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stvnharr said:
I wish I'd looked at my post a little more before posting it as you have now replied and it would look silly to edit my post.
BUT, I meant that government, federal or state, funding of the arts in the US is not as well received as government arts funding in other countries. It really does tend to vary from state to state. Minnesota supports the arts well, but how about neighboring North Dakota, for instance.
Private funding of the arts is an entirely different matter, and not really contentious at all as it's a private matter.
No worries. I understood the post as you intended it to read. Interestingly, North Dakota's main concern is convincing people to move to the state. There really isn't much talk of arts funding at this time in the USA, but plenty of talk on the big topics of the day. Hopefully those big topics are resolved sooner than later so arts can be discussed again.
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Issues of government funding of the arts aside, that is an issue of political belief, I have looked at the catalog of Melba recordings, and noted that I have two of them. They are the Christopher Wrench set of Bach Organ Sonatas, which is quite simply and without question the best organ recording I have ever heard, and the Davislim Schubert Winterreise, which is quite decent and receives high marks here. Although, it ain't exacttly equal to stereo Fischer-Dieskau, performance-wise - what is? - it is clearly then best available hi Rez Mch Winterreise available.
I am not particularly interested in the Bonynge excerpts disks, which seem to be most of Melba's output. But, still, it is sad to see an SACD label capable of quality work, albeit not a high output one, succumb to political and economic pressures.
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Post by SnaggS May 8, 2012 (33 of 57)
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Playing classical music at anywhere near the performance levels we have all come to expect requires practice. CD recordings represent a milestone, a culmination of years of hard work. We can't take a photo of this, so we make a recording. This and loss making live concerts are a motivation and reward to these performers who are paid very poorly for the skill and effort required of them.
Classical music is one of the representations of Western Culture, something our society often seems embarrassed of. It is not a business and its purpose is not to make a profit. Here in Australia, whilst funding might be cut for this project, you can rest assured there will be plenty of funding injected into cultural centres and "awareness" programs for any other group, as long as they don't have white faces.
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SnaggS said:
Here in Australia, whilst funding might be cut for this project, you can rest assured there will be plenty of funding injected into cultural centres and "awareness" programs for any other group, as long as they don't have white faces.
SnaggS........are you sure you're not from the Deep Southern portion of the US?
Stange Fruit, indeed!
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Everything is produced to make a profit. Everything
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Post by AmonRa May 8, 2012 (36 of 57)
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flyingdutchman said:
Everything is produced to make a profit. Everything
In the arts, not. Secretly the artist and producers hope for some income, but with many projects they know and accept the fact that there will not be any, only loss.
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Post by Arnaldo May 9, 2012 (37 of 57)
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Fitzcaraldo215 said:
... I have looked at the catalog of Melba recordings, and noted that I have two of them. They are the Christopher Wrench set of Bach Organ Sonatas, which is quite simply and without question the best organ recording I have ever heard,
... But, still, it is sad to see an SACD label capable of quality work, albeit not a high output one, succumb to political and economic pressures.
I'm mostly in agreement in regard to Bach: Organ Sonatas BWV 525-530 - Christopher Wrench being if not really the best, at least one of the best organ recordings I've heard. It's extremely transparent and with a vast but precise soundstage. Most importantly though, the presence of the instrument is perfectly balanced with the ambiance, which can be quite problematic with organ recordings. Another great Melba SACD is Tzigane - Kristian Winther, Michelle Wood, Anthony Romaniuk, this time in a more intimate setting with a very engaging program of Ravel chamber music for violin. Both are worth investigating before going OOP with Himalayan prices, that is, should Melba really go the way of the dinosaurs.
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If their sales have been low, I suspect they probably have large stocks left. Either way, I've just ordered the Melba Bach Wrench Organ SACD ... nothing like publicity to get sales going.
Thanks for the recommendation!
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Post by Johnno May 9, 2012 (39 of 57)
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Claude said:
"Everyone agrees classical music recordings can no longer make profits. The great classical music companies such as EMI underwrite their losses with their pop product."
I wonder how much money BIS, Pentatone or Chandos receive from the governement.
There was an article on Klaus Heymann, founder and owner of Naxos, in a local magazine and it seems he is currenty smiling all the way to the bank and wondering why other companies are complaining about the current economic climate in the record industry.
We all know it's a bargain label but I have to admit that I have quite a number of his discs, where I've generally found both performances and recordings to be excellent. There are apparently certain "strings attached" to his business philosophy and that has upset at least one musician here. However, a considerable number of others seem happy to record for him.
Perhaps lessons could be learnt from his approach to business. Sadly, I suppose one of the first might be to drop SACD, which he flirted with briefly!!
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flyingdutchman said:
Everything is produced to make a profit. Everything
I wish that were true of my son's bowels!!! :)
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