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Show Making the Optimum Sound B BRANDON POWE PHOTO BY DANE GOODWIN R R the first time in nearly a decade, the Utah Symphony, under music director Thierry Fischer, is producing a professional recording of a performance. The piece is Mahler's Fischer, Symphony No. 1, a piece with a vast array of musical dynamics and which requires absolute attention to balance. Soundmirror recorded the performance on Friday, Sept. 12. Founded in 1972 by John Newton, Soundmirror has received over 80 Grammy nominations and many commendations from prestigious publications. I chatted with John Newton as he gave a tour to music technology students. "The goal is to make the technology invisible to the music': John said as he pointed out the several microphones utilized to produce a seamless recording.The microphones range from $300 dollars to $3,000 dollars in value, and there were at least 30 microphones present on the stage. Newton then explained that the art of recording comes with the placement of the equipment. Moving the microphones a few inches from their original location can vastly change and improve a recording's potential. He demonstrated this by playing the recording from the dress rehearsal and either added or subtracted various microphones. It was amazing to hear the subtle differences in microphone types and tones. Newton said he is able to create a sound that isn't experienced by anyone sitting in the audience, unless you were sitting on a ladder 12 feet above the conductor, where the sound is optimum. Digital music recording has roots embedded deep within the U. Newton spoke of a former colleague of his, Thomas Stockham, who developed the first practical digital audio recording system while he attended the U. Stockham founded a company called Soundstream, which was the first commercial digital recording company in the United States, located in downtown Salt Lake City. Many of his technology patents led to the development of CDs. During set-up of the equipment, Newton and his team invited the symphony players to listen to the test recordings to comment on and observe the process. It requires close collaboration from the symphony performers, the musical director and the recording staff to study the score, detail fine differences in balance and then make appropriate adjustments. After the recording is made, it can take an additional 140 hours of studio time to perfect the piece before it can finally be sold. Although the chance to hear the Mahler has passed, there will be several more opportunities to hear the Utah Symphony play beautifully produced and carefully crafted music, including the annual Halloween concert on Oct. 28, Yefim Bronfman playing Brahms compositions Sept. 1920 and Doc Severinsen (the Grammy-winning bandleader from Johnny Carson's "Tonight Show") playing big band classics and Latin jazz Sept. 26-27. There's something for everyone. To learn about other concert opportunities, visit their web page at utahsymphony.org . Student who wish to visit the Utah Symphony or Utah Opera can purchase an all-access student season pass for only $49. This means you can show up at any performance at 6 p.m. and receive tickets to the concert, assuming they're not sold out (which they rarely are). If you don't want to go alone, you will receive an additional ticket for an extra cost of $25. b.powell@chronicle.utah.edu @ChronyArts ET TU. 1129 BY SAMANTHA PANNIER /STAFF WRITER PHOTO COURTESY OF HELGE OVERAS W hy was U2 sharing the stage with Apple CEO Tim Cook while he showcased the soon-tobe-released new batch of Apple products and software for a crowd of web developers and techies lastTuesday? Because in a new move for the megalith company and its industry, Apple is gifting U2's new album "Songs of Innocence" to all of its 500 million iTunes account holders. Here's the kicker — if you have iTunes, the album is likely already in your library or available for download from the cloud a la "When a Stranger Calls." In many ways, this is a stunt from Apple. Their trend forecasters couldn't have missed the success of recent surprise album drops like Jay-Z's "Magna Carta Holy Grail': Beyonce's self-titled album or Justin Timberlake's "The 20/20 Experience," parts 1 and 2. According to Billboard, the album cost the company somewhere in the neighborhood of $100 million. Privacy advocates worry this could harken the beginning of record labels and tech companies inserting music into your personal collection whether or not you like it. Apple's U2 and iTunes webpages are emblazoned with a banner that reads, "A big moment in music history. And you're a part of it:' But it can't help but feel like users have gotten stuck in a moment they can't get (or opt) out of. The album itself is a reminder that U2 is at its best when it's calling attention to social and political strife, as in "Raised by Wolves" and "This is Where You Can Reach Me Now." To get to the good stuff, you have to wade through 15 minutes of painful sub-B-side filler like "California (There is No End to Love)" which starts out with what can only be described as an all-Bono Gregorian chant of the words "Santa Barbara" like a Beach Boys song gone wrong. Finally, after what seems like a dark forever of Bono's worst lyrics, the glimmering "Song for 6 THECHRONY Someone" and "Iris (Hold Me Close)" emerge as songs no other band could have made. They sound distinctly of Ireland's favorite sons, yet they are also the product of the band's 30-year evolution. "Songs of Innocence" is a thematic throwback to 1991's "Achtung Baby': but with instrumentation reminiscent of 2009's "No Line on the Horizon." The album is more self-aware than usual for the band and reflects on their genesis and youth in the opening track "The Miracle (Of Joey Ramone)." "I was chasing down the days of fear/ Chasing down a dream before it disappeared/ I was aching to be somewhere new/ Your voice was all I heard/ And we were pilgrims on our way." The last Ramone died this past July. The ghostly gospel choirs of "Volcano" are a far cry from "Rattle and Hum:' but they add even more depth to one of the album's most interesting songs. Both "Raised by Wolves" and the spooky and magnificent "Sleep Like a Baby Tonight" show the band has been paying attention to its younger, synth-loving contemporaries like Arcade Fire and The Killers. Musically, the band doesn't seem to have missed a step. Bono's voice is as strong as ever, and drummer Larry Mullen Jr. breathes new life into the back beats to balance out Adam Clayton's heavier-than-usual bass and The Edge's ever-prominent guitar reverb. The Edge, by the way, is still at the forefront of technical minimalism and effects experimentalism (in other words, he's still The Edge). Is it a game-changing U2 album? No. But it is for free, and it's probably already on your iPod. s.pannier@chronicle.utah.edu @ChronyArts 7 |