DPA at the Van Cliburn Piano Competition
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Lazarus has been a long-time DPA user and considers the d:dicate 4006 to be his microphone of choice for piano. “The d:dicate 4006 has the clarity needed for an event that features multiple pianos like this one,” says Lazarus. “The 30 contestants from all over the world that make it to Texas have a choice of one of three Steinways to perform on. The d:dicate 4006 grabs the character of the various pianos exceptionally well. It is a flat and honest microphone that suits this situation perfectly.”
For the three-week competition, Lazarus hung three d:dicate 4006’s in a Decca Tree configuration for the piano and two d:dicate 4006’s in the house for surround. Lazarus also used one DPA d:mension 5100 Mobile Surround Microphone down-stage centre. As the competition progressed from the solo piano rounds, to piano with string quartet, then piano with orchestra, Lazarus hung up to 30 DPAs (4006, 4015, 2006, 4098, 4060) in multiple configurations.
“It was great to be able to use DPA microphones exclusively on this project,” says Lazarus. “By using all one type of mic, the gain structure and character is almost identical from mic to mic, even within various DPA models. In addition, the DPA mics pick up the subtle nuances amongst the pianos, which is great because we don’t want them to sound the same. We want each piano’s colour and character to shine through all the time.”
(Jim Evans)
