─ 大衛阿貝爾／小提琴
─ 茱莉史坦伯／鋼琴

Hybrid Stereo SACD
Remastered by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio

"Imagine, if you can, a private recital in your own home by two consummate artists who play these works for their own delight as much as for yours. Imagine sound so completely and disarmingly natural that after 30 seconds you`re unaware it`s reproduced. That`s what this record is all about." — Stereophile, February 1984

David Abel, violin, Julie Steinberg, piano. This composition occupies a special place among Beethoven`s creations because it shows a unique quality: there is an Olympian elegance, a profound gentleness that pervades the entire work. Nowhere does Beethoven the earth shaker appear. Even the scherzo movement does not disturb this sustained thoughtfulness.

Violin and piano begin trading short thematic statements in quick exchange from the first notes of the first movement. Parallel arpeggios create a growing intensity. The middle section of the movement is characterized by abrupt modulations and an increased pace of exchanges. A striking procedure is the use of a seemingly interminable trill, nearly heart¬stopping in its intensity.

The second movement, Adagio expressivo, one of Beethoven`s floating Adagios, is based on the compulsion of a slow intense bass movement. The serenity of this movement is not disturbed by elaborate decoration from both instruments. And this stillness is further emphasized by a fourteen measure repeating pedal point (nearly one fifth of the movement) which closes it. The Scherzo sustains the serious character of the entire work. The last movement begins not only with a quick alternation of themes between the violin and piano, but a soft and loud alternation, as well, which adds to the feeling of growing intensity. An interrupted rondo is the plan, but the interruptions are of a major kind: another sensuous adagio and a daring fugato lead to a presto outburst concluding the movement.

David Wilson had already recorded piano by the time he began working with world-class musicians Steinberg and Abel in the Mills College Concert Hall in Oakland, California, though it was the first time he recorded a violin. Experimenting with different microphone positions in an attempt to capture what he calls the "delicious geometry" of sound emanating from Abel`s Guarneri and Steinberg`s Hamburg Steinway D, he ended up hanging his Schoeps CMC-36 microphones from a ladder high above the instruments. Of the results, he says, "I`d put the recording up against any chamber music recording. It has to be my favorite."

Reached at their home in Oakland, Steinberg and Abel, whose trio with percussionist William Winant has commissioned music from the likes of John Harbison, Lou Harrison, Paul Dresher, Somei Satoh, and Gordon Mumma (for starters), reminisced about their time with Wilson.

"The session was free of the time pressure and tension that can really get in the way of the final outcome," says Abel. "If we wanted to stop for a bite, or go outside to rest for a while, that was not a problem... Dave kept open to what was happening in the moment, as in a concert. He understood about not making a `perfect` recording, and instead left the small imperfections... that make the final result sound human and real. One could not ask for better."


說Analogue Productions是全世界做活躍的SACD與黑膠唱片復刻公司，應該沒有人會反對。最近收到他家目錄，打開一看，怎麼Wilson Audio早期錄製的黑膠唱片竟然都復刻了。一方面這是好消息，讓生得晚的SACD迷與黑膠迷有機會買到這些傑出的古典音樂專輯。另一方面這對於唱片行也是個壓力，因為AP出片的速度很快，唱片行的庫存壓力當然一直上升。

年輕音響迷可能不知道，Dave Wilson早在進入喇叭事業之前，就已經業餘從事錄音工作，最早在1977年，一直錄到1995年才停止。那麼多年來總共錄製了33張唱片，其中只公開發行27張，其他幾張演奏家並不想公開，所以從未出版。說來您不相信，當年Dave Wilson只用了家用型盤帶機Revox A-77，以及Schoeps CMC-36 立體麥克風，加上真空管擴大機，就這樣完成了錄音。鑑聽時用的前級是Audio Research SP-3。由於只是一支立體麥克風，當然不需要混音台等。這麼極簡的錄音設備，卻錄出如臨現場的聲音，現在回想起來，也真是奇蹟。

為什麼我會這樣說，如果您今天重聽這張貝多芬與G大調鋼琴與小提琴奏鳴曲錄音，就會發現小提琴的音質優美，溫暖、真實，鋼琴的音質音色更是美麗。那把小提琴是1719年的Guarnerius小提琴，而鋼琴則是漢堡Steinway D鋼琴。無論是小提琴或鋼琴，聲音都是那麼的溫暖，那麼的晶瑩，那麼的真實。據Dave Wilson回憶，當年是把麥克風吊在二位演奏者頭上高度大約一個梯子的高度而已，沒想到竟然能夠錄出那麼好的效果。其實，Dave Wilson也就是因為喜歡錄音，對樂器的音質音色有更進一步的認識，這對後來他設計製造喇叭有莫大幫助，難怪Wilson Audio喇叭能夠歷久不衰。