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  • Dave2002
    Full Member
    • Dec 2010
    • 18008

    Originally posted by Retune View Post
    Another ClassicSelectWorld free download:

    LISZT: Piano Concerto No. 1 In E Flat Major1 Allegro Maestoso 5:272 Quasi Adagio -- Allegretto Vivace -- Allegro Animato 4:273 Finale, Allegro Marziale Animato 8:22SAINT-SAENS: Piano Concerto No. 2 In G Minor, Op. 22 4 Andante Sostenuto 11:405 Allegro Scherzando 5:286 Presto 6:35  


    Liszt: Piano Concerto No. 1.
    Saint-Saëns: Piano Concerto No. 2.

    Emil Gilels, State Symphony Orchestra of the USSR, Kiril Kondrashin.

    Mono FLAC and mp3

    Vanguard Release from 1954:

    Looks like the recordings date to 1948-50:
    https://pianistdiscography.com/disco...amp;cdnum=7280
    There was a glitch with this one - but it was fixed I believe later on. Some of the sections were missing originally.

    This week there is a collection of some unusual Rachmaninov - and most likely in a much more modern recorded sound.

    Curiously the cover of the album refers to digital surround sound - but that's probably not what's on free offer here.

    Classical, Jazz, Pop, World and Country Music on CD, DVD, Digital Downloads and Blu-Ray at Great Prices! Featuring classical music by Mozart, Beethoven, Bach, Vivaldi and performances by Karajan, Bernstein, Bocelli, Callas, Perlman and more. Featuring jazz, classic pop and rock and roll from the 1950s and 1960s.

    Comment

    • Retune
      Full Member
      • Feb 2022
      • 312

      Originally posted by Dave2002 View Post

      There was a glitch with this one - but it was fixed I believe later on. Some of the sections were missing originally.

      This week there is a collection of some unusual Rachmaninov - and most likely in a much more modern recorded sound.

      Curiously the cover of the album refers to digital surround sound - but that's probably not what's on free offer here.

      https://www.classicselectworld.com/
      Glitches seem to be quite common with their free downloads! Though to be fair I've not had any problems with the stuff I've bought from them.

      Just grabbing the Rachmaninov:

      Cinq Études Tableaux (Five Picture Studies)(Orchestrated By Ottorino Respighi)1 La Mer Et Les Muettes (The Sea And The Gulls) - Lento Assai 7:222 La Foire (A Scene At A Fair) - Allegro Con Fuoco 1:523 March Funebre (Funeral March) - Lento (Lugubre) 6:444 Le Chaperon Rouge Et Le Loup (Little Red Riding Hood And The Wolf


      From the Discogs images, it looks like this was recorded in something called StereoSurround that came from technology developed for home theatre AV, and released on a conventional stereo CD. I've never heard of this process before, but supposedly if you have the right decoder it can be played in surround:




      'Listeners will hear the best possible sound, of course, when using a Shure HTS decoder or a Dolby ProLogic decoder. However, Shure claims that all listeners will benefit, even those with just stereo TVs. The Stereosurround system creates a greater depth of sound on regular stereo broadcasts. Any surround-sound decoder will reproduce all four channels encoded by Stereosurround.​'

      Would that also be expected to work with, say, a FLAC?

      Comment

      • Dave2002
        Full Member
        • Dec 2010
        • 18008

        Originally posted by Retune View Post

        Glitches seem to be quite common with their free downloads! Though to be fair I've not had any problems with the stuff I've bought from them.

        Just grabbing the Rachmaninov:

        ......

        Would that also be expected to work with, say, a FLAC?
        Assuming the CD surround process works - which has been questioned in the comments threads in the quoted articles - then FLAC should simply produce a version of the CD which would then work with the surround sound decoders, as it ought to be pretty much bit for bit equivalent to the CD.

        I used to think that making surround sound recordings was a "natural" process, involving using spatial microphones, so all that was required for distribution was a suitable multi-channel carrier system. However perhaps few recordings are actually made that way, and there's nowadays a lot of tinkering with the sound. Some of the DAWs and other tools used nowadays can do amazing things with audio sound tracks, so a considerable amount of reinterpretation can be done by mixing and mastering engineers. Is that a good thing?

        Maybe sometimes yes - but other times definitely not. Like photo editing/retouching remastering can completely ruin any authenticity present in the original source.

        Comment

        • Cockney Sparrow
          Full Member
          • Jan 2014
          • 2280

          50% Off DOWNLOADS this weekend.
          Given the wording below and as it doesn’t say “up to” this looks interesting (how much time have I got free until late on Sunday, I wonder?).
          We are thrilled to announce our Black Weekend Sale, offering a staggering 50% discount on all our albums from almost all our labels. This includes both new releases and our extensive back catalogue.
          https://www.eclassical.com/pages/selected-labels.html
          BIS Records; Harmonia Mundi; Naxos; Pentatone; Chandos; Mirare; Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra; LSO Live; Aparté

          Comment

          • HighlandDougie
            Full Member
            • Nov 2010
            • 3079

            Not quite with the breadth of the eclassical universe but, if physical CDs are your thing:



            Note that postage is free worldwide. I've just ordered the recent ICA Boult 2 CD coupling of V-W and Holst and some Antonini Haydn.

            Comment

            • HighlandDougie
              Full Member
              • Nov 2010
              • 3079

              Originally posted by Cockney Sparrow View Post
              50% Off DOWNLOADS this weekend.
              Given the wording below and as it doesn’t say “up to” this looks interesting (how much time have I got free until late on Sunday, I wonder?).
              We are thrilled to announce our Black Weekend Sale, offering a staggering 50% discount on all our albums from almost all our labels. This includes both new releases and our extensive back catalogue.
              https://www.eclassical.com/pages/selected-labels.html
              BIS Records; Harmonia Mundi; Naxos; Pentatone; Chandos; Mirare; Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra; LSO Live; Aparté
              As they seem to have stopped sending me emails, I missed this - possibly fortunately - so thanks for the heads-up, CS. This morning's BaL recommendation for less than £6 was, though, too much of a temptation so downloading as I type.

              Comment

              • Dave2002
                Full Member
                • Dec 2010
                • 18008

                Originally posted by HighlandDougie View Post

                As they seem to have stopped sending me emails, I missed this - possibly fortunately - so thanks for the heads-up, CS. This morning's BaL recommendation for less than £6 was, though, too much of a temptation so downloading as I type.
                Which was that?

                I have been buying quite a bit of stuff while it's on offer, but most reductions are less than 20% In the scheme of things it's much better to pay for the more expensive items or software which might have 40-50% reduction, as the items with smaller reductions will probably still be affordable later on. I did look to see if there are any good CD offers [I still prefer physical discs.] and even applying searches such as "CDs box sets classical" or "CDs box sets classical bernstein" didn't find many good reductions. There were some reallly old recordings [10CD boxes] from Membran or Documents - such as Ormandy or Beecham, but going back to recordings before 1940 doesn't seem good to me unless the performances are outstanding.

                Comment

                • HighlandDougie
                  Full Member
                  • Nov 2010
                  • 3079

                  Originally posted by Dave2002 View Post
                  Which was that?

                  I have been buying quite a bit of stuff while it's on offer, but most reductions are less than 20% In the scheme of things it's much better to pay for the more expensive items or software which might have 40-50% reduction, as the items with smaller reductions will probably still be affordable later on. I did look to see if there are any good CD offers [I still prefer physical discs.] and even applying searches such as "CDs box sets classical" or "CDs box sets classical bernstein" didn't find many good reductions. There were some reallly old recordings [10CD boxes] from Membran or Documents - such as Ormandy or Beecham, but going back to recordings before 1940 doesn't seem good to me unless the performances are outstanding.
                  Javier Perianes on a Harmonia Mundi album, "Jeux de Miroirs". As a hi-res download, it sounds much better than it did on Radio 3 this morning. Pace Louis Lortie (and BG), a deserving winner.

                  FNAC (no use for the UK, alas) had a few DG/Decca big boxes (Ingrid Haebler Legacy; Reinhard Goebel etc) at about 50% off. Pretty much zilch on Amazon that I could see.
                  Last edited by HighlandDougie; 25-11-23, 18:40.

                  Comment

                  • Dave2002
                    Full Member
                    • Dec 2010
                    • 18008

                    Originally posted by HighlandDougie View Post

                    Javier Perianes on a Harmonia Mundi album, "Jeux de Miroirs". As a hi-res download, it sounds much better than it did on Radio 3 this morning. Pace Louis Lortie (and BG), a deserving winner.

                    FNAC (no use for the UK, alas) had a few DG/Decca big boxes (Ingrid Haebler Legacy; Reinhard Goebel etc) at about 50% off. Pretty much zilch on Amazon that I could see.
                    Thanks. I'll check that out. I might have been interested in Haebler, but if no good in the UK will have to wait for another occasion. I've been spending too much on other things anyway - but trying to get the reductions into the 40-50% range.

                    Comment

                    • Dave2002
                      Full Member
                      • Dec 2010
                      • 18008

                      In this period of Black Friday and Cyber Monday - fancy names designed to entice us into buying too much stuff perhaps - it has been difficult to decide whether there are any really good CD bargains.

                      However I did spot a few which might be bargains, and might be worth considering, including the box set from Cecile Ousset - mostly 1980s EMI recordings - but a good range of works, the Warner Barbirolli box - even though it probably duplicates several individual and box sets I have already, and maybe Marin Alsop's Naxos set of Bernstein works.

                      I wasn't looking for anything too special, and most of my "money saving" efforts have been in other directions - and I've already spent too much - but to quote the words of someone sometimes close to me "I'm saving you money". Mmmm. I'll leave it there.

                      Comment

                      • Dave2002
                        Full Member
                        • Dec 2010
                        • 18008

                        Re post 8800, the Warner Barbirolli box probably was a bargain - for those who wanted it - as the price has now reverted to something close to £150. The Cecile Ousset box is still within affordable range, however, and I might still try for that. As I wrote earlier, money was spent [and arguably "saved"] in other areas.

                        Comment

                        • mathias broucek
                          Full Member
                          • Nov 2010
                          • 1303

                          Remy Ballot Bruckner 0-9 £10 or so for FLAC (16 bit) at Presto. Can't link as am travelling

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                          • crb11
                            Full Member
                            • Jan 2011
                            • 153

                            Originally posted by mathias broucek View Post
                            Remy Ballot Bruckner 0-9 £10 or so for FLAC (16 bit) at Presto. Can't link as am travelling
                            Link here. Insane price, particularly as you're getting about 10-15 extra minutes per symphony compared to the competition!

                            Comment

                            • gurnemanz
                              Full Member
                              • Nov 2010
                              • 7379

                              Originally posted by crb11 View Post

                              Link here. Insane price, particularly as you're getting about 10-15 extra minutes per symphony compared to the competition!
                              Snapped up the Bruckner. It could be a mistake, so not destined to stay at that price for long.

                              Also well worth snapping up is the latest freebie download from Classical Direct. Rimsky Scheherazade with Mario Rossi and Vienna State Opera Orchestra. Very early "stereo​" from 1956. It's a Vanguard Stereophonic Demonstration Disc, which sounds very good and was a top seller in its day. It also has the brilliant Miriam Solovieff on violin solo.

                              Comment

                              • AuntDaisy
                                Host
                                • Jun 2018
                                • 1603

                                Originally posted by gurnemanz View Post
                                Snapped up the Bruckner. It could be a mistake, so not destined to stay at that price for long.
                                This might be a silly question, but why are some of the Presto tracks marked as "Album only​" & in a somewhat random way?
                                Who would want to buy just part of a symphony?
                                Presumably the £10.50 FLAC has all the tracks for all the symphonies (& necessarily in the right order).

                                For example:

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