Death of keyboards, pianos and CDs

[Dave2002]

I have recently taken to follow in the steps of Ed Balls and Alan Rusbridger by revisiting pianos and keyboards. I was never very good, and now I'm appallingly bad.

(https://www.theguardian.com/books/20...y-again-review)

I have found my copies of Beethoven sonatas, Bach's 48 and Haydn sonatas.

I'd really like to have harpsichord recordings of Bach's 48, but searching on Amazon finds hardly any. There is a CD by Colin Tilney - but it may be used and is very expensive.

My suspicion is that as electronic keyboards have to some extent replaced pianos, and it's not really "cool" to play piano, and that hardly anyone learns how to play piano/keyboards these days.

In parallel with this, the wide scale availability of recorded music which has been heralded with streaming services - such as Spotify - may actually be shrinking, as CDs are being removed from catalogues, and many works are now difficult to find.

I have struggled to find many versions of Bach's 48 on Amazon - and streaming sites such as Qobuz are no better. The only ones I've found to be readily available are by Barenboim, Edwin Fischer and Glenn Gould.

Being able to search rapidly which has been touted as a significant advantage for downloads/streaming services is no real benefit if companies are not making some of the most significant musical works available, and this must surely be having an adverse effect on music teaching, music colleges etc. How are young and up and coming artists supposed to gain familiarity with some of these well established and essential (IMO) works in the repertoire?

[vinteuil]

.

... the Bach 48 on the harpsichord - I can certainly recommend Rousset :

http://amzn.eu/d/5XoSbMM

and, on a variety of keyboards, Levin :

http://amzn.eu/d/7Xs9FLv

http://amzn.eu/d/do0rVuS

and of course Gilbert :

http://amzn.eu/d/hPaj023

http://amzn.eu/d/gl5D2NW

and Moroney :

http://amzn.eu/d/j8A4DEl

I'm sure that Leonhardt, Schornsheim, van Asperen, and Egarr must be available as well.

.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

I have this set, which is good - and cheaper than chips for a "Used" copy:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/JS-Bach-Tempered-Clavier-harpsichord/dp/B001SNXTWY

Bob van Asperen is also inexpensive (New) and has a little more than the 48 on offer:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Well-Tempered-Clavier-Goldberg-Variations-Toccatas/dp/B008BT105G

... in addition to these and vinty's recommendations, there's also:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bach-Well-Tempered-Clavier-J-S/dp/B0064DLG32

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Das-wohltemperierte-Klavier-Well-Tempered-Clavier/dp/B00CY097K8

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bach-The-Well-Tempered-Clavier-Moroney/dp/B000WAU512

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Well-tempered-complete-Inventions-Goldberg-Variations/dp/B00004UT8G

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bach-Wohltemperierte-Clavier-Tempered-Preludes/dp/B077YPHYW8

... and, from NAXOS:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bach-Well-Tempered-Clavier-Book-1/dp/B000MRP1SM

and

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bach-The-Well-Tempered-Clavier-Moroney/dp/B000WAU512

... not to mention Landowska!

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Well-Tempered-Clavier-Book-1/dp/B000H4VZ76

and

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bach-Well-Tempered-Clavier-Wanda-Landowska/dp/B000JVSZ1Q

How are young and up and coming artists supposed to gain familiarity with some of these well established and essential (IMO) works in the repertoire?

The same way that they always have - by playing them.

[Dave2002]

The same way that they always have - by playing them.

So should the thread title include the death of classical music as well then? Relatively few people can read music, few have music lessons, and few young people go to concerts.

Without access to CDs, music libraries (remember them?), awareness of music, things seem to be going downhill.

[ardcarp]

Yes, and BBC4 thinks it's fulfilling its 'music' quota by filling Friday evenings with appalling drivel.

[Pulcinella]

So should the thread title include the death of classical music as well then? Relatively few people can read music, few have music lessons, and few young people go to concerts.

Without access to CDs, music libraries (remember them?), awareness of music, things seem to be going downhill.

Only seem?
I'm impressed by your positivism.


Like you, I imagine, I wonder what will become of my CD collection when I finally shuffle off......

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

My suspicion is that as electronic keyboards have to some extent replaced pianos, and it's not really "cool" to play piano, and that hardly anyone learns how to play piano/keyboards these days.

I recently bought a fake piano, in order to compensate for the inability to play a real piano in the large number of venues that don't have one. There's still quite a demand for pianists (mainly by people who don't want to pay - so I'm not sympathetic), but increasing number of people are performing to inflexible backing tracks, which further deters people from learning to play.

[Constantbee]

So should the thread title include the death of classical music as well then? Relatively few people can read music, few have music lessons, and few young people go to concerts.

Without access to CDs, music libraries (remember them?), awareness of music, things seem to be going downhill.

I haven't found that round here, Dave I see record numbers of adults, parents and children in the same family sometimes, which is nice, learning musical instruments - piano, woodwind and strings - many of whom are taking exams and getting excellent results Music teacher friend has a positive can-do attitude that says most people can get to grade 5, and all her students do and beyond! And that's without an exhaustive catalogue of recorded material to crib from. The trouble is most people don't think they can (or realistically can't afford to). Interestingly, a friend in admin one of the local exam centres tells me it's the more professional adult students, typically academics, who have the most trouble with music exams. A lot suffer with nerves under exam conditions that wouldn't bother people of whom less is expected

Grade 5's a good standard to get to. There's a big leap up to the next level, though.

[Dave2002]

I haven't found that round here, Dave I see record numbers of adults, parents and children in the same family sometimes, which is nice, learning musical instruments - piano, woodwind and strings - many of whom are taking exams and getting excellent results Music teacher friend has a positive can-do attitude that says most people can get to grade 5, and all her students do and beyond!

That's really good to hear. Down in the SE I was involved in music clubs. When we suggested offering a discount for seniors the treasurers laughed and suggested that would be a really good way to reduce revenue!

Re Bach's 48, there's a Helmut Walcha 13 CD set currently on offer at various sites - including Prestoclassical, but it's not on Qobuz.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

So should the thread title include the death of classical music as well then? Relatively few people can read music, few have music lessons, and few young people go to concerts.

Without access to CDs, music libraries (remember them?), awareness of music, things seem to be going downhill.

I think you're being unnecessarily glum, Dave - "relatively few people" have ever been able to read Music, had (private) Music lessons, and very few "young people" have ever gone to ("Classical Music") concerts - the proportion of people in their teens, twenties, and thirties going to Orchestral concerts in Leeds Town Hall (to use an example with which I am most familiar) seems about the same as it was when I was in my teens, twenties, and thirties. I do, indeed, "remember" Music Libraries - partly because there is a very good one in (again) Leeds which I visit regularly. And, with YouTube and other streaming services, not to mention the huge numbers of recording companies (far more than the big six of the '70s, and, therefore, making available a far greater range of repertoires) young people have the sort of access to Music that I could not have dreamed possible when I was their age. And, from my own discussions with teenagers and twenties-years-old, "young people" are as resilient as they ever have been - and they make terrific use of such resources.

You are absolutely right, of course, to be concerned about the contemptible and damaging reduction of funding for the Arts, and for education, and about the Beeb's neglect of its public service duties; these are matters of deep concern, particularly for people from less financially affluent communities. But this is something that needs to be raised with MPs and local councillors; and needs to be done regularly and relentlessly.

[Beresford]

....

I'd really like to have harpsichord recordings of Bach's 48, but searching on Amazon finds hardly any. There is a CD by Colin Tilney - but it may be used and is very expensive.
?

I have the CD of Book 1 by Gary Cooper on ASV; it's readily available, but I can't seem to find Book 2 at a reasonable price.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

I have the CD of Book 1 by Gary Cooper on ASV; it's readily available, but I can't seem to find Book 2 at a reasonable price.

- I noticed that, too! Volume 1 = £1.28 + P&P; Volume 2 = £85!!!!

[Dave2002]

You are absolutely right, of course, to be concerned about the contemptible and damaging reduction of funding for the Arts, and for education, and about the Beeb's neglect of its public service duties; these are matters of deep concern, particularly for people from less financially affluent communities. But this is something that needs to be raised with MPs and local councillors; and needs to be done regularly and relentlessly.

I really don’t want to be glum. However I am very aware of at least one school which was recently forced to “lose” a perfectly good music teacher as there was no other reasonable way to balance the books. I don’t think this is particularly unusual in current times.

Politics! I couldn’t possibly comment. Some schools have become Academies, and might be able to afford more teachers and equipment, leaving the remaining state supported schools supported by Local Authorities which are often (IMO) starved of cash, and not only for education. The justification for some of these aspects seems very questionable.

[MrGongGong]

I recently bought a fake piano, in order to compensate for the inability to play a real piano in the large number of venues that don't have one.

I think that is what is known as a "category error"
It's not a "fake" piano though
it's a real electric piano

in the same way that The Wombles are real, real puppets.

Pipes and paintings and the like

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

I think that is what is known as a "category error"
It's not a "fake" piano though
it's a real electric piano

in the same way that The Wombles are real, real puppets.

Pipes and paintings and the like

When I depress a key on my fake piano, I reproduce the sound recorded, several years ago in Japan, from a real piano. I still need to practise before playing, though if all else fails, I can always press the demo button.