That will work fine. I do the same but keep iTunes and the library files on my laptop's hard drive. It might just be the model of ext. HD I have (Western Digital My Book), but iTunes sometimes had difficulty writing to the library database files when they were on the external hard drive. Dunno...

Thanks guys. I don't have the hard drive yet, but this gives me some confidence.

Hi. I'm sure this has been asked before, but I couldn't trawl up any relevant threads with the search. Is it OK to put external hard drives near to audio equipment, or is there some kind of detrimental interference between the two? In my case, it's a Headroom MicroStack and a Western...

It's hard to know what you mean by "rock-like" classical, but Stravinksy's The Rite of Spring is brash, exciting, foward, colourful, accessible, slightly jazzy and a brilliant piece of music. Other than 20th century stuff, some baroque music is fairly rocksteady. The Brandenburg Concertos...

Quote: Originally Posted by virometal Interesting thread with some great thought - out of depth for me! I viewed Pan's Labyrinth today and thought it was brilliant. It was easily the best movie I've seen from 06, and I've watched the usual suspects. I was hoping Gamemako or anyone...

Classical too, but you probably should have put "Folk" as an option on that list... Also, I think you might be unfairly biasing the poll against people who like rock music - they'll be split between Rock, Alternative and Indie at the very least. But could be an interesting poll.

A couple of thoughts. First, it's not completely true to say Bach was paid by a group of discerning rich people who liked his music. He was for a great part of his life paid a salary by the church for a job which included some teaching and of course officiating over church ceremonies. He...

Woah, I had no idea. I'll check that recording out. Emma Kirkby is of course also great at 16th/17th c. English songs.

I've been a fan of Dowland for some years, and I quite like Sting's approach. It's clear that he likes the music and is performing it honestly in the best way he can. His voice is not well controlled, not used to such dynamic music maybe, and he hasn't been able to shed himself of that poppish...

I endorse this appreciation thread My latest discovery in this mind-blowing field is Charles Wuorinen - explosive, atonal, vital - got a Naxos disc, "Six Trios" - certainly on the accessible side, a collection of short works for some sadly underrepresented trio combinations (including a...

Hehe yeah - the Swingle Singers. I think the "Blute nur" from the Matthew Passion is the best one on that disc. For my money two of their 60s Bach albums are the best - I think you can get them both as a single CD called "Jazz Sebastian Bach". I find their Bach tends to work the best, maybe...

kwohy - good recommendations. While I love the Mozart Requiem and agree it fulfills the dark, layered, emotional criteria, I don't think it's something for someone who doesn't like singing. By all means kwitel, fire away with this poster's other recs! What about Elgar's Cello Concerto? I...

Quote: Originally Posted by kwitel Sounds like the music is right up my alley but definitely not into vocals. Okies, not for you then.

If you like Glass, Reich et al, you may like John Adams if you don't already know him, although I wouldn't call him especially dark or emotional. For that kind of thing, and also as an introduction to Bach (who, if you get into him, will provide all manner of wondrous satisfaction for the...

Quote: Originally Posted by milkpowder People here seem to like Harmonia mundi a lot. I suggest you look at their discs. Proprius also seems to have a very high consistency in quality. I think for early music and the baroque, Harmonia Mundi is pretty much on top of the field right...

Well, you're right about the elements that go into the mix bar one - cost. So here's some discs I love, with cheap alternatives in some cases! I assume you mean classical in the widest sense. Also, I'll try and keep it small and relatively accessible. These are some of the "warhorses", with...

Quote: Originally Posted by proglife Come hang out with me for a night. I have plenty of stuff that makes you want to jump for the OFF button. But if you sit there long enough and you allow yourself the time, you start to get something out of it. It couldn't be any less "pleasant" or...

Second the Bach Matthaus-Passion recommendation. Also, try Monteverdi's Vespro della beata virgine

As far as I am concerned, it can either be (1) entertainment or (2) art and entertainment. I haven't yet come across a piece of music that was "only" art - there isn't much music that's written without the intention of being played and appreciated. As to whether it's an artform in comparison to...

It's hard to go wrong with Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro or Don Giovanni; or with Monteverdi's L'Orfeo (which can reasonably claim to be the first opera ever written).

I use both Windows and Mac computers. Windows XP is the best Windows operating system yet, and very useable indeed. However, I find MacOSX more fun to use. There is a wealth of free or cheap Mac software for all sorts of tasks (browsers - Camino, chat clients - Adium, IRC - Colloquoy...

redshifter, I was just about to link that! Brilliant article.

Andreas Scholl Thomas Quasthoff Ian Bostridge Franz-Josef Selig Mark Padmore

Quote: Originally Posted by Uncle Erik So try classical, jazz... Yeah, jazz is an excellent choice too, and in some ways easier to get into coming from rock than classical. You might have some of the old warhorses in that 500 album list, I didn't read all the way through ^^, but...

This might be a good time to really get into classical music. If you do, it will be quite a while before you come to a musical standstill again. Perhaps I can recommend these: 1. Mozart - Requiem 2. Bach - St John Passion 3. John Adams - Shaker Loops The first two of those are...