FMS-Blog : The Wildly Whimsical, Mostly Musical WebLog
Thursday, July 20, 2006
Classical CD Exchange
If you're into your classical music but don't want to pay the ever increasing prices charged by high street record stores or even 'specialist' music shops that seem to add another 10% to the cost, then it's probably worth looking to alternative places to get the music you're after.
Of course, a lot of recorded classical music finds its way to car-boot sales and market stalls but, not altogether surprisingly, these tend to be 3rd-hand, warped copies of Nigel Kennedy playing the Vivaldi Four Seasons. But there are other more reliable sources, including a thriving trade on Ebay. One other place you might want to look at is Steve Vasta's Classical CD Exchange that he runs via email based sales : his list currently holds some really good recordings for a relatively small charge, including recordings by the LPO, Linda Brava, BBC Welsh Symphony Orchestra etc. Of course, many of the pieces he offers on CD can be bought on the excellent NAXOS label but you might be interested in listening to versions other than those performed and recorded by Eastern European musicians - the NAXOS recordings are a really valuable resource but they do tend to have a certain musical 'flavour' unique to this label. You can contact Steve to get a list of recordings he has for sale on Stevevasta@aol.com*
Of course, you could cut out the middleman altogether and just listen to live performances and many great recordings 24/7 on BBC's Radio 3 - still truly a wonderful station for any serious music listener!
* FinishMySong, of course, has no business relationship with Steve or Classical CD Exchange, so any transaction you have with him is conducted at your own risk!
Of course, a lot of recorded classical music finds its way to car-boot sales and market stalls but, not altogether surprisingly, these tend to be 3rd-hand, warped copies of Nigel Kennedy playing the Vivaldi Four Seasons. But there are other more reliable sources, including a thriving trade on Ebay. One other place you might want to look at is Steve Vasta's Classical CD Exchange that he runs via email based sales : his list currently holds some really good recordings for a relatively small charge, including recordings by the LPO, Linda Brava, BBC Welsh Symphony Orchestra etc. Of course, many of the pieces he offers on CD can be bought on the excellent NAXOS label but you might be interested in listening to versions other than those performed and recorded by Eastern European musicians - the NAXOS recordings are a really valuable resource but they do tend to have a certain musical 'flavour' unique to this label. You can contact Steve to get a list of recordings he has for sale on Stevevasta@aol.com*
Of course, you could cut out the middleman altogether and just listen to live performances and many great recordings 24/7 on BBC's Radio 3 - still truly a wonderful station for any serious music listener!
* FinishMySong, of course, has no business relationship with Steve or Classical CD Exchange, so any transaction you have with him is conducted at your own risk!
