new perspective, and we witness the successes of music therapy in formidable testing grounds such as autism, Parkinson's disease, and dementia. From the mysterious musical dreams that inspired Berlioz, Wagner, and Stravinsky, to Nabokov's possible amusia, to the rediscovery of "the enormous, often underestimated, importance of having two ears": each story Sacks gives voice to illuminates one of the many ways in which music, emotion, memory, and identity intertwine, and define us.
Oliver Sacks's "Musicofilia" is back in the Biblioteca Adelphi series. Translated by Isabella Blum.
The japanese footstool (from the words of someone who knew him)
My mentor and teacher was Siegfried Behrend (1933 – 1990), who, like Julian Bream, enjoyed a worldwide career.
He once told me the following story: In the 1960s or the early 1970s, Bream had a concert date in Berlin. On the day of his arrival he realized that he had forgotten his footstool.
The organizer immediately knew what to do: He knew Siegfried Behrend, who in this time was living in Berlin, went to him and asked him to lend Bream a footstool. Behrend gave him a traditional footstool that he had brought with him from a bathhouse in Japan (Furo-isu (風呂いす) or Hinoki), which Bream was allowed to keep as a gift. Bream did'nt know these benches and was - as Behrend said - absolutely thrilled with the small wooden bench and continued to use it in his performances - as it also can be seen here in the photo out of this time.
Another note: Despite all the differences between the two, Behrend admired Bream without any envy as a “great master of the guitar” and “a consummate an beautiful musician” whose recordings he always enjoyed listening to and admiring.
From Japanese Watchmaker Jiro Katayama 💫
What a long and winding road has been.
Hope I humbly shared something worth in all these 19 years.
Thanks for following… we grown together, actually.
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"𝗟𝗔 𝗦𝗖𝗔𝗟𝗔", recorded live 31 years ago today on February 13th in 1995.
It was the first recital ever given by an improvising musician in the world’s most famous opera house: Teatro alla Scala in Milan.
The concert – an instant press sensation – comprises two moving sets of solo improvisation, and Jarrett’s most loved encore: the classic tune "Over the Rainbow."
… and most important, for me: I was seated in 6th row that evening in Milan, on premium seats which costed to me an imposing sum of money… but the concert was an historic one and on my personal podium… and I’m applauding at KJ’s genius, too.
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From Stockfisch Records
Incredible, but true: The super-audiophile label Stockfisch to reel-to-reel tapes, and many younger people even to music cassettes.
The Northeim-based record label has been supplying the world with music for 50 years.
In 2024, the combined market for tapes and cassettes—with artistically outstanding and sonically first-class productions—was already worth 320 million US dollars globally.
For the company's anniversary, there's something very special:
Anyone who wants to play tapes but no longer has a Stockfisch green tape recorder from back in the day in their basement doesn't have to worry.
Günter Pauler opens his archive of those recordings.
Firstly, you can find restored tape machines that were originally mastered on 1/4-inch magnetic tape. Acquired, secondly, the tape giant Revox has revived its legendary Pauler, who at the time revived the stereo mixes individually with a dreary Revox B77 as the B77 MK III. The technology was manufactured in Villingen-Schwenningen, Württemberg.
The idea of releasing tapes didn't come out of nowhere—but it does come at a price, namely 16,995 euros.
dangerous, because the unexpected renaissance of tape technology
Stocktisch also demands certain sums for his tapes:
is in full swing—more and more listeners are turning to reels again. The sampler "Analog Crossroads" (top left) costs 520 euros.
It should be said that much more expensive master tapes can easily be found on this specialized market.
Moreover, a tape like "Analog Crossroads" offers unique musical treasures.
It should be said that much more expensive master tapes can easily be found on this specialized market.
Moreover, a tape like "Analog Crossroads" offers unique musical treasures.
Günter Pauler was commissioned several times by NDR in the 1980s to record the station's concerts, for which he used a Nagra IV-S recorder. This resulted in recordings of stars such as Donovan, Benny Goodman, Leo Kottke, Sociech, and Joan Baez – all of whom are featured on the aforementioned compilation. Stockfisch luminaries Werner Lämmerhirt and Manfred Jaspers, among others, can also be heard on this exquisite recording.
A quite strange 12AX7 (the black tube-base) suggest an AI fake… but, the box is so cool.
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Someone has more, out there?
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A total of four Fidelity Research’s gizmos are on-duty: three Slaves CS-2 (respectively: full analog, full digital and consumer tape-machines) for a total of nine inputs handling and a Master CS-2 dealing with the latters, straight into the venerable Quad 22 (or Audio Consulting Silver Rock, also “plagued” by a single input).
These humble aluminum-boxes are so well made and transparent sounding, with no perceived veiling or sonic footprint.
A couple of well-spent hours choosing and routing cables and throughout cleaning contacts, too.
Everything sounds zest and pristine.
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One of my most beloved (unsung) heroes, a genius and a master of inventive and improvisation.
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I never talk about sacrifices.
I understand how we interpret the word sacrifice these days, where sacrifice implies renunciation. And so it has a slightly negative connotation, one of exclusion.
Instead, the word sacrifice comes from the Latin "Sacrum Facere," meaning to do with sacredness what you choose to do.
And the moment you choose something, you know beforehand that you will exclude everything else.
And so you can focus on the beauty of what you have chosen with utmost full-time dedication and (almost) unlimited resources.
So in my life, I feel like I have never given up anything because I chose something else.
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While a seller was packing his records at the end of the day.
Amazing recording 🏆
… and cool at the same time: you’ll always find someone crazier than you.
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Whaaaaat?
A 6 strings bass-guitar solo disk?!?
Booooring!
Nothing more wrong, folks! This record is truly unbelievably good, various, intriguing and suggestive.
The recording is so beautifully serving the music and low end makes this disk a winner and a sonic blaster for any audio system.
Played on my Quad ESL it is simply majestic.
Buy it and enjoy 💫
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