The Death of the CD?

[EnemyoftheStoat]

That's why the composer authorized a cut (2 minutes playing time!), which most of the present day recordings ignore, and which is not marked in the score as such.
Paul Kletzki's performance does so (IIRC this is mentioned in the original sleeve notes on the LP).

Well that's a recording to avoid then!

[Beef Oven]

Well that's a recording to avoid then!

Come on EnemyoftheStoat, you know the last movement outstays its welcome - Witold and I can't both be wrong!

.

[Mahlerei]

I had a portable CD player once but found it very unwieldy. Probably the most satisfying portable device I've owned was an iRiver H120 HD player; fantastic sound, build quality and no volume 'cap'. Before that a Sharp MiniDisc was my preferred portable, but it developed problems early on in its life.

[MrGongGong]

I had a portable CD player once but found it very unwieldy. Probably the most satisfying portable device I've owned was an iRiver H120 HD player; fantastic sound, build quality and no volume 'cap'. Before that a Sharp MiniDisc was my preferred portable, but it developed problems early on in its life.

aha the Iriver H120 ,i still use mine...... when students used to ask me what it was I used to say it was like an iPod that worked properly !!
the ability to record uncompressed .wavs on a portable machine made it very desirable indeed, shame that the "improved" later models didn't allow this (unless you used Rockbox firmware I think ?) the only drawback is the HD noise and the very high pitched tone it sometimes put onto recordings but that was easily notched out !

As Bryn says its a real shame that Mini disc was abandoned as it was far superior to CD

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

On the general topic of CD sales, I am surprised that any company can make any profit at all selling classical recordings. Back in 1965, when I first heard about one of my favourite works (of which I am certain you can guess the title) there was no recording available at all. Then the 1957 Bohm recording was reissued on Heliodor and Kempe's RPO version was issued to great acclaim. I bought both, and I think the sales of the Kempe were good at the time. The market could sustain only two. Now there have been over sixty (60) recordings of the work. There can be very few who are like me and want to buy them all (and I am still trying to find a cheap source orf the Marcello Rota and Bartholomee recordings). If we assume that Richard Strauss's tone poems are as popular now as they were in the late '60s, how can the market sustain 30 x the number of recordings of the same work?

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

As Bryn says its a real shame that Mini disc was abandoned as it was far superior to CD

What, with 4 bit sound compression????

[MrGongGong]

What, with 4 bit sound compression????

In terms of portability, stability and robustness
and it is possible to have uncompressed formats stored on MD
but alas no more

[cloughie]

In terms of portability, stability and robustness
and it is possible to have uncompressed formats stored on MD
but alas no more

I'll agree to agree with you here GG. The sadness of the early demise of the MD was that is was the natural user-friendly successor to the cassette, providing extra length used in LP2, and its editability was a great asset.

[Petrushka]

On the general topic of CD sales, I am surprised that any company can make any profit at all selling classical recordings. Back in 1965, when I first heard about one of my favourite works (of which I am certain you can guess the title) there was no recording available at all. Then the 1957 Bohm recording was reissued on Heliodor and Kempe's RPO version was issued to great acclaim. I bought both, and I think the sales of the Kempe were good at the time. The market could sustain only two. Now there have been over sixty (60) recordings of the work. There can be very few who are like me and want to buy them all (and I am still trying to find a cheap source orf the Marcello Rota and Bartholomee recordings). If we assume that Richard Strauss's tone poems are as popular now as they were in the late '60s, how can the market sustain 30 x the number of recordings of the same work?

Yes, I too have often thought along the same lines. Yet you only have to look at the huge number of new releases churned out each month - the latest MDT listing carried 467 items - so somebody must be buying them!

[Roehre]

On the general topic of CD sales, I am surprised that any company can make any profit at all selling classical recordings. Back in 1965, when I first heard about one of my favourite works (of which I am certain you can guess the title) there was no recording available at all. Then the 1957 Bohm recording was reissued on Heliodor and Kempe's RPO version was issued to great acclaim. I bought both, and I think the sales of the Kempe were good at the time. The market could sustain only two. Now there have been over sixty (60) recordings of the work. There can be very few who are like me and want to buy them all (and I am still trying to find a cheap source orf the Marcello Rota and Bartholomee recordings). If we assume that Richard Strauss's tone poems are as popular now as they were in the late '60s, how can the market sustain 30 x the number of recordings of the same work?

In 1960 not one complete Mahler cycle by one conductor was available, and in 1970 iirc only 5 (Bernstein, Kubelik, Solti, Haitink, Abravanel).

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

In 1960 not one complete Mahler cycle by one conductor was available, and in 1970 iirc only 5 (Bernstein, Kubelik, Solti, Haitink, Abravanel).

I recall a time when Alder's Saga recording was the only available version of Mahler 6.

[mathias broucek]

In 1960 not one complete Mahler cycle by one conductor was available, and in 1970 iirc only 5 (Bernstein, Kubelik, Solti, Haitink, Abravanel).

I wonder if the explanation is partly a function of price. I can remember boxed sets that cost £30-£50 in the mid 1980s when I started collecting. Today, boxed sets cost less in nominal terms and vastly less as a % of pay. For example, in the last few years I've purchased several Mahler cycles all for less (sometimes much less) than £30.

BTW I think several of those cycles were finished during the decade of the 1970s so the position in 1970 itself would have been even less promising

[amateur51]

I used to have this model ...

http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/sony-d-ej021-cd-walkman-silver-00853665-pdt.html?intcmpid=display~RR~Audio~00853665

and very good it was too, but I seem to have misplaced it in my move 3 years ago

A fast battery re-charger and better earphones became a necessity too.

[Ferretfancy]

The truth is that we should actually be paying more for our CDs if we want to be able to collect quality music in good sound. As it is,record shops are closing all over the country, and not just because of the recession.In the end, the only music available will appear as downloads, and I for one deeply regret that. Bargains are all very well, even for Mahler, but I have a sneaking feeling that we might appreciate our music a little more if buying it was a higher drain on the pocket. I find myself acquiring what are sometimes superfluous duplicates just because I see them, not because I really need them.

I don't think I'm being nostalgic when I remember thinking carefully before buying what became a treasured LP, and that was the time when my musical experiences really grew.

[cloughie]

The truth is that we should actually be paying more for our CDs if we want to be able to collect quality music in good sound. As it is,record shops are closing all over the country, and not just because of the recession.In the end, the only music available will appear as downloads, and I for one deeply regret that. Bargains are all very well, even for Mahler, but I have a sneaking feeling that we might appreciate our music a little more if buying it was a higher drain on the pocket. I find myself acquiring what are sometimes superfluous duplicates just because I see them, not because I really need them.

I don't think I'm being nostalgic when I remember thinking carefully before buying what became a treasured LP, and that was the time when my musical experiences really grew.

You have an excellent point - if you take inflation into account the Kletzki Mahler 1 on MFP back in 1965 cost the same as a complete cycle or Rattle's CBSO Mahler 2, when first out on CD cost more than the complete cycle now!