The Digital Concert Hall

[Guest]

I recently invested in a Sony Blu-ray player and when I connected it to my router was delighted to find I had access to the Berlin Philharmonic's Digital Concert Hall. Intrigued, I signed up and trawled through the site. Apart from a mouth-watering selection of live concerts for 2011 there's also an archive of past performances. For the princely sum of 9.90 euros I've bought myself a 24-hour pass and have just started watching Neeme Järvi conducting the orchestra in Rimsky's Mlada suite, Tchaikovsky's First Piano Concerto (Volodos) and Taneyev's Fourth Symphony. Pictures on my 1080i TV are excellent, but it's the sound that really impresses; full-bodied, wide dynamics, no obvious compression or dropouts.

Is this the way it's going? Will the VPO have a similar service soon, the LSO? The Proms, even? And you can buy a 30-day pass or a yearly one; the latter - at around 150 euros - gives unlimited access to live concerts and archive material.

Just going to make some coffee and then it's back to the the concert :)

Check it out at:

http://www.digitalconcerthall.com/

[Petrushka]

I listened to, and watched, Rattle and the BPO live in Mahler 2 on October 30 with my laptop connected to my hi-fi and it was absolutely thrilling. The stunning sound quality is in a completely different league from that on the BBC and it really was like 'being there'. I will be catching the rest of Rattle's Mahler cycle the same way (as well as attending the London concerts next month).

[Mahlerei]

Petrushka

I remember now, I think you mentioned this on the old MB. Have just finished the Tchaikovsky - Volodos incredibly exciting in this old warhorse - and about to plunge into the Taneyev.

Now if only we could get this sort of thing from the cash-strapped BBC. I would be more than happy to pay to watch the Proms this way, providing the production values were this good. And no gabbling commentators and witless guests to spoil it either.

[Petrushka]

Petrushka

I remember now, I think you mentioned this on the old MB. Have just finished the Tchaikovsky - Volodos incredibly exciting in this old warhorse - and about to plunge into the Taneyev.

Now if only we could get this sort of thing from the cash-strapped BBC. I would be more than happy to pay to watch the Proms this way, providing the production values were this good. And no gabbling commentators and witless guests to spoil it either.

I agree that this could be the way forward for the Proms and, perhaps, the LSO but I wonder what the impact would be on the concert hall audience? Certainly, the BPO experience would be that audience figures have remained pretty much the same as the Philharmonie looks packed but the Proms may not be quite so lucky when it comes to a programme by, say, the BBC National Orchestra of Wales that included a world premiere by the latest avant-garde whizz-kid.

Food for thought, though.

[Mahlerei]

Petrushka

Audience figures in the hall might be affected but surely a sizeable, paying audience at home would offset any fall in ticket sales? in any event, the live Proms experience is still something very special, and I can't see the die-hards giving up their daily queues and arena chums. When I think of the times I've had to miss concerts in the past through pressure of work, and how convenient it would have been to come home and catch up with the evening's music in stunning pictures and sound. And what a boon for all those who don't live in or near London. And with an archive system and/or a season ticket - reasonably priced - one could even catch the entire season at leisure. Works for me :)

I'm going to get good value for my 24-hour pass, with a DSCH Eight, Messiaen and Strauss in the morning. And that's just the archive for the past three months. I might even try the Rattle 'Resurrection'....

PS: Alison would like the upcoming Bruckner Five with Uncle Bernie.

[BBMmk2]

Sounds like this is the way recorded music is going. Quite an exciting time then!!

[joseph green]

The BPO Concert Hall is probably the best online experience about, but you should also not discount some of the Audio about. The Radio4 (Netherlands) that is, produce very high quality internet streams, which all but the most "discerning" hi-fi buffs will find very acceptable, and both the NYP and Chicago have concerts which can be streamed online and produce at 160kbps and 256 kbps respectively. They are certainly worth a try. Does anyone know of other similar feeds?

[Mahlerei]

Joseph

Many thanks for the pointer. Will investigate.

[Cellini]

I might even try the Rattle 'Resurrection'....

I wouldn't resurrect Rattle if I were you ...

[Uncle Monty]

The picture and sound quality are indeed wonderful, and I've already started saving up my pennies for the upcoming Mahler 3.

The prices are a bit steep (or perhaps I'm just mean), but there are some very interesting freebies there too. I was pointed to a half-hour film of Rattle coaching a local youth orchestra (I've heard worse professional outfits -- well, to be honest I've played in worse professional outfits!) in the March To The Scaffold, which was just a brilliant watch. And lots of interviews, conducted mainly in English by the Anglophone members of the BP like Jonathan Kelly, Stanley Dodds and Sarah Willis.

[Spatny]

I was given a 30 day subscription for Christmas, and I am daily watching a concert on my Sony TV. Its a pity the live concerts can't be shown using the Sony Digital concert Hall App, so I have to rig up a laptop on the VGA port. I am thinking of getting a Mac mini with a HDMI interface. With the cost of London concerts & transport to London increasing, I am seriously thinking of buying a 12 month package as a replacement to my regular concert attendance. Last year in July, there was a 20€ discount on a 12 month package, so I am hoping for something similar this year.

[Cellini]

I always think its a pity when people give up regular concerts and listen to recorded music instead. It's never the same, and helps to weaken live concerts, so that in a few years there may not be any at all.

[doversoul1]

Do you mean concerts will go the same way as bookshops and record shops? That will be very sad.

[Mahlerei]

That's very unlikely. Recorded music hasn't emptied concert halls and I don't expect this innovation will either.

[Flosshilde]

I always think its a pity when people give up regular concerts and listen to recorded music instead. It's never the same, and helps to weaken live concerts, so that in a few years there may not be any at all.

Couldn't agree more - there are too many distractions at home (cf the comment a few posts back about 'just going to make some coffee & then it's back to the concert'), & you lose the atmosphere of the concert hall - yes, coughs & all - which make it a communal, rather than a solitary experience (part of which is the applause & demonstration of appreciation at the end).

The financial aspect - for the performers - seems a bit dodgy, too. A few posts back there was the suggestion that if income from live concerts dropped becuase of lower attendance it would be compensated by fees from the relay. How would this work? How would subscription income be distributed?