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Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!allegra!cbf
From: cbf@allegra.UUCP (Francois)
Newsgroups: net.audio,net.music.classical
Subject: CD tidbits
Message-ID: <2626@allegra.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 23-Jul-84 12:57:57 EDT
Article-I.D.: allegra.2626
Posted: Mon Jul 23 12:57:57 1984
Date-Received: Tue, 24-Jul-84 04:09:20 EDT
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories, Murray Hill
Lines: 49

I stopped by the J&R Classical Outlet in NYC near City Hall over the
weekend and noticed a few things of interest to buyers of "classical" CDs.
First off, they have just instituted a new, everyday price of $13.99 for
most CDs and $15.99 for Telarc's, Denon's and some other imports.  Those
are the lowest prices I have seen anywhere so far, including sale prices.
Slowly but surely, CDs are becoming affordable.

Even more impressive is the breadth of J&R's inventory.  This is the
largest number of CDs I've seen assembled under one roof, and no label,
however small, is slighted.  [By the way, it's interesting how the
record companies are duplicating each other's efforts on CD.  Not only
is there a *Four Seasons* cottage industry, but there's also a plethora
of less sought-after items such as Brahms' *A German Requiem* and
Shostakovich's Fifth Symphony.  Still, I'm not holding my breath for a
CD of the *Quartet for the End of Time*.  Sigh.]

Other interesting items:

- CBS has a no-return policy, so that J&R, and maybe other retailers, will
not exchange defective CBS discs, on which they would otherwise incur a
loss since CBS won't take them back.  So, caveat emptor.

- Apparently, Solti's *Ring* is being digitally re-mastered and will soon
be available here on 16 discs, instead of the original 19 LPs, and unlike
the Janowski *Ring*.  Maybe I'll finally splurge for a *Ring* this time.

- I guess "Des Karajan" and DG must be pretty happy with the little trick
they pulled, by issuing his live Salzburg Mahler's Ninth (you know, that
performance which has been variously described as "the eighth wonder of
the world", "the greatest performance of any piece of music, ever", and
"a sham") on CD, but not on records or cassettes.  Anyway, rumor has it
they're planning to do the same with his up-coming *Rosenkavalier*, an
opera he has "owned" for the past 25 years.  There are also rumors of yet
another Beethoven cycle from His Eminence.  Apparently, he doesn't want
his final thoughts on Beethoven mucked up by dirt, scratches and "those
tiny little ravages of time", and at 76, he's trying to cash in his chips
before it's too late.  Now the questions are:
Will the Berlin stay with him or will the NY Phil. bag Mehta and bring
von K. over with Big Bucks?  Will the DG engineers realize what close-up
multi-miking in the Berlin Philarmonie is doing to their recordings,
rebell against their Lord and Master, and cart the orchestra off to St.
Eustache in Montreal, where Dutoit and his cohorts are living the good
recording life?  Will we ever see the end of his Mahler cycle?  Or will
he opt instead for another Brahms cycle or a new *Tristan* perhaps?
Does anyone care?  Well, *I* do!
  
Charles B. Francois         {...,decvax}!allegra!cbf
--
All the puns in the above message were intended.