The Classic 4 is an interesting point of comparison, given its big, bold and purposeful character. It’s also no slouch when it comes to speed stability, helped by the close-coupled motor, heavy platter (with peripheral clamp) and external power supply. With an impressive sense of scale and VPI’s forgiving, slightly rounded sound, it’s an engaging and involving deck, one that I expected to give little away to a direct-drive’s strengths, while offering appealing qualities of its own. I should have known better: I should have remembered just how comprehensively the Classic Direct buried the standard 4.
One of the records I’ve recently acquired is a copy of the Shostakovich Concerto for Piano, Trumpet and Strings (Ogden, Wilbraham, Mariner and the ASMF, Argo 674). It’s a fascinating work with a particularly beautiful slow movement, reminiscent of the sparsely atmospheric opening to the Fifth Symphony, dripping with the tension and brooding, suppressed energy that is so typical of the composer’s darker moments. The CS 20 delivers a bold, dramatic and compelling musical picture, focussed firmly on the instruments and the relationship between them. Ogden’s piano is full of poised clarity, presence and immediacy, with a sonorous weight and complexity. Note weight is beautifully defined, giving shape and a sense of varied pace to the phrasing, while the spaces between notes are clearly defined. The solo trumpet projects a sparkling brilliance of tone and the string sections are both locationally and tonally/texturally distinct. The sound is up close and personal, with a real sense of musical purpose and intent. The opening bars are quick to establish the explosive, conversational dynamics between the solo instruments, the forward thrust of the piece as a whole. It’s a compelling performance of unusual and exciting music and it’s fast becoming a firm favourite, so it seemed like the perfect basis for comparison – a comparison that was to prove telling.
Switching the disc to the VPI was like switching recording, orchestra and even, arguably, the score, so great was the difference in musical voice and character. The VPI threw its familiar large and beautifully defined acoustic, a single coherent space wrapped around the musicians – and evidence of its greater reach in terms of bass extension. But within that acoustic, the orchestra and soloists seemed faintly distant and disjointed. The spiky, jolting and stark orchestration was ironed out, the hesitations and rests smoothed over. The piano sank back into the stage, losing its dramatic attack and immediacy, the trumpet was softer and more muted, its playing lacking the brilliance and dexterity that was so obvious, impressive and enjoyable before. But most telling of all, the performance as a whole lost its sense of pace and purpose, becoming languid, almost lazy in comparison, with a fragile, silkiness to replace the robust presence of the Telefunken.
