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i-Tunes amazing classical music deal


Cygnus64

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Warning:

 

Clicking on that link will try to open iTunes on your system, and you have to dismiss several dialogs before it leaves you alone.

 

The warning is because some of us have to be careful about opening other apps while the browser is active, or the system could freeze.

 

At any rate, I suppose it's a good way to introduce young people to classical music who might not try it otherwise, but I can't imagine the potential repercussions of this move.

 

As it is, there are already some classical (and jazz) albums that are starting to use peak limiting to compete in the Loudness Wars. If people become accustomed to compressed MP3 files for classical, it may be impossible in ten years time to find classical recordings with natural acoustics.

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Sorry, I put a disclaimer about the link.

At any rate, I suppose it's a good way to introduce young people to classical music who might not try it otherwise, but I can't imagine the potential repercussions of this move.

 

As it is, there are already some classical (and jazz) albums that are starting to use peak limiting to compete in the Loudness Wars. If people become accustomed to compressed MP3 files for classical, it may be impossible in ten years time to find classical recordings with natural acoustics.

 

I'm not quite sure what you're trying to say. AFAIK these are typical ordinary mp3s that people have been buying for 10 years.

 

At any rate, I suppose it's a good way to introduce young people to classical music who might not try it otherwise, but I can't imagine the potential repercussions of this move.

 

I bought it, I'm 45. :D I have thousands of CDs. Where does one get stuff like this for 3 cents a track?

 

If your's is a general comment about mp3 fidelity: there's a time and place for everything. When I'm going down the highway in my 96 Buick with all of it's noises, I'm really not worried about fidelity. I just wanna hear the tunes. This is literally 24 hours of the greatest classical music, and some unusual stuff like the Brahms Serenade and the Dvorak Symphonic variations.

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It said 99 cents a track when I clicked, so I thought I had misinterpreted your initial comment (I originally thought it was 99 cents for a collection of downloads excerpts).

 

I have a 19 year old car with a cassette player, so I apologise for not being hip to what people are able to play in their cars these days. :-) I was tired of having after-market decks stolen, so just went with the Mazda built-in system, which is surprisingly good (except the radio died in February 2009).

 

No, I am not one to promote high fidelity for the car. The car is a means of getting from A to B, and any music or programming that can be enjoyed while driving, or which can make driving less stressful and pass the time more quickly, is welcome.

Eugenio Upright, 60th Anniversary P-Bass, USA Geddy Lee J-Bass, Yamaha BBP35, D'angelico SS Bari, EXL1,

Select Strat, 70th Anniversary Esquire, LP 57, Eastman T486, T64, Ibanez PM2, Hammond XK4, Moog Voyager

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It said 99 cents a track when I clicked, so I thought I had misinterpreted your initial comment (I originally thought it was 99 cents for a collection of downloads excerpts).

 

 

aaah, I see. Yeah, its the real deal. You can buy a Brahms Symphony for 12 cents. :D The quality of recordings is very good. Naxos doesn't go for the big name artists, but all the performances I've heard so far have been very good.

 

 

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Wow, that IS a great deal,

 

It's hard to even explain how much music this is. 316 tracks, but a lot of the tracks are 10-15 minutes long.

 

They did a great job picking a diverse variety. There are hits (Brandenburgs, the Four Seasons), and lesser known gems like Grieg's Holberg Suite and Debussy Nocturnes. It's a little heavy on the renaissance stuff for my taste, but overall it's a mind-blowing deal. :thu:

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Just a heads up for those DAWers who refuse to use Quick Time because of its poor behavior..... downloading iTunes automatically downloads and installs Quick Time and also, for some reason, logs you OUT of this forum.

 

Fortunately for me, this is my writing laptop, not a recording computer. And iTunes remembers me from my former membership via NARAS, so some things were easier. But watch out for Quick Time! You can't kill it, you can't shut it down, and it rises from the dead just when you least expect it.

"I believe that entertainment can aspire to be art, and can become art, but if you set out to make art you're an idiot."

 

Steve Martin

 

Show business: we're all here because we're not all there.

 

 

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I'm sorry for my fit of anger earlier -- I was still seething from yet another New Year's gig opportunity falling through, and when the posted link started demanding a desktop app to launch and the prices were all shown as the usual 99 cents per download, I vented.

 

Naxos is a great label. They're no longer all that cheap, and are outdone in the price category by Seraphim's reissues, but the performances are almost all top-notch, and they uncover a lot of hidden gems (especially 20th century composers, including overlooked works by American composers).

 

The performers are mostly excellent, but simply didn't land contracts with Philips, Deutsche Grammophone, RCA, EMI/Angel, Decca/London, or Columbia, due to the Iron Curtain. I've been to several Eastern European countries and their classical performers are every bit as good as the better-known ones in Western Europe. Naxos also covers smaller UK and US orchestras.

 

It's kind of nice in a way to see that the Eastern European orchestras still have their "sound", while the hopping around of conductors and players in the West has led to greater homogenization (orchestras used to demand certain makes of instruments for uniformity of sound and uniqueness vs. other orchestras -- especially on a country-by-country basis).

 

Anyway, sorry for the rant -- I'll admit I didn't look in detail originally due to iTunes trying to launch on my desktop, so didn't notice these are all small-label recordings, who need our support now more than ever (due to most stores going away).

Eugenio Upright, 60th Anniversary P-Bass, USA Geddy Lee J-Bass, Yamaha BBP35, D'angelico SS Bari, EXL1,

Select Strat, 70th Anniversary Esquire, LP 57, Eastman T486, T64, Ibanez PM2, Hammond XK4, Moog Voyager

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Rather odd balance of selections.

 

Beethoven gets three piano sonatas, but no symphonies?

 

Mozart represented by three choral works and nothing else?

 

Five works from Grieg?

aka âmisterdregsâ

 

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I'm sorry for my fit of anger earlier -- I was still seething from yet another New Year's gig opportunity falling through,

 

No problemo.

 

Naxos has a HUGE catalog. Definitely a volume dealer. I think their goal is to have 1 of every piece ever written. :laugh:

 

Rather odd balance of selections.

 

Beethoven gets three piano sonatas, but no symphonies?

 

Mozart represented by three choral works and nothing else?

 

Five works from Grieg?

 

Yes, it's a strange grouping. I like it because it's light on the

Fur Elise
and
Eine Kleine
stuff. My collection of Dowland is now complete, I've added 17 new Dowland tracks to my previous collection of zero. :D

 

The Grieg stuff is actually one of the highlights for me. The "hits" are from Peer Gynt #1, but some of the other music is really nice and should be better known. As a string player, every string player in the world has played the "Holberg Suite" when they were 15 in youth orchestra. :rawk:

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My collection of Dowland is now complete, I've added 17 new Dowland tracks to my previous collection of zero. :D

 

That's funny, I am listening to the Dowland as we speak (?). Can't say as I knew a thing about his music before.

 

I guess I was expecting a little more of the "greatest hits" as the download was pitched as a way to "start" a classical music collection. To me, that implies a few more well-known works along with a healthy dose of less popular, but interesting, works.

aka âmisterdregsâ

 

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I guess I was expecting a little more of the "greatest hits"

 

Nutcracker

Swan Lake

Messiah

Four Seasons

Ride of the Valkyres

Peer Gynt (Morning and Hall of the Mountain King)

Dvorak New World Symphony

Mozart Requiem

Brandenburg concertos

Scheherazade

Pathetique Sonata

La Mer

Prelude to Afternoon of a Faun.

 

Lot's o hits. :laugh:

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I guess I was expecting a little more of the "greatest hits"

 

Nutcracker

Swan Lake

Messiah

Four Seasons

Ride of the Valkyres

Peer Gynt (Morning and Hall of the Mountain King)

Dvorak New World Symphony

Mozart Requiem

Brandenburg concertos

Scheherazade

Pathetique Sonata

La Mer

Prelude to Afternoon of a Faun.

 

Lot's o hits. :laugh:

 

Oh no, these are all well known, but using up 14 "songs" for Mozart's Requiem (in addition to two lesser known works that are also choral) I don't get. I have a weakness for Mozart piano concerti and symphonies. They could have used a number of those to get a more representative body of work. And maybe one of the less often played Beethoven symphonies.

 

I'm not complaining. It's a great deal. I just find a lot of the selections curious. Of course, I don't know anything about the breadth of the catalog they were working out of.

aka âmisterdregsâ

 

Nord Electro 5D 73

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In truth, when I saw the post, I thought it was going to be one of those collections that cherry-picked only well known parts instead of complete works. Such as the opening movement of "Moonlight Sonata" or the finale of Beethoven's "Choral".

aka âmisterdregsâ

 

Nord Electro 5D 73

Yamaha P105

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[Oh no, these are all well known, but using up 14 "songs" for Mozart's Requiem (in addition to two lesser known works that are also choral) I don't get.

 

They are all CD albums I think. "Mozart Choir Works" is one, Grieg Orchestral music another, Faure Choir works another etc. HOw they picked them, I have no clue. I'm guessing they weren't top sellers.

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I bought the Dowland CD earlier this year, and it's lovely, definitely filling in a gap in my collection in so many ways. I keep hoping to find a Volume Two but it may not be out yet.

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Cygnus64, thanks for the link! What, no Bartok or Stravinsky? Just kiddin', I'm not complaining. Actually I think Naxos has a fair amount of 20th century stuff, including a lot of lessor known composers who might merit investigation.

 

Oh, and I just gotta say... these aren't mp3's; the iTunes store uses AAC, which is definitely a better codec than mp3. I know people say "mp3" when they mean "encoded audio," but it reminds me of being at a gig playing my PC3, and someone comes up and says, "are you the organ player?", (or piano player)...

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Cygnus64, thanks for the link! What, no Bartok or Stravinsky?

 

Not public domain. :( Too bad, I'm a big fan of music of the first half of the 20th century.

 

including a lot of lessor known composers who might merit investigation
.

 

Every year I get an i-tunes gift card for Christmas, and I try to find lesser known gems. There are a lot from that era who got overlooked. Finzi, Frank Bridge, Dag Wiren, Butterworth, Delius, etc.

 

I know people say "mp3" when they mean "encoded audio,"

 

Guilty as charged. :laugh:

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Too bad, I'm a big fan of music of the first half of the 20th century.

 

Our previous pastor and his wife were serious classical music fans, but not apparently modern works. She said to me some years ago, "They been working on 20th century music for almost 100 years, and they still haven't gotten it right."

 

Probably not an original remark, but pretty amusing.

aka âmisterdregsâ

 

Nord Electro 5D 73

Yamaha P105

Kurzweil PC3LE7

Motion Sound KP200S

Schimmel 6-10LE

QSC CP-12

Westone AM Pro 30 IEMs

Rolls PM55P

 

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Too bad, I'm a big fan of music of the first half of the 20th century.

 

Our previous pastor and his wife were serious classical music fans, but not apparently modern works. She said to me some years ago, "They been working on 20th century music for almost 100 years, and they still haven't gotten it right."

 

Probably not an original remark, but pretty amusing.

 

Joke needs to be upgraded to "They worked on 20th century music for 100 years, and they never got it right." Wierd to think that music that is too modern for most is from the previous century...

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Thanks for the tip... what a deal. It took a WHILE to download but it jump starts my classical section on iTunes.

Jimmy

 

Those are my principles, and if you don't like them... well, I have others. Groucho

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