An update to this thread. I'm lucky enough to have this available via my County Library Service - FOR FREE! But - if your County Lib does not provide, then if you can get to the Barbican Library in London, - at the time of writing there is no residential requirement to join the Barbican library. Or maybe you nearest Library service that provides it does not have a residential requirement? Educational institutions may provide access, or it can be subscribed to. You do have to enter Library card numbers at present, and go in via your Library link. (And BTW try omitting letters at the beginning and / or end of card nos if it doesn't work first time).
The Library has an astonishing spread of labels. Notable omissions include Hyperion and Testament, Phillips and others (I think eg ECM).
Just by googling, and finding the home page, you can get a 15 minute trial very easily, just by clicking through). Look for the Box down the right of the page "Free Preview".
There is a label list on the ring menu (grey bar across the web page) near the top. Also on the ring menu there is advanced search. Be persistent with searches, particularly if searching for a recording on a label listed as being there. Try just the label plus one other criteria. Or any two criteria. Or just the label, and then choose the letter selection for composer. Try to find the catalogue number by Googling etc if you can. Try entering that on the Catalogue search tab of Advanced search. Try just the numbers and see what comes up. Try jugging with spaces between letters and numbers.
When entering the search boxes, then matches come up - useful for composers names etc. But when entering works or catalogue numbers, beware - even if you see what appears to be a match, it might be better to enter less characters manually and ensure you press the search button (by using a match offered in the pop up you might be limiting the search and missing your target). By persistence I've found many recordings, often those cited on this forum, which initially didn't show up.
Other advantages - a good percentage of the recordings have PDF booklets. You can set up personal playlists to retrieve what you have found if you end up using it much, might be useful. There is a guide to using playlists there, if followed carefully then you can store the details of your researches in folders, and then playlists. (One tip - set up a Folder first, for a main heading (e.g "Beethoven Symphonies" before you go into a recording and select save in a playlist).
As to quality, they say the standard streaming rate provided via Libraries is 128 Kbps (edit Aug 2018 - upgraded from 64kbs late 2016**). If you subscribe, you can pay a higher subscription for 320Kbps (edit - upgraded from 128kbs, as above**). I have no criticism of the replay quality, and have yet to try any comparison against a download or CD. In any case, it’s a great facility for try before you buy (or attempt to find) and for many recordings I am content to add them to my playlist for future re-visit (for example the Gibson Sibelius cycle on Chandos; the Bluebell Bjorling recordings).
I do hope this continues to be supported by Naxos, it’s a great resource.
The Library has an astonishing spread of labels. Notable omissions include Hyperion and Testament, Phillips and others (I think eg ECM).
Just by googling, and finding the home page, you can get a 15 minute trial very easily, just by clicking through). Look for the Box down the right of the page "Free Preview".
There is a label list on the ring menu (grey bar across the web page) near the top. Also on the ring menu there is advanced search. Be persistent with searches, particularly if searching for a recording on a label listed as being there. Try just the label plus one other criteria. Or any two criteria. Or just the label, and then choose the letter selection for composer. Try to find the catalogue number by Googling etc if you can. Try entering that on the Catalogue search tab of Advanced search. Try just the numbers and see what comes up. Try jugging with spaces between letters and numbers.
When entering the search boxes, then matches come up - useful for composers names etc. But when entering works or catalogue numbers, beware - even if you see what appears to be a match, it might be better to enter less characters manually and ensure you press the search button (by using a match offered in the pop up you might be limiting the search and missing your target). By persistence I've found many recordings, often those cited on this forum, which initially didn't show up.
Other advantages - a good percentage of the recordings have PDF booklets. You can set up personal playlists to retrieve what you have found if you end up using it much, might be useful. There is a guide to using playlists there, if followed carefully then you can store the details of your researches in folders, and then playlists. (One tip - set up a Folder first, for a main heading (e.g "Beethoven Symphonies" before you go into a recording and select save in a playlist).
As to quality, they say the standard streaming rate provided via Libraries is 128 Kbps (edit Aug 2018 - upgraded from 64kbs late 2016**). If you subscribe, you can pay a higher subscription for 320Kbps (edit - upgraded from 128kbs, as above**). I have no criticism of the replay quality, and have yet to try any comparison against a download or CD. In any case, it’s a great facility for try before you buy (or attempt to find) and for many recordings I am content to add them to my playlist for future re-visit (for example the Gibson Sibelius cycle on Chandos; the Bluebell Bjorling recordings).
I do hope this continues to be supported by Naxos, it’s a great resource.
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