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 January 1, 2009 The Digital Music Revolution: What Download Sites Have to Offer -- Part Four
The bulk of ClassicsOnline titles are drawn from the catalogs of Naxos and the labels whose CDs Naxos distributes, such as Chandos and CPO. But the list is 112 labels long, with many pleasant surprises, including BIS, Hungaroton, Klavier, and Vox -- enough choices to settle any argument over whether or not enough downloads are as yet available to make digital downloads a viable format. The site is searchable by composer, work, album title, and artist. These all worked accurately for me, but were perhaps a bit slower than might be desired. There are also ad areas where current releases are listed or catalog titles are hyped. And every track sold on ClassicsOnline can be sampled. The prices are reasonable. Naxos albums go for $6.99 each; for most other labels, the going rate seems to be $9.99. Tracks can be bought separately, and ClassicsOnline is very clear about their pricing, but be careful -- the separate tracks add up to a lot more than the cost of buying the entire album. I downloaded one Persichetti symphony from an Albany Music release that contained three such works by the composer. Later, when I’d decided I wanted the other two, my total cost was about $3 more than if I’d bought the entire album in the first place. ClassicsOnline takes MasterCard, Visa, or PayPal, but don’t be surprised if the PayPal confirmation page comes back with Chinese text: ClassicsOnline is based in Hong Kong. Just follow your instincts here and you’ll be OK. Like all the other download sites I’ve visited, ClassicsOnline offers a free introduction: you can download three tracks without cost. Once you’ve chosen a password and logged in, it’s very easy to log in again. Klaus Heymann, founder and CEO of Naxos and owner of ClassicsOnline, promises lossless downloads (probably FLAC) before too long, and wants to offer surround-sound recordings as well -- many of his label’s master tapes were recorded in that format. But both will wait in the wings until formats and methods are established. Downloading is easy as can be. First, you install ClassicsOnline’s download manager; then, to buy tracks, you click Download and choose the default method -- that is, the download manager, which then does all the work. Downloads took about twice as long as from HDtracks.com, which is still, in my experience, the fastest and smoothest around. The speed at ClassicsOnline is not at a snail’s pace, mind you, but be prepared to go do something else while the files are downloading. You won’t want to stare at the screen. I downloaded a Chandos recording, by Rumon Gamba and the BBC Philharmonic, of film music by Ralph Vaughan Williams that includes a suite from his score for Scott of the Antarctic. I was very satisfied with the quality. In one section, a unison melody in octaves ranges all the way through the orchestra, from low notes on the organ up to the upper strings. The clarity and frequency response are very impressive. Other titles I downloaded were equally satisfying. ClassicsOnline provides a wealth of music for many tastes, particularly the classical music connoisseur, charges reasonable rates, and provides satisfactory, if not ultimate, sound quality. Try those three free tracks and judge for yourself. . . . Rad Bennett
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This month we visit
ClassicsOnline (