Classical Recording on Location

Yes. Most sessions are in Berlin and Brandenburg, but we travel across Germany and Europe regularly for orchestras, choirs and festivals. Travel and per-diem costs are folded transparently into the quote, so there's no separate travel line to negotiate.

Yes — video is available alongside our premium audio capture, either as a multi-camera concert recording or as a synced performance video for a single work or album trailer. We typically run 1–3 cameras on either fixed or roaming positions, delivering typically in 4K / H.264.

On-location recording captures the acoustic of a real hall, church or conservatory room as part of the sound — the room does work that a studio control room can't replicate for orchestral, choral or oratorio repertoire. Studio sessions trade that natural acoustic for isolation and control, which suits smaller ensembles, spoken word or projects that will be built up in the mix — see our piano recording and vocal recording pages for that studio-based side of the work. Most classical clients choose location recording specifically because the venue is inseparable from the performance.

Yes — choirs and vocal ensembles are one of our most common on-location bookings, from chamber choirs to full oratorio forces with orchestra. We build the mic array around the choir's formation and the room's reverberation, typically combining a main array (Decca tree, spaced pair or ORTF) with section spot mics to keep inner voices intelligible without losing the room.

Yes. Opera, lieder and oratorio sessions with orchestra or piano are a regular part of our on-location work, and we've recorded staged opera with full pit orchestra as well as concert performances. Singers are typically spot-mic'd individually, with the orchestra covered by a main array plus section mics, so soloists stay forward in the mix without artificial boosting.

Yes — symphony, chamber and youth orchestras are recorded regularly, usually with a main array (Decca tree) over the conductor's position supplemented by section spot mics for winds, brass and percussion. Redundant recording to two independent machines means a full orchestral session isn't riding on a single drive or converter.

Yes. Masterclasses, workshops and teaching sessions can be captured on audio, video or both — useful for institutions building an archive, or for participants who want a document of their own session. Setup is typically lighter-touch than a full concert recording, since the format is usually a single room with rotating performers rather than a fixed stage.

Yes — chamber music from duos through nonets is one of the core use cases for this service, not just large-scale orchestral or choral work. A duo or trio often gets a more intimate, room-accurate result on location in a resonant hall or church than in a dry studio control room, though for song-and-piano duos our in-house piano recording and vocal recording sessions are often the right call instead.

Yes — live concerts, patch sessions recorded after the concert to fix specific passages, and combined concert-plus-patch days are all standard practice. Audience noise handling and patch planning are agreed with you and the conductor in advance, so nothing is improvised on the day.

A short visit, or detailed photos and a floor plan if an in-person visit isn't practical, so we can hear the room and check power, sightlines and a quiet monitoring spot. For halls, churches and conservatory rooms we've already worked in, scouting usually isn't needed at all.

A typical on-location setup takes 1–2 hours for a chamber or solo session, and up to 4 for a full orchestra or opera session with video. Load-in and mic placement happen quietly ahead of the musicians' arrival, so rehearsal or warm-up time isn't lost to technical setup.

Yes. Most clients ask us to take the project through to a finished master — editing classical takes across movements and patches is its own craft, and we handle it in-house. Stems-only delivery is also available if you're working with an external editor or label engineer.

Audio is delivered as high-resolution PCM typically at 24-bit/48 kHz but also up to 192 kHz; final masters match the target use — streaming, CD/DDP, vinyl pre-master or hi-res download. Video is delivered in 4K / HD / H.264, graded and synced to the final audio master.

Cost depends on ensemble size, venue, session length, travel distance and whether video and post-production are included, so we quote per project rather than publishing a flat rate. As a starting point: a solo or duo session in Berlin costs less than a full orchestral or opera recording requiring multiple days, video coverage and a large mic count — tell us the repertoire and forces involved and we'll come back with a proposal.

Yes — solo recital and competition-entry recordings are a regular request, often in a conservatory hall or church chosen specifically for a clean, accurate sound rather than a heavy room acoustic. Turnaround can be prioritized if you're working against a submission deadline — flag this when you book.