OLD FRIENDS

  This morning I thought I would "Spin some Vinyl" as the DJs of old used to say. The record contained French repertoire with the Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by Charles Munch in music I heard Munch conduct in person. The real purpose of today's morning reflections is not so much the music, but the audio equipment that brings it to life. Many years ago, at the dawn of the CD era, I thought I would upgrade my turntable and speakers. I decided on a Shure V15 cartridge, an  Acoustic Research turntable and tone arm and these components have served me well over the years. The speakers I chose were the Dahlquist DQM-7s which were purchased at Bryn Mawr Stereo, but the the ones I fell in love with were the DQM-9s which at $ 1,400 a pair were well beyond my means. Twenty five years have passed since I have heard those speakers but lo and behold a Craig's list ad offered a pair of those DQM-9's for sale at 1/3 the original price and the seller lived only five minutes away in Moorstown. I have since purchased them and they sound great, re-coned , and in wonderful condition. This goes to prove that " All things come to those who wait".     STAY TUNED.

Rubinstein, Heifetz, or God!

When Jascha Heifetz complained to Rubinstein that his name was placed second on the concert program Rubinstein retorted,"If God was playing in the trio, it would be: Rubinstein, God, Heifetz". It has been two months since my last blog, so much singing, and caroling, and shopping for the holidays. Two of my Christmas presents were the Rubinstein-Heifetz collaborations: Beethoven and Schubert trios with Emanuel Feurmann and Brahms and Mendelssohn trios with Piatigorsky and Feurmann. Although the sound is sometimes dim (1940), the performances are electric and well worth having. I have yet to hear the Faure Violin Sonata with those two Bad Boys. Stay Tuned.