.
Edited by William Livingstone
A NEW STEREO TELEVISION SOUND distribution system called DATE (for Digital Audio for Television Equipment) has been introduced by the Public Broadcasting Service. Up to now, "simulcasting" (the simultaneous transmission of video and stereo-FM audio) for the musical programs in Exxon's Great Performances series has been available in only fifteen cities.
The new system gives all interconnected PBS stations the capability of broadcasting these programs in stereo. PBS encodes the stereo signal on two of four additional audio channels and transmits it by satellite along with the standard audio and video signals. Stations wishing to simulcast the program decode the stereo signal locally and feed it to the FM station taking part in the simulcast. Can real stereo TV be far behind?
LIST PRICES OF LONDON CLASSICAL RECORDINGS have been increased from $7.98 to $8.98 per disc or cassette. The Stereo Treasury Series, formerly $3.98, now costs $4.98 per disc or cassette. The new London Digital Recordings, recently introduced at $9.98 per disc and pressed in England, remain at that price (see review of the first release--Boskovsky's Strauss--on page 146).
THE HOLLIES, veteran English hit makers, have reunited with their on-again/off-again lead singer Allan Clarke, and a new album is scheduled for late June release on Epic. If the title, "Five Three One Double Seven Oh Four," sounds confusing, just punch the numbers out on a pocket calculator and then turn it upside down. Clever?
VIDEODISC RIGHTS TO 350 FILMS, including 200 from MGM and 100 from 20th-Century Fox, have been secured by RCA for its Selectavision system, reported to be in the final stages of preparation for commercial production. Included are High Noon, Citizen Kane, and the original King Kong. The RCA disc, which is "read" by stylus, will not be compatible with the already introduced Magnavision system, which uses a laser.
VOTED BEST-SELLING CLASSICAL RECORD OF THE YEAR at the recent convention of the National Association of Recording Merchandisers in Hollywood, Florida, was "Suite for Flute and Jazz Piano" (Columbia M 33233) played by Claude Bolling (piano) and Jean Pierre Rampal (guess what). Nice, but it gets nicer: this same album has received the award from NARM for three years in a row...
EXEMPTION FROM NEW STANDARDS REGULATIONS proposed by the Federal Trade Commission has been requested by the Institute of High Fidelity. The regulations would establish a legal process for the definition of product standards. According to the IHF, such regulations should not apply to technical-measurement standards in the audio field, where they are used simply to facilitate performance comparisons between products tested under uniform conditions and not to define or categorize product types.
BANG & OLUFSEN'S U-70 HEADPHONE, designed by Jakob Jensen, has been selected for inclusion in the permanent design collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York. The headphones are the thirteenth B&O component to be added to the collection, which is devoted to outstanding examples of contemporary industrial design. The headphones are on display with such items as a Cisitalia 202 GT sports car designed by Pininfarina and Mies van der Rohe's famous Barcelona chair. An entire exhibit of B&O products assembled by MOMA last year is currently on view in Chicago's Museum of Contemporary Art.
RCA'S FIRST DIGITALLY RECORDED DISC, Bartok's Concerto for Orchestra performed by the Philadelphia Orchestra under Eugene Ormandy and recorded with the Soundstream system, will be released in June on Red Seal. Recordings made by the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and Chorus under Eduardo Mata using the Sony PCM digital system will be released later this year. They include Emanuel Ax playing the Mozart Piano Concertos Nos. 20 and 22, Stravinsky's Firebird Suite, and Ravel's Daphnis and Chloe.
STIFF RECORDS, the successful English independent label that has been without an American distributor since parting company with Arista, has found a home at CBS. No official announcement yet, but insiders report that Rachel Sweet. and Ian Dury (just coming off a huge English and European hit, Hit Me with Your Rhythm Stick) will be on Columbia, while Lene Lovich, Wreckless Eric, and the Rumour will be on Epic.
A ONE-YEAR COURSE IN MULTITRACK RECORDING TECHNOLOGY is being offered by the Institute of Audio Research in New York. The course covers sound reproduction and recording theory as well as studio setup, operation, and maintenance. Tuition is $2,800. Those who complete the course receive twenty-eight credits toward the Bachelor of Science in Music Technology degree offered by the Institute in conjunction with New York University. For information write Institute of Audio Research, 64 University Place, New York, N.Y. 10003.
SPANISH PIANIST ALICIA DE LARROCHA, who is celebrating her fiftieth anniversary season, was made an honorary Doctor of Music by the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor on April 28. At the ceremony, Dr. de Larrocha was cited for "her incredibly pure musicianship and for the beauty and authority of her performance." Her latest recorded performance is Beethoven's Emperor Concerto with Zubin Mehta and the Los Angeles Philharmonic (London CS 7121).
TONEARMS WITH AN EIGHT-GRAM EFFECTIVE MASS (including cartridge) are a feature of nine new Dual turntables to be introduced at the June Consumer Electronics Show. The eight-gram figure, among the lowest ever achieved, was reached by using lightweight materials and a low-mass cartridge assembly developed by Ortofon.
Also see:
TECHNICAL TALK: Fuse Distortion? by JULIAN D. HIRSCH
SPEAKING OF MUSIC, by WILLIAM ANDERSON
Source: Stereo Review (USA magazine)