CONCERT RECORDING · VIENNA

Concert Recording and Live Broadcast in Vienna

A concert happens once. A recording has to be right the first time — setup, balance and backup prepared so that the evening never needs repeating.

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Producer's position in the auditorium of a concert hall: laptop, headphones and score between the rows of seats
The producer's desk between the rows — here during an album production in the hall. For a concert recording it stands in the same place, just without a second chance.

One evening, one chance

A studio production may repeat a passage twenty times. A concert may not. So for a concert recording the whole work moves forward: room, microphone placement, levels and redundancy must be in place before the audience is in the hall. During the performance nothing is set up any more — only guided.

Recording is always redundant, on two systems simultaneously. A technical failure must not cost a concert evening.

The dress rehearsal is the safety net

The dress rehearsal is always recorded — not as a by-product but as working material. It provides the balance without an audience, serves as a reference for the mix and supplies replacement material for passages that become unusable in the concert through a cough, early applause or a noise in the hall.

From dress rehearsal and performance a releasable version emerges that keeps the character of the concert evening.

Live broadcast for radio and streaming

Broadcast and recording run from the same session. The radio mix is made in real time, the album master later from the same multitrack material — no second production is needed.

MB Records broadcasts live regularly for Radio 100,7 / opus 100,7. Running order, time signals, interval direction and contingency plan are part of the planning, not of improvisation on the night.

Screen showing the start of a live broadcast of a concert from the Philharmonie Luxembourg
Live broadcast from the Philharmonie Luxembourg, moments before going on air.

The concert day

01 Setup. Delivery, cabling, microphone placement and setting the balance — complete before the doors open.

02 Dress rehearsal. Recording, fine correction of the balance, agreement on critical passages and movement boundaries.

03 Concert. Recording and, where planned, broadcast; production from the score, log of disturbances.

04 Backup. Double data backup before the equipment comes down.

What is delivered

Frequently asked questions

Can a concert recording become an album?

Yes, that is the normal case. Combining performance and dress rehearsal produces a version that is technically clean and keeps the tension of the evening.

What happens with coughs or noise from the audience?

Short disturbances are replaced from the dress-rehearsal material, provided tempo and interpretation match. That is exactly what it is recorded for.

Is the dress rehearsal always recorded?

Yes. It costs no additional session because the system is already in place, and it is the project's most important safeguard.

Can broadcast and recording run at the same time?

Yes. The broadcast mix runs live; the multitrack material for the later masters is recorded in parallel.

How many channels are recorded?

A main system carries room and balance, plus spot microphones according to the forces. Everything is recorded individually so that the mix remains free later.

More services

Classical Recording in Vienna
The room first — recordings in the hall and in the church
Orchestra Recording
Main system, spots, balance, production from the score
Marco Battistella
Background, teaching, memberships, awards
Discography
More than 40 released productions for labels, radio and concert halls
All services (German)
Choir & church music, album production, Dolby Atmos, references

Enquiries

Please send enquiries via the contact form on the home page — with repertoire, forces, date and venue, as far as already known. MB Records, Vienna.

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