Hi Asher,
From the balcony, I would agree that most violins at Carnegie Hall or Avery Fisher Hall do sound softer, because of the absorbent qualities of the hall when it's mostly full of concert-goers. But this is a really complicated question, because it not only involves the spectral balance of the M80ti's (about which I had significant input in recent years, and I agree they are detailed but not strident on good recordings) but also the recording venues and conditions of classical recordings.
Are the violin sections close-miked? Lots of American recording engineers and producers use this technique to give them lots of control on balances during editing. Having studied and played violin from age 5 to age 20, I can assure you that when you play in an orchestra (U. of Toronto Symphony, which I played in, first violin section) and sit that close, violins are not soft-sounding. So when you place microphones within six to 15 feet of a violin section, and hopefully use mikes that are reasonably smooth, the violins have a real up-close sound, which does not reflect how they sound if you were in a big hall sitting in the balcony or the orchestra section.
Like you, I attend lots of concerts at various New York halls as well as the Metropolitan Opera and New York City opera. Some smaller halls (Merkin Recital Hall, Kurt Weill Recital Hall, and that new smaller one at Carnegie) have much "brighter" acoustics than the big halls.
All this raises the question of what perspective a recording engineer and producer decide on, and how they execute it. Do they use an empty hall (quite common) or simulate an audience by spreading big canvas sheets on the walls and seats to simulate absorbancy of audience members?
I think a newsletter article on this is in order. Thanks for the suggestion.
Regards,
