It was interesting to hear all the studio chatter from the discarded takes. It sounded like he knew what he wanted, and at the same time was having some fun with it. A very nice studio with natural sound, I wish more of my favorite piano performances were recorded there. In the Horowitz documentary The Last Romantic they go into a bit about how hard it was to make his living room sound good for recordings, a period when he was too anxious to leave his house. Not much was said about 30th St studio but you could infer that it was a joy to record pianists there. The recordings that were made in his house instantly stand out from the ones made at 30th St, sad that are some stellar performances in that subpar sound quality.
Wow! Are they all SteinwayD? One was sold to Clinton Recording Studio, and one was bought by a CBS news anchor. Wonder who own the pianos now.
My guess is that the piano at far right, on the dolly, is a house piano, and the others brought in for Gould. But I have no idea how many and what kind of pianos 30th St. had at any given time. Here's a photo of the rim press that makes every Steinway D. There are videos that also show this in action. Quite amazing.
And that's just the 11x14. I'd just print the jpeg, Photoshop it a bit, and stand back to view! (Copyright violation, tho)
Unfortunately no mention of which session that photo was taken from. There are a couple more I will post, one nice one from inside the control room (though focused on Gould, so the equipment is blurry). These too only appear to be in poor quality on the web or not coming up on Google image search.
Finally, a new post! Seen in the NYT, there is a parody of "Company-Original Cast Album" on the IFC channel Feb 27, 2019. Article in the NYT (limited access unless you register): John Mulaney and Seth Meyers Fondly Send Up Sondheim. He’s Amused. Sometimes you can google the title and get the same article posted by an affiliate publication with no restrictions. Comments by Pennebaker and Sondheim. IFC Channel: Original Cast Album: Co-Op
I don't get the IFC channel on my cable tier, but the parody seems to be on the IFC website to view - if you "login," and I have no idea what that entails. I may be able to see it on my cable "On Demand" without paying extra now that it's premiered. It looks like it could be amusing if you are intimately familiar with the Company film. I had no clue that it was so famous as to warrant a parody.
It looks like the season’s first episode is currently free, but not the next two. You need to have service through a cable provider to view them.
It looks like there are several promo bits on Youtube and links to pirate streams. I suppose those that know how to get this stuff will do so.
And a discussion about the episode: It's clear they were intimately familiar with the original, as a lot is really spot-on in terms of the studio, specific shots, etc.
Let's see what Tom Z. Shepard thinks! Dan? I wonder if anyone will get it who isn't a Company/Sondheim/OCA:Company fan?
I love how they come very close to recreating both the studio and the control room. It's delightful. Going to think about it a bit before contacting Tom, though. Sorry I've been AWOL. Concentrating on the other thread, it has daily obligations.
I was going to post something about the parody "Co-Op" film, but I just realized that others beat me to it!
I am waiting to see if I can watch it without paying extra! Hopefully after a week or so, it drops to the free tier on my cable, like the earlier episodes.
This place? STREETSCAPES: CBS Studio on 52d; At One Time, the 'Last Word in Broadcasting Design' Article is from the late-80s. I assume it's long-demolished. dan c
