Joanna Nickrenz: 1936–2002
It is with regret that we belatedly note the passing of Joanna Nickrenz, one of the most respected American producers of classical recordings, on February 9. Within the small world of those who passionately care about the sound of recorded music, Ms. Nickrenz, along with her partner Marc J. Aubort, was a legend. Many audiophiles—including Stereophile's editors—considered the names Nickrenz and Aubort on a project a guarantee of natural, dynamic, accurate sound.
Jobs on Record Execs: "They're greedy."
As we reported http://stereophile.com/news/082905recording/"> August 29, Sony BMG and the Warner Music Group, among others, have begun questioning the now defacto per song price of 99¢ set by Apple's iTunes Music Store.
Joe Grado (1925–2015)
Hats off and heads down. Let Joe Grado's passing fill our collective hearts with enduring feelings of gratitude (for what Joe brought to the quality and character of the audio industry over six decades) and respect (for his myriad inventions and human fortitude that delivered musical joy and aural insights to countless listeners and audio professionals throughout the world).
John Atkinson to give Heyser Memorial Lecture at the 131st AES Convention
Stereophile editor John Atkinson has been honored by being invited to give the Richard C. Heyser Memorial Lecture at the 131st Audio Engineering Society Convention, held at the Jacob Javits Center in Manhattan. The Memorial Lecture was established in May 1999 to honor the memory of the famed audio theorist, engineer, reviewer, scientist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, inventor of Time Delay Spectrometry, and AES Silver Medal recipient. The Memorial Lecture has previously honored Ray Dolby, recording engineer Phil Ramone, futurist Ray Kurzweil, mathematicians Manfred Schroeder and Stanley Lipshitz, film sound pioneer and editor Walter Murch, Andy Moorer of Sonic Solutions and Adobe, Roger Lagadec, Kees Schouhamer Imminck, who developed the optical data-reading technology used in the CD, and acoustician Leo Beranek. The lecture will be at 7pm on Friday, October 21. The Convention program and details can be found here.
John Atkinson to Receive the LAOCAS Founder's Award
The Los Angeles and Orange County Audio Society (LAOCAS) has chosen John Atkinson, former editor-in-chief and now technical editor of Stereophile, as the winner of its 29th annual Founder's Award.
John Lennon Remixed and Remastered
John Lennon and the Plastic Ono Band's 1971 album Imagine has now been remixed and remastered at Abbey Road Studios in London, supervised by Yoko Ono, and will be reissued in a new version on vinyl, CD, and cassette by Capitol">http://www.capitolrecords.com">Capitol Records on March 28. The re-release precedes the April 11 release of a behind-the-scenes DVD documentary, Gimme Some Truth—The Making of John Lennon's Imagine Album, which attempts to examine the creative process that took place at Lennon's home recording studio during the legendary 1971 sessions.
John Lennon's Piano Goes on the Block in July
An Internet startup being organized by Fleetwood Mac drummer Mick Fleetwood and auctioneer Ted Owen will offer John Lennon's 30-year-old Steinway piano for auction some time in July. The piano is now on display in The Beatles Story museum in Liverpool and will remain there until October 9, which would have been Lennon's 60th birthday.
John Marks and Vivid Audio at Overture AV
This Saturday, December 4, from 11am to 4pm, Overture Ultimate Audio/Video will host an open house to present Vivid Audio’s visually and sonically impressive G1 Giya loudspeaker.
John Marks at the Connecticut Audio Society
Photo: Andy Henriques, CAS
The same weekend John Atkinson was serenading the Los Angeles/Orange County Audio Society, John Marks was showing the flag in Southern New England at the annual Holiday Meeting of the Connecticut Audio Society. JM brought with him to Connecticut not only Sooloos' Control:15 music server, into which he had loaded the playlist for his presentation, but also a Bricasti M1 DAC and Nordost Silver Shadow S/PDIF cable and Bricasti's Brian Zolner to answer questions about his M1 DAC. (JA's full review of the Bricasti will appear in the February 2012 issue of Stereophile, with a Follow-Up by JM in the March issue.)
John Marks starts free newsletter, John Marks Recommends
Record producer and critic John Marks, whose writing has appeared from time to time in Stereophile—his March "As">http://www.stereophile.com//asweseeit/208/">"As We See It" triggered a deluge of letters—has started John Marks Recommends, a free e-mail newsletter on music and the arts. "Talking about my own work will be the exception rather than the rule," says Marks. "I tell people about great recordings, books, and videos, recipes, and an occasional wine recommendation."