Re: historic recording materials

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I agree that a recording of a live performance cannot capture all the
feeling and atmosphere. I remember hearing Andres Sevogia play at
Stanford in the 1970s. As he mounted the stage, I thought to myself
(sitting rather far back in the auditorium), 'how is one old man with an
acoustic guitar going to fill up this hall?' After the initial applause
of greeting, he sat down on the chair, put his foot on a small stool,
and waited for the coughing and nose blowing and rustling to quieten
down. Just as he was on the verge of striking the first note, someone
coughed or rustled a program. Segovia froze; didn't even look up as if
to chastise anyone--he simply stopped in mid-motion. The gesture was
electrifying. The auditorium went mute and for the rest of the
performance, no one dared to move. I can tell you, one old man with one
acoustic guitar did indeed fill up the whole auditorium. Well, the point
is, no live recording could have captured that moment at the beginning,
before he had played the first note.
I also agree that modern studio recordings, noiseless and over-produced,
often sound spooky or surreal. Compared to that, I am still impressed
with what mechanical recording pianos 100 years ago were able to do.
Pretty remarkable.