Christian Wolff and Gerard Rejskind interviews [Listen 33:45] – S02 Ep06 Drinking Orange Juice with Christian Wolff

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WolffS02 Ep06 (1 of 2) - Drinking Orange Juice with Christian Wolff

Interview Date: January 9, 2012 @10am EDT

Special guest (Audio) (part 1 of 2) – Christian Wolff is one of the most respected and revered modern composers of our time. Starting out composing with a group of extraordinary artists and composers (what became to be known as the New York School Movement) consisting of Morton Feldman, Earl Brown, David Tudor, (choreographer) Merce Cunningham, and John Cage. It was Wolff who changed John Cage's musical direction forever by giving him the 'I Ching';  in addition, he worked with other leading 20th Century Composers like Frederic Rzewksi and Cornelius Cardew. He has gone on to compose well over 200 compositions, dating back to the early 1950's. His compositions are often improvisational, complex, and sometimes political in nature and intent.

Special guest (Print) (part 2 of 3) – Gerard Rejskind is a High-end stereo/Audiophile expert and the chief editor of UHF Magazine. With over 30 years of experience behind him, Mr.Rejskind has also taken his knowledge and written three books of particular interest to the industry. In addition to this, what he is probably most famous for are his "State of the Art” columns at the back of his magazine; which, in my opinion, is a wellspring of audiophile knowledge. He was nice enough to answer some stereo and turntable questions that I asked on behalf of our fans, fans of High-end, and those who are just getting into vinyl and High-end audio.

UHF website, or to order your subscription HERE.

GoingThruVinyl's Interview with UHF Magazine's Chief Editor Gerard Rejskind (continued)

GTV - Has this era's recession affected the audio market?

GR- It has, but in fact it accelerated what had begun years before. Those audiophiles who set up shop because they wanted to demonstrate how much better their products could sound have largely retired, or died. There are far fewer good dealers. That's especially serious for turntables, because turntables are mostly not plug-and-play. Even dealers who sell turntables have trouble finding people who know how to set one up correctly. At UHF, we see new turntables that were incorrectly set up at the factory, often shipped with alignment gauges that are inaccurate.

GTV - Some say that Hi-Fi systems for the home really got started when Linn brought out the Linn LP12 turntable? Is that true, and what was so special about that turntable?

GR-The Linn LP12 actually had predecessors, but it is iconic because it is the only one of those quality turntables whose development has continued into the modern era. Before the LP12, the motor was considered to be the dominant source of noise, then known as rumble. Linn, and some others, realized that in most tables the vibrations mainly came from the bearing. Thus, making a good turntable became a machining challenge. A bearing had to be quiet, but at the same it needed to be free of play, which would compromise