Bargains

[Dave2002]

Do the FLACs play with VLC, which is free?
https://www.videolan.org/

Just tried this - it works.

I have had VLC for years, but don't use it much. Mine is version 3.0.12 (Intel 64 bit). Maybe I should check to see if there's a newer version.

FWIW the FLAC is almost certainly better in this case.

Some of the downloads from Classic Select World are mp3 only, but last year it looked as though many were being released in Flac format.
I think it's definitely worth going for the Flacs vs mp3 if there is a choice, though sometimes one or the other doesn't work well, so I often download both formats.

In the past I did check out different mp3 players, and there were one or two which were definitely better IMO - giving better sound, which was my main interest.
However gradually most players seemed to converge on similar SQ.

I know that some people claim to hear different SQ with other players, such as Flac players - and I'm not suggesting that they don't.
In my case I found a couple of CD players which definitely gave different results repeatedly on some CDs.

Those "objective" or "subjective" group tests don't show up issues, as so many people get used to a kind of average mush - and so few people are aware of the points in a recording which stand out, or makes it worth listening to.

Which brings me back to one particular point about this free Rachmaninov Flac - listening again [right now] it still has a flow and momentum which is like a very good live performance - so go for it!

Definitely also try the Flac version.

[Dave2002]

Coincidentally, I had already acquired that recording via a previous Classic Select weekly freebie a couple years ago (now costs £1 for 10 hours' worth). I had also never heard of him but discovered that he won the Van Cliburn Competition in 1973. Big Piano Concertos Box sounds naff and it's mp3 only, but it is an interestingly eclectic collection, well worth investigating.

Do try the Flac version - if you can still get it for free. It's probably not going to be perfect to your ears, but should be better than the mp3s of the compilation - which I almost certainly also have.

I think this link still shows it as available: https://www.classicselectworld.com/s...o&_ss=e&_v=1.0

[cloughie]

Currently Naxos downloads from just over £2 for mp3s from Chandos!

https://www.chandos.net/labels/Naxos/70

[Cockney Sparrow]

Currently Naxos downloads from just over £2 for mp3s from Chandos!

https://www.chandos.net/labels/Naxos/70

Or push the boat out - for an extra 22p, as a Lossless FLAC Download...........

[gurnemanz]

Those still doing downloads may be interested in this new Beethoven Complete String Quartets from the Dover Quartet, a young ensemble from the US. A bargain for sure from Presto and, with some enthusiastic reviews online, I think I will take a punt.

[HighlandDougie]

Those still doing downloads may be interested in this new Beethoven Complete String Quartets from the Dover Quartet, a young ensemble from the US. A bargain for sure from Presto and, with some enthusiastic reviews online, I think I will take a punt.

Great spot for which many thanks. FLAC files seamlessly downloaded as a Zip file, which, when opened, lists the quartets in opus/movement order. But, when I transferred the file to my wretched Aurender NAS, it has scrambled them. So I'll have to create separate folders then transfer them. A mindless occupation which will at least take my mind off the ghastly weather here in Scotland.

[gurnemanz]

Those still doing downloads may be interested in this new Beethoven Complete String Quartets from the Dover Quartet, a young ensemble from the US. A bargain for sure from Presto and, with some enthusiastic reviews online, I think I will take a punt.

PS Presto don't include booklets but they can be downloaded for each volume from the Cedille label's website.

[Dave2002]

Opera depot currently has a freebie of an earlier version of Don Giovanni by Colin Davis - from 1973.

Of possible interest to some is a version of Cosi sung in English, conducted by Alexander Gibson - from 1969.
Featuring Elizabeth Harwood, Janet Baker and John Shirley Quirk.

https://operadepot.com/collections/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart

[smittims]

Thanks, Dave, I hadn't heard of that English Cosi. Always good to hear J. Sh-Q, though Janet Baker (who sang it in Italian in a 1970s Philips LP version with Colin Davis) didn't efface memories of Nan Merriman in the glorious Karajan recording.

Chandos did a fine one with Sir Charles Mackerras in 2008, the cast being the divine Janice Watson (aaah!) and

Diana Montague, Christopher Maltman, Toby Spence, Lesley Garrett (I kid you not) amd Tom Allen. Quite a cast. Oh, and it's HIPP too, with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment.

Cosi is, I think, one of the few Mozart operas that gains in English because of the wit in the libretto.

[Hitch]

If anyone here fancies buying a big box, Chandos is selling its "Landmarks - 40 Years of Chandos" collection of 40 CDs for just £16.50 plus postage. The same box is £77.25 at Presto and £54.17 at Amazon.

https://www.chandos.net/products/catalogue/ANNI%200040#CD

[Hitch]

A rather soggy Chandos parcel arrived this morning, handed over by a similarly damp but friendly postman. (I hope he managed to dry out later.) Fortunately, Chandos had encased the set in two layers of cardboard and there was no damage. Well done to all concerned.

[teamsaint]

A rather soggy Chandos parcel arrived this morning, handed over by a similarly damp but friendly postman. (I hope he managed to dry out later.) Fortunately, Chandos had encased the set in two layers of cardboard and there was no damage. Well done to all concerned.

That was a great bargain, but I already had one. I bet Bryn picked a few up for presents, as he tends to.

[Dave2002]

That was a great bargain, but I already had one. I bet Bryn picked a few up for presents, as he tends to.

I am wondering about this - if it's still available - as a present for someone else. Looking at the 30 Year box set, is there really much difference? The 30 year box set had a very similar selection, though presumably with an extra 10 years to choose from there are some differences and/or additions.

[Dave2002]

I am wondering about this - if it's still available - as a present for someone else. Looking at the 30 Year box set, is there really much difference? The 30 year box set had a very similar selection, though presumably with an extra 10 years to choose from there are some differences and/or additions.

Looking at the offerings on Amazon, it seems that there is some duplication, but there are also some new offerings, and maybe some items from the previous box have been dropped.

[crb11]

I am wondering about this - if it's still available - as a present for someone else. Looking at the 30 Year box set, is there really much difference? The 30 year box set had a very similar selection, though presumably with an extra 10 years to choose from there are some differences and/or additions.

The 40 year box has 17 in common with the 30 year one (1-18 except 15) and 23 new ones. Enough that I'm tempted to buy it, but probably won't. The new box is arranged chronologically rather than alphabetically, which I think is a backward step.