In reply to:

---

While listening to the piece, I can't help but notice some very light but swift pops (sounds to me like fingers pressing on the cello strings), and also what seemed to be sound of inhalations. Am I hearing these correctly as recorded in the CD, or is it something else I should be looking into (maybe the Sony CD/DVD player etc)?

---

They're in the recording...I just listened. The pops almost sound like a string being plucked. If it were an acoustic guitar, I would say it sounds like somebody slapping the top for percussion....

That's just another way that Axioms draw you into the music. No glossing over of details. Most well-recorded classical music I've heard has these subtle "environmental" noises. To me, it created an even more convincing reality that the music is actually happening right in front of me.

Oh, and Glen Gould could not keep quiet during any recording. It was his style.

In reply to:

---

While listening to the piece, I can't help but notice some very light but swift pops (sounds to me like fingers pressing on the cello strings), and also what seemed to be sound of inhalations.

---

I used to play cello up till end of college; my professor used to tell me that the cello is a very obstinate and stubborn instrument. It’s a very physical instrument, most of the time you can actually ‘hear’ that struggle between the performer and the instrument

Nice description. It looks like a wrestling match sometimes.

without the jello though. I'll have to check that recording out when I get home, strangely I don't think I 've listened to that CD on the 60's. It's one of the wife's favorites so it usually stays in the Sony HTIT (home theater in a tower) speakers in the bed room.

That's right, Ken; your M80s are too good. They reveal what Ma is actually doing. You'd have to "downgrade" to miss out on those details.

Cam, Gould almost always hummed while he played. His mother taught him to play when he was a little boy and as a teaching aid she had him voice the music. He never changed this.

I love hearing the room and musicians in some of my classical cd's. I especially like my set of Beethoven's Symphonies. In the quieter moments you can really hear the musicians. Definately adds the the "you're there" experience of listening.

Right, Craig. Ken has also mentioned in the past how much he enjoys a squeaking chair on the Beethoven 9th that he has.

You sure it was the chair that was squeaking? LOL