Apple's iTunes music store continues to expand. They announce new music on Tuesdays, but the expansion seems constant. The classical selections are still weak (but stronger than most stores at this point), but there are already more items than I can afford. The store will be very interesting if it grows past a few million items.
Wilhelm Furtwängler's Beethoven Symphonies is there for a modest $36.99. Although not the place to start a Beethoven collection, these are historically important performances by an important conductor. (note - I am not a musician, but have rather strong preferences - my comments are free and you get what you pay for)
I have the LPs of these recordings and note that some of the recordings are relatively primitive. If you are looking for your first set I would track down the DGG Karl Boehm performance in the early 1970s.
Of course one can specialize... there is no substitute for hearing classical music live, but a fan tends to compare many recordings. In grad school I used to check out recordings from the music library and had a familiarity with most of the well known performances. In my mind the most difficult Beethoven symphony to nail is the sixth and there are only three recordings I can recommend .. The Berlin Philharmonic with Cluyten (a 1955 mono recording now released on Testament) is fine as is Klemperer's 1957 performance with the Philharmonia (on EMI). The best is an amazing performance by Boehm and the Vienna Philharmonic (on DGG). Karl Boehm strikes me as a very underrated conductor and he completely nails the sixth here. I would give quite a bit to hear a live performance at this level.
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Classical music is in serious trouble. None of the major symphonies has a major recording contract at this point and sales of CDs represent less than 2% of the market (and half of that is from speciality pop pieces like the Four Tenors). Shelf space is evaporating, good radio stations are shutting down and a whole generation is without the joy of experiencing this type of music.
It is my belief that the Internet represents a way to help save it. Rich libraries could be put online and communities could form to help guide people through the art. It is by no means certain that this will happen, but I'll be much happier if iTunes has a dozen versions of Beethoven symphonies, the back catalog of TCO and recent live performances from the concert halls of the planet.
It is nice to dream...
5:50:47 AM 
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