[zowie]

Browing amazon the past week, I was amazed by some of the classical boxed sets that have come out the past two or three years.  Large sets of first rate performances on major domestic and import labels with prices between about .50 and $3 per disc, at least if you shop around a little.
 
Last night I was looking at the Puccini sets that came out for his 150th anniversary.  There is a 10 cd set of Decca's early LP era, an 11 CD set of Decca's later CD era, a 20cd set from RCA and a 17cd set from EMI all at budget to super-budget prices.
 
A 22 cd set of Stravinsky by Stravinsky on Sony/BMG is available for less than $30.
 
A 30 cd set of Elgar on EMI for ~$50.
 
51 CD set of Menuhin on EMI for $65.
 
50 CD Harmonia Mundi box (a near-audiophile label) for under $100 until it sold out.
 
88 CDs of Karajan for the price of 13 Beatles CDs, so it is not something inherent to the fading CD format.
 
I'd grown to expect large cheap sets from low quality import labels that may be schnookying the copyright holders, or out of copyright historical recordings in poor sound.
 
Many have commented about how great this is for the consumer.  I heartily agree.  But i see a dark side to that coin.
 
What does it say about our society when blatantly, sometimes shamelessly, profit-oriented companies have to all but give away our great cultural treasures for barely more than the cost of production and distribution?

 

[Lex2]

If you look at Sony in the US, for example, classical sales accounts for less than 2-3% of their market. The percentage is somewhat higher in Europe and Asia, especially South Korea and Japan. Someone such as Hilary Hahn would be pushing probably less than 1000 CDs per week, which is a miniscule quantity. This is a niche market in every sense of the word, and probably dwindling as well. I would assume that classical artisits get the bulk of their income from live performances. But is classical music dead? Probably never, but some orchestras and ensembles (such as the LSO) have redefined the market by self publishing their work.

 

[bigshot]

I think they realize that classical fans are more serious collectors than most other genres. They're more apt to buy a complete set than individual disks when it comes to back catalog. The music is public domain and they probably aren't paying royalties to the performers any more, so the cost of manufacture can't be high. I'm sure they are still making money, And they've driven the third party pd sets off the market by competing with them.

 

[zowie]

I was careful to say devalued rather than dead, which it certainly is not.  Given the seriousness and dedication of classical music fans (and, I would surmise, the relatively smaller impact digital file delivery has on that market compared to other genres), why is that labels have to charge bargain-basement prices to move product?  In America one of the best measures of how we value things is what people will pay for them, and we know it's the practice of the big labels to earn as much as they can.  They're not giving away other genres at these prices -- and some, like folk music, are also pd compositions.  The point about competing with pd sets is interesting though.
 
[As an aside, I think the only new classical recordings (vs. new reissues or used vinyl) I've bought during the last two years were Hilary Hahn.]

 

[KingStyles]

I think that another reason that it may be cheaper is the competition. By competition I mean that take Beethoven's 5th symphony, how many different conductors, orchestras, etc versions are there. A lot. The Beatles don't have 50 other groups all putting out a rendition of there albums. So in order to get sales, classical has to be reasonably priced so that we will look at different variations since there are usually so many good ones of each song. Also, a lot of the music and recordings has been around many years and they probably already made there money off of it. Putting them in box sets is just icing on the cake. I say this because the new releases still aren't cheap. The Beethoven vaska set wasn't cheap to buy per cd.

 

[mbhaub]

This concept of making recordings available at bargain prices is nothing new at all. Back in the LP era, many great recordings came out on Angel, Columbia, or RCA. Then a few years go by and the same recordings showed up on Seraphim, Odyssey, or Victrola. The pressings may not have been as good, but that was the nature of the LP beast. Companies recouped their costs of recording (or a lot of it) and then went for the mass market. It's the same story in books: hard bound, expensive for a year, then comes the cheap trade books or paperback.
 
What really frustrates me is if I had waited, I could have saved a fortune. I bought the Gergiev recordings of the Prokofiev operas for high prices when they came out. Now I can get them all for a pittance. Same with the Bernstein/Mahler sets. I justify it by thinking I'm supporting a business I really love and believe in.

 

[JohnFerrier]

Handsome concert halls are still being built.
 

 
Artist rendition of the soon to be completed Elbe Philharmonic Hall, Hamburg, Germany

 

[DeusEx]

Impressive.  Who's going to be the resident ensemble? (my first thought was Berlin, but Hamburg?..)

 

[JohnFerrier]

Good question. Deutsche Grammophon, I think, is headquartered in Hamburg. arkivmusic.com lists recordings for Hamburg State Philharmonic Orchestra and Hamburg Symphony Orchestra.
 
This is interesting . . . wikipedia uses flags indicating the nationality of members with the Berlin Philharmonic.
 

 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin_Philharmonic

 

[khaos974]

Another concert hall being built: The Philharmonie of Paris, The architecture is... peculiar.
 

 

[Cianyx]

 
Quote:

I think that another reason that it may be cheaper is the competition. By competition I mean that take Beethoven's 5th symphony, how many different conductors, orchestras, etc versions are there. A lot. The Beatles don't have 50 other groups all putting out a rendition of there albums. So in order to get sales, classical has to be reasonably priced so that we will look at different variations since there are usually so many good ones of each song. 

Yeah, I was thinking about that as well. I also would think it's due to the inherent nature of classical recordings. From personal experience, I've rarely seen any marketing for specific classical CD's. Since a lot of CD's are produced in bland, generic packaging, it would make sense that record companies are able to cut costs.
 

 

[JohnFerrier]

Quote:

Another concert hall being built: The Philharmonie of Paris, The architecture is... peculiar.
 
 

 Count me in on music being a multisensory experience!

 
How to value new orchestral music?
21st-century classical composers

 

[eyeresist]

Bear in mind that those cheap prices you cite are for second hand and remaindered stock. Plenty of people are willing to pay more for pristine product (myself included).
 
Those buildings are ugly! Stupid postmodern gimmick buildings, grumble.... The French one looks like it's already collapsed. And its interior might have looked really futuristic in 1965.

 

[JohnFerrier]

 

NY American Academy of Arts and Letters
 

Cleveland Masonic Auditorium
 
I like orchestral recordings from the above locations.
 
The Sydney Opera House look okay?

 

[Head Injury]

Speaking of cheapo classical, I'm strongly considering the 170 CD Mozart set. A whole $110 

 
The Philharmonie's concert hall looks incredible!