HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: dbarker@spang.Camosun.BC.CA (Deryk Barker)
Subject: Barenboim's new Bruckner cycle
Keywords: Bruckner, Barenboim
Organization: Camosun College, Victoria B.C, Canada
Date: Mon, 12 Oct 1992 21:09:01 GMT

There has been considerable discussion on the net recently about the
abilities - or lack thereof - of Daniel Barenboim as a conductor.
Whatever these are in general, it would be hard to dispute that, with
the right orchestra and music he obviously believes in, Barenboim is
capable of quite outstanding results.

His BPO Bruckner 9 (Teldec), issued some months ago, has been reviewed
in many other quarters, so I shall confine myself to saying that it is
definitely one of the finest stereo versions I have heard.

The second installment in what apparently is a complete cycle (will he
do 00 this time around?), is a far tougher nut to crack, the 5th.
Despite the weird claims of the booklet, which spends most of its time
trying to persuade the reader that the work really isn't very good at
all, I consider this to be one of Bruckner's finest works. Barenboim
seems to be in agreement, and his performance, although I've yet to
indulge in repeated hearings, seems to me to be quite magnificent.

barenboim is of the Furtwaengler/Jochum school of Bruckner
interpretation, emphasising the mystical/spiritual aspects of the
music - as opposed (IMO) to the rather more literal Karajan et. al.
school - and he clearly gets to grips with what Deryck Cooke described
as the 'essential visionary dreariness' (wonderful phrase!) of this
symphony. The Berliners, naturally, play brilliantly and the recording
seems (I haven't had a chance to play it on my 'serious' stereo yet)
very fine too. The Teldec engineers produced, for the 9th, one of the
finest sounds I've ever heard from the Philharmonie; this new
recording was made in the Schauspielhaus (lie Lennie's Beethoven 9).

If Danny can successfully surmount that trickiest of Brucknerian
hurdles, the 6th., then this could well turn out to be the finest
Bruckner cycle of them all, I fell it's *that* good.

Deryk Barker, Computer Science Dept., Camosun College, Victoria B.C.

P.S. avoid Barenboim's new 'Das Lied', with the CSO. The singers are
just awful.



Newsgroups: rec.music.classical
From: kiisaka@csi.uottawa.ca (Ken Iisaka (the mad pianist))
Subject: Re: Nadja does Barber/Shostakovich
Organization: Dept. of Computer Science, University of Ottawa
Date: Thu, 8 Oct 92 19:05:53 GMT

In article <1992Oct7.141636.20914@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu> jefrank@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu (Jason E Frank) writes:
>Has anyone heard anything about Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg's
>recording of the Barber and Shostakovich violin concerti
>on EMI?  Specifically, how does this Barber compare with,
>say, the Olivera/Slatkin version?
>--j.e.f.
>

Oh, that queen of twitches...

Her impulsive character suits both pieces.  I'd like to know about it.
-- 
Ken Iisaka               \ NEXT RECITAL  |12:00 pm, Thursday, January 7th, 1993
kiisaka@csi.uottawa.ca     \ Produced by |National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa
AI Lab, University of Ottawa \ CBC Stereo|Berg        Sonata, b minor, op. 1
H: +1 613 237 6642 W: 564 8155 \ 103.3 FM|Mussorgsky  Pictures at an Exhibition
Newsgroups: rec.music.classical
From: syliao@athena.mit.edu (S Yi-Huang Liao)
Subject: Re: Mahler's 8th Symphony
Organization: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Date: Thu, 8 Oct 1992 22:26:20 GMT

In article <Bvpvw4.76F@news.udel.edu>, conrad@brahms.udel.edu (Jon Conrad) writes:
|> In article <1992Oct5.225548.29390@athena.mit.edu> syliao@athena.mit.edu (S Yi-Huang Liao) writes:
|> 
|> >I'm seeking recommendation on this Symphony.  I have listened to the following
|> >recordings:

[ lines deleted ... ]

|> 
|> >(2) Chicago has a much, much better brass section than London, although at some
|> >passages they are out of tune, too.  
|> 
|> Example please?  (I'm a Chicago boy--I have to defend local honor! :-))
|> 

The score I have at hand is the Universal Edition.  It only gives rehearsal
marks.  At any rate, rehearsal mark 196 is 27 measures before the Klavier
and Celesta came in with the flute solo.  
Two measures before rehearsal mark 196 (the score marks "Draengend")
the trumpet goes (concert) "\ Eb F G | D - - C | \ \ D - | - - - - | C - - - | .."
etc.  (\ denotes a quarter rest, - - - means slurs.)  The trumpet is about
a quarter tone too low on the D.  

|> 
|> Jon Alan Conrad

Stan Y Liao
From: 00hfstahlke@bsu-ucs.uucp
Newsgroups: rec.music.classical
Subject: Should have been Re: Why switch to CD?
Date: 15 Oct 92 14:45:46 GMT

I hit a wrong key sequence and scrambled the title.  I've done that to
Beethoven sonatas on occasion too.  Here's the message under a correct title.

Date: 15 Oct 92 09:41:52 EST

I'd like to thank all of you who replied to my query about why to switch from
cassette to CD.  Even if you hadn't convinced me of the inevitability and
rewards of doing so, I would add the following:

CD players do not eat CDs.  My cassette player, a decent one and just recently
cleaned, just ate a Claudio Arrau performance of Beethoven sonatas Op. 13 and
Op. 2 No. 3.  It obviously has impeccable taste, if little consideration.  I
assume CD players do not capriciously wrap electrons around spindles.

I sense inevitability here, but I bear in mind that my family did not purchase
a VCR until three years ago or a microwave oven till two years ago.  We may not
be, as in Hamlet, "The first by whom the new is tried," but we're probably
close to "the last by whom the old is cast aside."

Herb Stahlke
Ball State University
From: jefrank@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu (Jason E Frank)
Newsgroups: rec.music.classical
Subject: Nadja does Barber/Shostakovich
Date: 7 Oct 92 14:16:36 GMT
Organization: The Ohio State University

Has anyone heard anything about Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg's
recording of the Barber and Shostakovich violin concerti
on EMI?  Specifically, how does this Barber compare with,
say, the Olivera/Slatkin version?
--j.e.f.
Newsgroups: rec.music.classical
From: roger@crux.Princeton.EDU (Roger Lustig)
Subject: Re: pierrot lunaire
Originator: news@nimaster
Reply-To: roger@astro.princeton.edu (Roger Lustig)
Organization: Princeton University
Date: Mon, 12 Oct 1992 05:00:29 GMT

In article <Bvz6Br.E3v@uxa.ecn.bgu.edu> ujwb@uxa.ecn.bgu.edu (Jeff Beer) writes:
>I am looking for a version of Pierrot lunare, op 21, by Schoenberg.  I
>already have the version by the Budapest Chamber Orchestra/ Erika
>Sziklay, soprano.  There is much I like about this version, but think
>the vocal solo could be more convincing.

Jan de Gaetani on Nonesuch is my standard recommendation, but performance
practice varies so widely that one needs to have several.

Some unusual ones (not necessarily good):
--Sukowa/Schoenberg Ensemble: she'san actress, not asinger, and shouts
  a lot
--Minton/Boulez: She sings
--Pilarczyk/Boulez: the opposite; hardly any range
--Wagner/Schoenberg: dead acoustics; strange, but "authorized"
--Cleo Laine: nightclubby and in English
--Lucy Shelton: a double perf in German and Andrew Porter's English;
  should be on the market by now (haven't heard)

     
wrt the Sukowa: c'est magnifique, mais ce n'est pas "lunaire."

Roger

Newsgroups: rec.music.classical
From: brad@buck.viewlogic.com (Frederic Chopin)
Subject: Re: Alkan trivia
Originator: brad@buck
Organization: George Sand Memorial Circus
Date: Tue, 13 Oct 1992 20:22:50 GMT


In article <1992Oct12.092849.1148@maths.tcd.ie>, potoole@maths.tcd.ie (Peter O'Toole) writes:

|> >>from behind. A fanciful addendum to this was that as the bookcase fell,
|> >>a certain individual who had been hiding behind it triumphantly shook
|> >>his fist, namely, Franz Lizst.
|> >

|> Why bother with this theory? I will remind you that Liszt died BEFORE Alkan,
|> the former in 1886 the latter in 1888.
|> 

Theory? I have evidence to prove this: A color glossy photograph clearly 
showing Liszt pushing the bookcase over. In fact, I took the picture myself.
In order to catch the action in a dimly lit room, I had to use ASA 1000
film with an f1.2 lens on my Kodak Instamatic. Liszt saw me and started
hurling books at me, screaming "You fool! I did it for you!", so I had to 
jump out the window...  
Newsgroups: rec.music.classical
From: jill@gopher.ccbr.umn.edu (Jill Hollifield)
Subject: Obscure recordings
Organization: University of Minnesota, Minneapolis
Date: Tue, 13 Oct 1992 13:50:59 GMT

Does anyone know of *any* recordings of:

The Stronger (composer's name escapes me), the one act opera
or

Cantigas y Amigos by Schiaramelli (sp?), song cycle for soprano

Any help would be greatly appreciated by a very frustrated 
singer.

Jill
A
From: inr@eccles.caltech.edu (I. Neill Reid)
Newsgroups: rec.music.classical
Subject: re: Rachmaninov 3rd concerto
Date: 14 Oct 1992 21:06 PST
Organization: California Institute of Technology
Distribution: world
NNTP-Posting-Host: eccles.caltech.edu
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.41    

 My own favourite is the Ashkenazi/Previn version, very slightly
ahead of the Rachmaninov/? version and the Horowitz/Coates
version. Why the hesitancy over the composer's performance?
He was a pretty fine pianist after all - his version of the 2nd
concerto (and the variations) is the dryest, least schmaltzy
I've ever heard.
From: Joseph.J.Marcheso.Jr.@dartmouth.edu (Joseph J. Marcheso Jr.)
Newsgroups: rec.music.classical
Subject: Re: Glass meets Clive Barker response
Date: 13 Oct 92 23:31:30 GMT
 <1992Oct13.202544.18627@Princeton.EDU>  <98533@bu.edu>
Organization: Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH
X-Posted-From: InterNews1.0a5@newshost.dartmouth.edu

In article <98533@bu.edu>
jaeger@buphy.bu.edu (Gregg Jaeger) writes:

> Sure, not _here_ but rather at ticket booths where it matters.
If ticket booths make the difference then Glass is lagging far behind
the modern "opera" of broadway or the great operas of Verdi Wagner and
Mozart et al.
From: RHASKINS@UMAB.BITNET (Robert Haskins)
Newsgroups: rec.music.classical
Subject: Re: The Voyage
Date: 15 Oct 92 17:10:05 GMT
Article-I.D.: UMAB.92289.121005RHASKINS
 <1992Oct13.181027.1249@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu>
Organization: University of Maryland at Baltimore

Recent discussions of Glass have indicated that _Ahknaten_ is a ground
breaking work.  Would someone please tell me _what,_ besides the
funeral music in Act I, is so fantastic about this opera?

Bob
From: antelope@ecst.csuchico.edu (Titanium Dioxide (where can I get some?))
Newsgroups: rec.music.classical
Subject: Re: Beatles and the canon
Date: 16 Oct 92 17:59:02 GMT
Organization: California State University, Chico
NNTP-Posting-Host: cscihp.ecst.csuchico.edu


 >I have one funny/sad anecdote along these lines - I'm sure others have
 >many similar ones. [ . . . ]
 
 [several stories of youth's Beatles ignorance deleted]
 
Hallelujah!  It's about time we forgot the Liverpool plague.
From: brad@buck.viewlogic.com (Bradford Kellogg)
Newsgroups: rec.music.classical
Subject: Charles Ives
Date: 15 Oct 92 23:13:49 GMT
Article-I.D.: viewlogi.1992Oct15.231349.158
Organization: Viewlogic Systems, Inc.
Originator: brad@buck


For some reason, the approach of the cold months and the holiday season
makes me think of Charles Ives. It could be that, in spite of what might
appear as iconoclastic tendencies in his music, he seems to me to be
quintessentially American, or more specifically, Yankee. And his
"yankeeness" evokes, in me, images of what most distinguishes the New
England experience. Ives evokes New England the way Villa-Lobos evokes
Brazil. It's really quite remarkable.

I had the pleasure of hearing, in person, John Kirkpatrick play the
Concord sonata. JK knew Ives personally, and before playing he recalled 
some impressions about Ives. He brought Ives to life first in words,
and again with his music. Of course, this music can be quite a shock to
the uninitiated, with its shifting tonalities, unusual dissonances, and
almost startling mixed rhythms.

I haven't thought about recordings for some years now, and I wonder if
there are any Ives listeners out there who can make any recommendations
on current CD releases.

Thanks,

BK
Newsgroups: rec.music.classical
From: dbarker@spang.Camosun.BC.CA (Deryk Barker)
Subject: Re: Glass meets Clive Barker response
Organization: Camosun College, Victoria B.C, Canada
Date: Tue, 13 Oct 1992 22:37:39 GMT

In article <1992Oct13.132901.24677@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu> jefrank@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu (Jason E Frank) writes:
[....]
>Glass).  No matter what you choose to call his work, Glass if first and
>foremost an innovator--his "Koyaanisqatsi" was one of the first modern
>film scores to transcend our notion of "movie music".  His music packs
>a hell of a lot of emotion (at least for those who can get past the
>"repetitiveness"), and I for one am looking forward to seeing what he
>comes up with to accompany Barker's new horror film (can ANYTHING be
>more disturbing than "Music in 12 Parts"?).
>
>Obviously, plenty of people out there must not find his music so boring,
>or he wouldn't be as popular as he is or getting as many commissions as he
>does as one of the most sought-after composers.  If you can't stand his
>stuff, then fine--there are enough appreciative, open-minded people in the
>audience that your presence won't be missed.
>
>Now, anyone out there have any SUBSTANTIVE opinions?

Yes. Glass is derivative of Terry Riley and Steve Reich, and far less
interesting than either of them.

Deryk Barker, Computer Science Dept., Camosun College, Victoria B.C.

Newsgroups: rec.music.classical
From: henrik@itekiris.kjemi.unit.no (Henrik Gudbrandsen)
Subject: Re: Glass meets Clive Barker response
Organization: SINTEF
Date: Tue, 13 Oct 92 17:32:34 GMT

Please, let's have some tolerance for one anothers musical taste!
(this argument is childish)

Henrik Gudbrandsen
henrik@itekiris.kjemi.unit.no
Newsgroups: rec.music.classical
From: dbarker@spang.Camosun.BC.CA (Deryk Barker)
Subject: Re: Vox Box (Was Re: Brendel's Beethoven on Vox Box CDs)
Organization: Camosun College, Victoria B.C, Canada
Date: Wed, 14 Oct 1992 14:48:56 GMT

In article <ZASRBSC5@cc.swarthmore.edu> abrocke1@cc.swarthmore.edu (Aaron Brockett) writes:
[...]
>This seems like a perfect opportunity to pose a question about the general
>quality of the performances on the Vox label. I know it's often misleading
>to attept to generalize about the output of an entire company, but if
>anyone could do so, I'd appreciate it. Given their price, I would be able
>to explore a lot of repetoire I might otherwise not be able to afford. So,
>are the performances decent? Are they worth the 4-6 dollars? Please
>enlighten me.

My verdict would be: for stuff recorded in the 50s and 60s *very*
good: look at the output of Brendel, Horenstein and Klempere to name
only 3. Their recent stuff (late 70s and 80s) that they are also
reissuing is much more variable, some of it is good; some of it is
otherwise unavailable; some of it (with luck) is both. It's impossible
to generalise though - as you realise.

Deryk Barker, Computer Science Dept., Camosun College, Victoria B.C.
From: roger@crux.Princeton.EDU (Roger Lustig)
Newsgroups: rec.music.classical
Subject: Re: Beatles and the canon
Date: 15 Oct 92 18:20:55 GMT
Reply-To: roger@astro.princeton.edu (Roger Lustig)
Organization: Princeton University
Originator: news@nimaster

In article <casseres-151092094439@kip2-8.apple.com> casseres@apple.com (David Casseres) writes:
>So there are different kinds of permanence.  We think of "classical" music
>as immutable in its content, because the score tries to specify the
>entirety of the performance.  But pop music scores are outlines --
>typically a chord progression and the melody line, both subject to heavy
>revision in each and every performance.  Even lyrics are altered by
>performers.  So the permanence of such music has to be measured in a
>different way, I think.  I agree with Roger that the Beatles' songs are a
>good example of pop music becoming canonical; I predict that in a hundred
>years, the basic material of these songs will still be around in
>recognizable form, even if people don't remember the Beatles any more than
>most people today recognize Stephen Foster and Henry Clay Work.

Impossible call to make at this point.  One thing's for sure: ifthey
survive, they will survive in pretty close to their original sounding
form, unlike Work and Foster and even Kern and Gershwin.  Why?  Because
the Beatles' compositions exist primarily as recordings; nobody much
consults the lead sheet (let alone a transcribed score) for "Revolution"
(which version?) or "Ticket to Ride."  In fact, when you see a shoe 
commercial on TV now, the music is (sampled) original version: "Revolution"
or "Instant Karma" or the like.  Or something designed to sound very
much like an original: consider the Bud Light commercial with a song called
"Wild Thing."  Now, that's *not* the 60's song by Question Mark and the
Mysterians; in fact, it's a recomposition that includes bits of that 
song and also bits of Lou Reed's "Take a Walk on the Wild Side."  (I don't
know whether the song was written for the commercial, btw.)  A very
clever amalgam; but the references are obvious.  

Enough of this for now...

Roger
Newsgroups: rec.music.classical
From: kos@cunyvms1.gc.cuny.edu (Bob Kosovsky)
Subject: Re: Why switch to CD?
Reply-To: kos@cunyvms1.gc.cuny.edu
Organization: Computer Center, CUNY Graduate School, New York NY 10036
Date: Thu, 15 Oct 1992 16:42:27 GMT

In article <1992Oct9.223953.27650@news.columbia.edu>, gmw1@cunixa.cc.columbia.edu (Gabe M Wiener) writes:
>In article <1992Oct8.130919.16850@edscom.demon.co.uk> rpt@edscom.demon.co.uk (Richard Tomlinson) writes:
>>My experience is that analogue recordings are generally far inferior to almost
>>all digital recordings... 
>> ...Yet digital recordings sound so
>>incredibly good. If I close my eyes while listening to classical DDD CDs, I
>>really feel as if the orchestra is in the same room.

>Analog recordings are by no means inferior to digital recordings, and it
>certainly isn't generally the case.  A well-made analog recording can sound
>better than many digital recordings made today.  Audiophiles were having the
>"orchestra in the same room" experience long before the Compact Disc ever
>hit the market.

The only kinds of recordings where I felt the orchestra was "in the same
room" were 78s (and yes, I hold on to mine!)

Bob Kosovsky
Graduate Center -- Ph.D. Program in Music(student)/ City University of New York
New York Public Library -- Music Division
bitnet:   kos@cunyvms1.bitnet        internet: kos@cunyvms1.gc.cuny.edu
Disclaimer:  My opinions do not necessarily represent those of my institutions.
Newsgroups: rec.music.classical
From: cb@tamarack13.timbuk (Chris Brewster)
Subject: Re: The Abuse of Classical Music
In-reply-to: ujwb@uxa.ecn.bgu.edu's message of Mon, 12 Oct 1992 14:39:58 GMT
Organization: pubs
	<1992Oct12.132044.8442@msuinfo.cl.msu.edu> <Bw0JEM.IHt@uxa.ecn.bgu.edu>
Date: 12 Oct 92 10:38:31 CDT

Jeff Beer writes:

    >One of the greatest abuses to me is the (over)use of Gershwin's Rhapsody
   >in Blue in the United Airlines commercials.  Hearing it over and over
   >(in short excerpt form) has seriously harmed my enjoyment of that piece.

   I agree.  They could have used it once, and any association would be
   forgotten after a year.  Nowdays, I don't think you can listen to
   Rhapsody In Blue without seeing runways and air traffic control towers.
   It is like they adopted it as their corporate logo, and people will
   think it is United's and not Gershwin's. 

There's a solution: either don't watch commercial TV, or get a TV with a
remote control that has a MUTE switch.  There's no reason to let the
sleazeballs ruin good music--they haven't ruined any for me, because I
_never_hear_ a TV commercial, except maybe in a doctor's waiting room.

Chris Brewster
cb@cray.com
Newsgroups: rec.music.classical
From: rchrd@netcom.com (Richard Friedman)
Subject: Re: pierrot lunaire
Organization: Applied Parallel Rsrch (Berkeley)
Date: Mon, 12 Oct 1992 20:55:07 GMT

rchrd@netcom.com (Richard Friedman) writes:
>Barabar Sukova 
 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^   I can't believe I actually wrote this.  Not enough
		coffee this morning I guess.    It should read:
             Barbara Sukowa.  She plays the young girl's mother
              in Voyager.  A well known German actress, and from this
              recording a very accomplished singer!  The vocal line
               in Pierrot Lunaire is quite difficult.

>-- 
>/\=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=/\
>\/Richard Friedman (510)528-7055  |  rchrd@netcom.com    
>/\Applied Parallel Rsch (Berkeley)|                          /\
>\/=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=\/

-- 
/\=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=/\
\/Richard Friedman (510)528-7055  |  rchrd@netcom.com    
/\Applied Parallel Rsch (Berkeley)|                          /\
\/=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=\/

Newsgroups: rec.music.classical
From: cb@tamarack13.timbuk (Chris Brewster)
Subject: Re: Glass meets Clive Barker response
In-reply-to: jaeger@buphy.bu.edu's message of 14 Oct 92 15:16:04 GMT
Organization: pubs
	<1992Oct14.034827.15511@dartvax.dartmouth.edu>
	<1992Oct14.150259.9653@Princeton.EDU> <98619@bu.edu>
Date: 14 Oct 92 14:00:52 CDT

Gregg Jaeger writes:

   >>> Glass is derivative of Terry Riley and Steve Reich,

   >>Bravo!!! I couldn't agree more!!!!!

   >a) Nobody hums their tunes, either.

   I have to admit I hum portions of _Tehillim_!

Hey, I've even been known to hum Schoenberg's piano concerto.  
Sort of.

Chris Brewster
cb@cray.com
From: brad@buck.viewlogic.com (Bradford Kellogg)
Newsgroups: rec.music.classical
Subject: Re: Alkan trivia
Date: 8 Oct 92 20:49:29 GMT
Organization: Viewlogic Systems, Inc.
Originator: brad@buck


In article <1992Oct8.014446.9566@timessqr.gc.cuny.edu>, kos@cunyvms1.gc.cuny.edu (Bob Kosovsky) writes:
|> 
|> For those who may find this enigmatic, the story of Alkan's death is that
|> he was supposedly crushed by a falling bookself or bookcase while reaching
|> for a volume of the Talmud.
|> 
|> A recent article (maybe 2 years ago or so) from the Musical Times revealed
|> this story to be totally apocryphal, that contemporary newspapers correctly
|> reported that he died mysteriously (apparently a heart attack or something

The way I heard it was that he pulled the book off the shelf, turned
around and started walking away, only to have the bookcase assault him
from behind. A fanciful addendum to this was that as the bookcase fell,
a certain individual who had been hiding behind it triumphantly shook
his fist, namely, Franz Lizst.
From: coren@osf.org (Robert Coren)
Newsgroups: rec.music.classical
Subject: Vibrato in aging voices (was : Das Lied etc.)
Date: 8 Oct 92 14:27:15 GMT
Organization: Open Software Foundation

In article <Bvrp88.C7p@news.udel.edu>, conrad@brahms.udel.edu (Jon Conrad) writes:
> Is there *any* recent example of a singer
> who maintained cleanly defined tone into his/her later years?  Alfredo
> Kraus maybe -- it's dry, but it's steady, and he's been at it since the
> 50s.

What about Fischer-Dieskau? I confess that I haven't heard him
recently (is he still even singing?), but I know I have heard him when
he was well past his prime, and I don't recall unsteadiness being
noticeable.