It spells enchantment, intoxication, and your utter involvement in the music.
Stravinsky's Firebird is a challenge.
In 1910 it dared listeners to embrace new tonalities, and it has remained fresh and alive ever since. It is a formidable test of the resources and musicianship of the orchestra. And it makes fantastic demands of the art of recording.
Even the finest conventional tape recorders have been unable to capture the full dynamic range and complex sonorities of this remarkable composition. Digital recording techniques are likewise put to a significant test in capturing the full impact of this performance. That this unique digital effort has succeeded will be immediately apparent with the opening notes. And the benefits of the digital process will persist to the final echo.
Briefly, this Telarc recording uses Dr. Thomas Stockham's Soundstream digital recording system which converts the original electronic signal from the recording console into a series of digital numbers...a new number every 1/50,000 of a second! Each of these "samples" uses a 16-bit binary code to describe the signal more precisely than Po1oie.ian Dances you can hear it. These numbers are stored on tape, with quartz-locked accuracy, then recalled later without loss to make the master disc recording.
While digital techniques lower distortion, increase signal-to-noise ratio, and eliminate speed problems which limit most recording quality, it is just the first step to an outstanding disc. Half-speed mastering and the finest of European pressing also con tribute to the high standards this disc achieves.
This impressive technology does more than simply reveal the impressive performance of Robert Shaw and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus. Uninhibited by artificial restrictions of dynamics, the interpretation of the Firebird Suite is memorable. Borodin's Prince Igor is no less spirited.
Indeed, digital recording completely removes many of the long-standing barriers between musician and listener.
Enjoy this new freedom at your Audio-Technica dealer, where the finest digital, direct-to-disc, and high technology recordings are sold.
If not available locally, write for complete current catalog and ordering information.
audio technica.
INNOVATION - PRECISION - INTEGRITY
AUDIO-TECHNICA U.S., INC., Dept. 99A-3, 33 Shiawassee Avenue, Fairlawn, Ohio, 44313.
Full one-page ad:
(Source: Audio magazine, Feb. 1979)
Also see:
The Franklin Mint -- The 100 Greatest Recordings of All Time (ad, Mar. 1981)
Top of the Pile -- Audiophile stereo recordings (Feb. 1979)
= = = =