Shrinking CD length

[Barbirollians]

It seems new albums are shrinking in length - the recent Aigul recital on Decca 52 mins the same for Vilde Frang’s Elgar - are we returning to vinyl record lengths ? Or with downloads and streaming the record companies no longer care about short measure ?

[pastoralguy]

It seems new albums are shrinking in length - the recent Aigul recital on Decca 52 mins the same for Vilde Frang’s Elgar - are we returning to vinyl record lengths ? Or with downloads and streaming the record companies no longer care about short measure ?

Well, quality rather than quantity, imho. Having heard the new cd of the Elgar violin concerto from Ms. Frang I’m not sure I really want anything else. (I really don’t appreciate the little encore with piano after the mane work since it’s completely unnecessary!)

What I do notice is that often a single concerto will be accompanied by, say, opportunity a sonata with piano which must cost much less to produce than, say, another concerto with orchestra.

[Retune]

These days it might make sense to have albums they can also release on vinyl, but I'm not sure it's a general trend for classical CDs. Checking the CDs on this week's Record Review via Presto, etc.:

Pene Pati: Nessun Dorma - 84 min (!). If that's correct and it isn't really a double, some players will have problems...
Concerto Copenhagen: Haydn Symphonies - can't see timing, but you get three symphonies.
Joseph Swensen: Ring Odyssey - 2CD, 2 hours 8 minutes
Claire Huangci: Made in Usa: Gershwin, Beach & Barber - 77 min
Niek Baar, Christoph Poppe: Schumann & Bruch Violin Concertos - 56 min.
Simone Menezes: Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade, A Tale - 49 min for the single CD is the shortest here, but available as 95 min 2CD including alternative version with their new text (not sure how that works as total less than double the standard version?).
John Wilson: Carousel - 2CD, 1 hour 47 minutes
Bennewitz Quartet: An Evening in Vienna 1784 - 78 min
Pablo Heras-Casado: Bruckner 4 - 65 min
David Skinner: Byrd Great Service - 77 min

[pastoralguy]

Pene Pati: Nessun Dorma - 84 min (!). If that's correct and it isn't really a double, some players will have problems...

I’ve had CDs with playing times that have exceeded 84 minutes and I’ve never had a problem with any of my CDs coping. That’s from a Quad cd player, a vintage Philips machine and various Walkmans. I’m sure this has been discussed before but I forget where.

[LMcD]

It seems new albums are shrinking in length - the recent Aigul recital on Decca 52 mins the same for Vilde Frang’s Elgar - are we returning to vinyl record lengths ? Or with downloads and streaming the record companies no longer care about short measure ?

I have 2 CDs that last just 39 minutes: Beethoven's Emperor Concerto (Perahia/Haitink/Concertgebouw) and Rubbra's Symphony No. 10 and other works (Schoenzeler/Bournemouth Sinfonietta)

[Pulcinella]

I have 2 CDs that last just 39 minutes: Beethoven's Emperor Concerto (Perahia/Haitink/Concertgebouw) and Rubbra's Symphony No. 10 and other works (Schoenzeler/Bournemouth Sinfonietta)

That Rubbra was a simple transfer from LP, wasn't it, so no real wonder it's relatively short?
So are, of course, the vast majority of Original Jackets releases in, for example, Sony's big Boulez and Stravinsky boxes (and probably others), which reproduce the original LPs.

[LMcD]

That Rubbra was a simple transfer from LP, wasn't it, so no real wonder it's relatively short?
So are, of course, the vast majority of Original Jackets releases in, for example, Sony's big Boulez and Stravinsky boxes (and probably others), which reproduce the original LPs.

The Beethoven is indeed part of a CBS Masterworks box set of Perahia recordings.

[Pulcinella]

The Beethoven is indeed part of a CBS Masterworks box set of Perahia recordings.

Yes: originally released with no coupling, it would appear:

https://www.discogs.com/master/541950-Beethoven-Murray-Perahia-Concertgebouw-Orchestra-Bernard-Haitink-Piano-Concerto-No5

[smittims]

There have always been short CDs, where the manufacturer feels the sales figures will not be affected: some of Carlos Kleiber's, for instance. And discs in 'original sleeve' compilation boxes can be short, as they often keep to the contents of the LP. .

I think my shortest CD is the Boult Hindemith Symphony in E flat (Everest) at 29'47".

[cloughie]

Adam Fischer’s Brahms Syms could easily be accommodated on 2 rather than 3 CDs.

[oliver sudden]

Currently lying on the surfaces near my CD player:
Boulez, Domaines, Portal + Musique Vivante/Masson, 30’19” (1988)
Beethoven, piano concertos 1,2,4, Brautigam + Kölner Akademie/Willens, 87’56” (2019)

[Retune]

I’ve had CDs with playing times that have exceeded 84 minutes and I’ve never had a problem with any of my CDs coping. That’s from a Quad cd player, a vintage Philips machine and various Walkmans. I’m sure this has been discussed before but I forget where.

Digging around a bit, I see I am very much out of date on what is possible (or indeed, now quite common). Some members of the Steve Hoffman forum have apparently spotted 90 minute CDs. I was always vaguely disappointed when switching from tape to CD on the reduction in album length. I grew up with those Deutsche Grammophon Walkman Classics cassettes that routinely featured close to 90 minutes of music. If a couple of symphonies weren't enough to fill one, they'd add an overture.

[Old Grumpy]

Believe this or not, as you wish...

...https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/roll-over-beethoven/

[pastoralguy]

Digging around a bit, I see I am very much out of date on what is possible (or indeed, now quite common). Some members of the Steve Hoffman forum have apparently spotted 90 minute CDs. I was always vaguely disappointed when switching from tape to CD on the reduction in album length. I grew up with those Deutsche Grammophon Walkman Classics cassettes that routinely featured close to 90 minutes of music. If a couple of symphonies weren't enough to fill one, they'd add an overture.

Yes, I had a few of these tapes as well. They were certainly good value for money.

[mikealdren]

The recent Decca Campoli box is 21 CDs. Most of it is a reissue of the 12 Eloquence CDs issued a few years ago and repackaged with original album covers (that, in some cases, don't actually match the CD contents!) The Elgar and Beethoven, for example, were previously coupled with the Bruch and Mendelssohn respectively but are now on their own.
However Mark Obert-Thorn's restoration of the early 78 recordings is really superb and they are vastly superior to earlier issues on Pearl and ASV and reasonably well filled.