Starting a new site just for classical music, comments, suggestions...

TONEPUB · « **on:** 9 Apr 2008, 04:23 am »

A recent readers survey poll indicates that we have a fair number of classical music
enthusiasts among our readers and that they would like to see more classical coverage.

Our tech editor and resident classical expert/obsessive says he is more than up to
the task of supplying us with weekly or even 2-3 times a week worth of new content,
so we are going forward with it asap (probably about 6-8 weeks).

Any suggestions, things you'd like to see, or not? Now's the time to let us know!

thanks as always....

S Clark · « **Reply #1 on:** 9 Apr 2008, 07:28 pm »

Excellent! Most threads about music seem to gravitate more toward rock, which hasn't been my personal favorite for many years. I will make it a point to check this site daily.

I'd like to hear more about excellent performances, top recordings, etc.

richidoo · « **Reply #2 on:** 9 Apr 2008, 07:48 pm »

Classical music is my main listening preference, so I would enjoy reading music reviews with an audiophile slant. Most classical music reviews are not truly sound quality aware, giving 10 stars to everything recorded in the last ten years, and 8 to everything else. When listened to on a revealing system the 10 stars are rarely that good. I especially enjoy the Gramophone new release sample CD, I like to listen to it while reading the reviews in the magazine. Linking to short mp3 highlights of recordings under review would be helpful. Articles about audio products which are especially well suited for classical music reproduction (absolute tone) would be valuable - like powerful tube amps, ESL and high sensitivity speakers, acoustic diffusion, etc.
Thanks!
Rich

mfsoa · « **Reply #3 on:** 9 Apr 2008, 07:53 pm »

Maybe a "War-Horses" section, where famous, "essential" pieces that have multiple recordings can be discussed.

"Which version of XXXXXX should I get?"

or "What does the Joe Schmo version have that the Harry Putz one doesn't" etc.

or "Here's an interesting historical progression of recordings of the XXXXXXX Symphony"

An article like this may help newbs (like me) who want to get into classical but feel daunted by the choices of a particular work, or what works to pick from to form a good foundation for future growth.

-Mike

gerald porzio · « **Reply #4 on:** 9 Apr 2008, 08:01 pm »

It took a poll to discover that there are people interested in classical music?

TONEPUB · « **Reply #5 on:** 10 Apr 2008, 02:13 am »

Quote from: gerald porzio on 9 Apr 2008, 08:01 pm

It took a poll to discover that there are people interested in classical music?

No, what the poll showed us was that we only have 2% of our readers that listen to
classical music primarily. What the poll and associated data told us is that those
readers really enjoyed what we've been writing and they would love to see a site
dedicated strictly to classical, that they don't care about rock, jazz, etc.

What a number of potential advertisers told us was that they too are only interested
in the classical listener and nothing else, so we felt it could serve both parties if
we give them their own place to congregate. By making it a website, we can update
it much faster than in our magazine.

Even when we start
TONE Classical, Dan will still do one or two features a year for us and continue to
give us some content on audiophile pressings, but the bulk of our classical coverage
will be there.

He's a great resource. He's been an oboe and bassoon player all his life and has played
for a few minor symphonies as well. With a record collection of about 13 thousand albums
he's a classical maniac!

Dan said he will look forward to talking to you guys out here once the site is live
and try to answer your questions and share his enthusiasm.

I know next to nothing about classical, but since I've had Dan on board with the magazine, I've been
listening to Shostakovich, Bax and a lot of opera too! It really is contagious, so I think
it will be a lot of fun for our classical lovers.

It will probably be about 30-60 days till we are ready to start, but I will make an
announcement here as well as a bulk email to our subscribers...

TerryO · « **Reply #6 on:** 10 Apr 2008, 03:13 am »

Quote from: mfsoa on 9 Apr 2008, 07:53 pm

Maybe a "War-Horses" section, where famous, "essential" pieces that have multiple recordings can be discussed.

"Which version of XXXXXX should I get?"

or "What does the Joe Schmo version have that the Harry Putz one doesn't" etc.

or "Here's an interesting historical progression of recordings of the XXXXXXX Symphony"

An article like this may help newbs (like me) who want to get into classical but feel daunted by the choices of a particular work, or what works to pick from to form a good foundation for future growth.

-Mike

I think Mike has a good idea. Comparisons between different recordings of a Symphony can alert people to a version that they may want to listen to. I had a friend, that sadly passed away some years back, that had I believe 9 or 10 versions of Beethoven's 3rd Symp. that he would listen to with the score on his lap, as well as many others. He also composed pieces that the Seattle Symphony Orchestra would feature in some of their performances.

Might I suggest that perhaps a section for acoustic music might also be welcome. I know people that enjoy listening to some Bluegrass as well as Big Band music and "maybe" what some may term World Music.

Just a suggestion,
TerryO

As an avid speakerbuilder, I am often dismayed when someone evaluates a speaker using electronic music (or worse, Rap) instead of some form of acoustic music.

AliG · « **Reply #7 on:** 10 Apr 2008, 03:29 am »

Yes yes yes... I love classical music..

I quite enjoy reading "Better Records" website for their classical LP recommendations. I am sure TONEAudio can do just as well or even better!

TONEPUB · « **Reply #8 on:** 10 Apr 2008, 06:36 am »

Terry:

This site will be just classical. But we are expanding the music sections both in TONE Audio magazine
and in TONE Audio online very soon, so we will have more for you there!

brj · « **Reply #9 on:** 10 Apr 2008, 07:37 am »

It will be interesting to see how his recording recommendations for a given work compare against the Penguin Guide and the Gramophone Guide. I bought both a couple of years ago to see how well they cross-referenced, and didn't find nearly as much agreement as I'd hoped. In addition, both seem to consider recordings from only the larger publishers, leaving out many of the smaller, but often highly regarded companies.

Images · « **Reply #10 on:** 10 Apr 2008, 08:40 am »

As an old roadie, I have heard enough rock n roll to last three life times. Orchestral renderings seem now to be about the only thing that satisfy me, and the better my system gets, the less my ears will tolerate most popular music. That is kind of a shame. I have a 13 year-old daughter who can't abide rap, but some of the popular vocalists she listens to actually have some remarkably insightful lyrics. This is surprising to an old goat like me who contends that with only a few exception, there really hasn't been any savvy social commentary or "real" rock n roll since 1973. (Blue Grass and "New Grass" are the exception to this rule.) Of course, all this is nonsense. I'm just displaying my musical biases.

I do not wish to bushwhack this thread. Above it was suggested that "...an interesting historical progression of recordings of the XXXXXXX Symphony" would be worthwhile. I quite agree. New compositions debuted by this or that orchestra would also be of value to me. Maybe I have not looked hard enough, but with the exception of a few not-well-known labels, new symphonic pieces go undiscovered.

TONEPUB · « **Reply #11 on:** 10 Apr 2008, 04:23 pm »

Actually, there is quite a bit of good new classical being released every week
and I know he wants to talk about that a lot.

However, there is some great stuff being re-released on LP too. It will be about
all selections of media. There is a lot of great SACD being produced in Europe too.

I don't think it will center much on the hard to get or extremely expensive
LP's, because that is pretty limiting. Where Dan has really been a resource
for us has been with his extensive collection, he has been able to compare the
re-releases to the originals, which he still has in pristine shape.

I know he is very excited about the new EMI Testament releases, available
at Acoustic Sounds. I bought a few of them for this issue and he told me
that they are 95% as good as the originals if not the equal. So that's great
news for people that don't have $500 apiece to buy albums with.

ricmon · « **Reply #12 on:** 10 Apr 2008, 04:49 pm »

Not to be obnoxious but what's "classical" music? Many people many cultures. Who says whats whats? This notion of the default I find somewhat limited.

Thebiker · « **Reply #13 on:** 10 Apr 2008, 05:57 pm »

I have to put in a vote for Mike's proposal about recommending different recordings by different musicians/symphonies of more popular compositions. I have been listening to classical for a long time and I still "discover" composers that I don't know well (or at all). And allowing for changing tastes as time moves along, I begin to appreciate things that I haven't in the past.

So, going out to make a classical purchase, unless you have particular conductors or symphonies that you already prefer (and many times your faves didn't record what you are looking for), it can be difficult to find a good recording or version of a new to you piece of music.

Walt

TONEPUB · « **Reply #14 on:** 10 Apr 2008, 06:51 pm »

Quote from: gerald porzio on 10 Apr 2008, 05:42 pm

You're asking someone who just learned to tie his shoes what constitutes classical music????????????

Why don't you wait to see what kind of content we feature before you start criticizing what
we've done.

woodsyi · « **Reply #15 on:** 10 Apr 2008, 07:05 pm »

Jeff,

Make sure you put some Opera selections in there.

TONEPUB · « **Reply #16 on:** 10 Apr 2008, 07:46 pm »

Will do! I am starting to love opera myself and I know
Dan is a huge opera enthusiast...

saisunil · « **Reply #17 on:** 10 Apr 2008, 09:33 pm »

I would love to see wide classical music coverage including:
Opera
Chamber
Orchestra
Solo
and especially conver ancient and current/modern compositions
etc.

Also, please cover both old and new recordings along with a comparison of various recordings based on musical styles, emotional connection and the audiophile qualities.

It will be important to cover 20th and 21st century composers.
For example: last year I bought my first Joan Towers CD - "Made in America"
http://www.amazon.com/Joan-Tower-Made-America/dp/B000OQDRWI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1207862385&sr=8-1
Music is amazing. For me it is an excellent example of music of our times that does not lose its classical roots...

Would you be also covering eastern and middle eastern classical.
Indian Classical Music is very rich and spiritual. It seems to me that a lot of ancient music has classical roots or visa versa.
I love Zakir Hussain's Tabla and would love to find out about his other recordings
http://www.amazon.com/Making-Music-Zakir-Hussain/dp/B0000260YC/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1207863085&sr=1-3

I recently picked up Ancient Turkish music by Al Kindi
http://www.amazon.com/Ottoman-Perfumes-Ensemble-Al-Kindi/dp/B000IXZ798/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1207862646&sr=1-1

Al Kindi pushed all music buttons for me:
Audiophile, acoustic, ancient, current, musical, emotional, spiritual, enjoyable, exotic, ...

Thanks

TONEPUB · « **Reply #18 on:** 10 Apr 2008, 09:41 pm »

That's really the hardest part about approaching classical music if you
are new to it...

When you type Beethoven in to Amazon, you get about 3500 titles!

The good news is that there will always be plenty to write about....

jimdgoulding · « **Reply #19 on:** 14 Apr 2008, 12:49 pm »

What everybody has said. I'll participate. Think I've got some gems and am interested in what others have to say. You bet.