http://www.theoperaplatform.eu/en/opera I read about this web site on the NYT today. Takes a bit of patience to navigate, but once you get your stream started, seems to be stable, and in good quality audio/video   BTW there is a lot more classical music streaming on demand on the related Arte...

http://www.stereophile.com/content/keith-o-johnson-reference-recordings you won't find any diatribe about formats or sampling rates in here, but a lot of insight on what goes into making a reference recording and what gets lost in the process of releasing it commercially     Couple of quotes...

Pino Daniele left us yesterday night. He was the leading voice of the '80s renaissance of Neapolitan music, and a bluesman       A few of my favourites http://youtu.be/jXwazE2GLIE?list=RDjXwazE2GLIE http://youtu.be/f6zK8lKTovs?list=RDjXwazE2GLIE...

the Gramophone awards are considered the Oscars of classical music, and, just like for the Oscars, the winners are usually professional, middle-of-the-road performances, with a marked anglo-saxon bias. Not this time: I am listening to the 2013 Record of the year, a French recording, of a...

http://www.arkivmusic.com/classical/listPage.jsp?list_id=2971&page_size=100&page_type=4&site_id=E1059   some seriously good deal, like the HM Lumieres collection for about $1/CD. I paid almost as much for the Nozze di Figaro recording that opens the collection!! They also have back in...

You may think you have heard enough performances of Daphnis et Chloe, between the two suites and the full ballet (Charles Munch on "Living Stereo" is one of the reference recordings).   Well, you haven't, at least not until you check this one out...

nice freebie from WXQR http://www.wqxr.org/#/programs/carnegie/2011/nov/16/   I own (and like) the Gardiner Beethoven Symphonies boxset but this live performance (of the 5th esp) is better IMO: you hear the same transparency and superior technique of the CD (even Szell would have been...

as they often do close to Christmas, Naive has bundled six  CDs in a (very) attractively priced box ($30): http://www.arkivmusic.com/albumpage/652148-E901-5   In there you will find 1) the reference recording of Vivaldi's Four Seasons, 2) one of the top five recordings of Bach...

Alessandrini's Concerto Italiano is probably the best name in town when it comes to Vivaldi music. Usually their Naive Classique recordings are on the expensive side, but I just saw amazon is about to release a $16.75 4-disc box-set  which includes the exceptional Vespri the so-so Concerti...

this appeared as a Roku channel a couple of weeks ago, and they also have a web presence http://www.classicaltv.com/   Lots of good pay-per-view stuff in there like the recent MET Dessay/Florez Sonnambula http://www.classicaltv.com/v994/pay-per-view-videos/bellini-la-sonnambula but also...

if you are at all into Handel music, or if you just can't resist a bargain, run to amazon and purchase this   The two Oratorios sell separately for $25 each and they are so extraordinary that they are a steal even at that price. BUT there is a German z-shop selling this elegant box set...

just got this for my b'day     Very well made collection of classic jazz albums, mainly from Sony/Columbia, in good quality  cardboard sleeves with a replica of the original jacket and with a well made booklet with all track lists and production information. Here is the complete track...

a few weeks ago I was reading on Fanfare a feature article about Gianluca Luisi, a young Italian pianist who may be the best Bach pianist you have never heard of.   Googling around I found on archive.org a number of recordings he did for the onclassical.com label. While I type I am listening...

 I've just bought a pair of RE0s for traveling. Today I tried to connect the RE0s to my laptop, and to my surprise I started hearing (and, with the small tips, feeling!) electrical sparks in my left ear canal. They would stop as soon as I moved the tip inside the ear, and occasionally start...

How Digital Music Can Fight Climate Change but I am going to stick to plastic

subscribers to the Gramophone mailing list know this already, but I think it is worth posting the link to the new (beta) archive of every single issue of Gramophone from 1923 to present: Gramophone Archive it is free (with registration) and although somewhat slow seems to be well implemented...

here it is: Super Discounts on PentaTone Classics - February 2009 | ArkivMusic My wallet is still recovering from a recent hit, courtesy of Berkshire Record Outlet, but I think I am going to grab the two Berlioz recordings.

Berkshire Record Outlet just restocked a few dozen interesting Telarc titles for $4/CDs, $5/SACD. If you are looking for some vividly recorded symphonic music have a look at Berkshire Record Outlet - Bargain Classical Music

today I noticed that most of the 50+ albums I had in my yourmusic queue have disappeared, and that this month they'll send me what was my fourth choice. In particular all classical CDs, except for some Hyperion ones, are gone. It looks like Universal Classics pulled most of their titles (DGG...

I visited this web site a few months ago, it had a month-by-month list of future releases of classical DVDs. Does anyone know its URL?

is about to come out in the US. It received (surprise, surprise) 10/10 from Robert Levine on classicstoday. More interesting is a making-of video found on youtube (and apparently not in the initial release) where you can hear a good 15' of the recording and see that the recording was mixed...

can someone please send me a link to (or a copy of) the K701 service manual? I searched the forums and found mention of a pdf file but I could not find it on the AKG web site (or with google).

Brilliant Classics does it again: after Mozart and Bach (and Chopin) here comes the Beethoven complete works box set. Not only it's the usual bargain but the list of the performers (found on amazon.fr) is really good. full track list, notice the extra 15 CDs of historic recordings!

since quite a few headfiers are also members of www.lala.com, I think it would be nice if we posted a link to our public "karma" pages here to promote some trading among us. Let's start with my lala page (user name is calaf, just like here). P.S. To allow other members to browse your "Want...

Pearls Before Breakfast