Andy used to say: "We're MAKING MAGIC here!" The idea that a recording
ought to possess some documentary quality was a joke to him. The final
result was what mattered. Although Columbia Masterworks had long used
multiple mic setups, Fred Plaut did not really understand stereophony
("multi-mic mono" was how one producer described his setups) whereas Harold
Chapman, for example, did. Three track, 1/2" mastering was not introduced
in Masterworks sessions until 1957, and then only selectively. John
McClure, Bernstein's longtime producer, wrote sometime in the 60s that
multi-track mastering could save money by, in lieu of retakes, permitting
mistakes to be hidden in a mix by lowering the gain of the channel closest
to the offending clam, a fascinating assertion, to say the least. Big egos,
indeed!
Kazdin was in his element when Pierre Boulez shared his enthusiasm for
surround setups. Other conductors did not. Loren Maazel once arrived at a
Cleveland Orchestra session to find the orchestra in a surround setup. When
he objected, Kazdin replied: "That's how Boulez likes it" which led to a
few phone calls that got Andy pulled off Cleveland sessions forthwith. When
digital sessions began to be recorded on Mitsubishi X-80s and U-matics,
Andy couldn't abide the unalterability of the final result. His insistence
on backing up on multi-track analogue precipitated his departure.
Fortunately, he was brought in by Tom Frost to work on digital remastering
in the 90s, and he worked on a lot of his original productions, which was
good as he often was the only one who knew what had happened in the mix.
Mix notes and mic assignments were not documented regularly in the
Masterworks division and the tradition continued into the Sony Classical
era. If some of those multi-track projects are ever revisited, many
details, known only to the producer and balance engineer, will remain
undiscovered.
Andy was a lively character and a helpful colleague. *Requiescat in Pace. *
DDR
On Fri, Dec 2, 2011 at 10:38 AM, Gray, Mike <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Producing for quad demanded Kazdin-type multi-tracking and orchestral
> positioning. Decca itself made several quad-destined masters in Cleveland
> and Los Angeles, but never issued them. Let's not forget that Quad never
> really caught on with consumers - they didn't want to spend money on
> additional amps and speakers.
>
--
Dennis D. Rooney
303 W. 66th Street, 9HE
New York, NY 10023
212.874.9626
