The purpose of puffery and closed-mindedness

Two contrasting responses from America to my post Third rate music on Naxos' American classics?

Flinging merde - 'Granted some of the stuff that Naxos has packaged in that series has been less than distinguished but operating in a cultural establishment where critics treat every cow patty ever dropped by the likes of Alwyn (above) and Bax and Finzi and Michael Tippitt (sic) as if it were fois gras, Clements is hardly in a position to fling merde' - from Sequenza21, and I'm sure Norman Lebrecht would approve of that misspelling of Tippett.


The true beauty of the effort - 'Personally speaking I expect listener reaction to concert music is heavily dependent on emotional mood and cultural/historical context . The concept of "ratings" and "tiers" for composers is pretty much an over-rated specialization of critics, which serves the purpose of puffery and closed-mindedness.

My father is the American composer George Frederick McKay (photo below), who liked to say that "if the criticism of a composer's music gets to be really sharp, then he knows he is writing some good pieces." He also once got a big laugh from hearing concert goers in seats in front of him commenting in reverent tones that he was dead.

His music is really like a big layer-cake; in other words, in his young life, he composed jazz-infuenced pieces and romantic songs. Later, his music became more socially aware and radical-- "ultra-modern" toward the end of the 1930's at a time when he mentored John Cage in Seattle both encouraging the younger composer musically and inviting him to the family home for dinner and philosophical discussion.

Following this, my father launched into a loving involvement with American folk-music, and completely cast aside the "opus' system, which he considered a rather crazy European artifact. As to making critics of his music "cringe," he probably would have enjoyed this, since he had a mischievous and rugged nature derived from his upbringing in the West. His music is far from simple, and in many cases has deep religious and philosophical meaning. Much is yet to be revealed, since he composed nearly 1000 various works.


It is doubtful that any of us will ever get to hear high-level performances of all his works, since most conductors are still under the threat of being pummeled by Symphony Society grannies if they get too far afield from the standard concert fare. We have a commercial radio station in Seattle that broadcasts a full month of Mozart works, with one Mozart piece every hour, which gives me the urge to say "give me a break, guys!" Also noted is the absolute repetition of Vivaldi's Four Seasons by glamour-puss groups of all stripes.

So with this rather subjective outburst, I have implicated myself forever as an indivdually thinking patriotic, and maybe not so clever commentor. I should add that, although I loved Mozart's music in context to the movie "Amadeus," he never will or would have the chance to equal the magic of George Frederick McKay's interpretation of Native American themes that most likely stretch back 10,000 years in human history.

This is the true beauty of the effort John McLaughlin Williams has made to create wonderful recordings of the legendary music of America, that many have forgotten. My father's initiative in his mature years was to merge his music with the natural music of his homeland and speak of international peace' - comment from Fred McKay on my Naxos American Classics post.

Any American readers who still think Michael Tippett is an English pastoralist should listen to my Future Radio programme on March 2 when I will be playing Tippett conducting his own Second Symphony; while this Tippett post with its world view brings this path full circle.
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Youth is when you fly economy class

'Naxos, which pioneered discs for a fiver, counts every penny. Five-star treatment is a rarity. "In our company, even with conductors, it goes by age. Below 50, you travel economy; above 50, you travel business class; above 60, you can travel first class. That's the way it has to be"' - says Naxos founder Klaus Heymann in an interview in today's Guardian. My photo shows a sub-50 Kyung-Wha Chung and André Previn on a tour flight. But when your net worth reaches £190 million you travel in your own jet.
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Third rate music on Naxos' American Classics?

I'll be interested in American readers' reactions to the start of this review by the Guardian's Andrew Clements - 'Considering how much third-rate music has been included in Naxos's American Classics series, Elliott Carter has so far been poorly served by the budget-price label. But in the year of the composer's 100th birthday, this - the first of two discs that will include all five of Carter's string quartets - could be the start of a major addition to his discography.'

Andrew Clements then goes on to write a glowing five-star review of Naxos' new CD of Elliott Carter's String Quartets Nos 1 and 5 performed by the Pacifica Quartet. I'll agree whole-heartedly with his verdict on the Carter Quartets, I bought them last week and they are superb performances of superb music. But I am not so sure about his other views.


That judgement of 'third-rate music' raises the interesting point of should a critic focus primarily on the interpretation or the composition? Good music criticism must, of course, combine both. But the balance does seem to be swinging towards judging the notes rather than the way they are played - is that really a healthy trend? Even if some of the music on Naxos American Classics is less than stellar, isn't it better to record that rather than the 371st version of Mahler's Fifth Symphony?

I'll gladly defend Andrew Clements', or anybody else's, right to express an opinion. But these negative attitudes are spreading, and voodoo journalism is alive and well despite despite Klaus Heymann. Perhaps we should all remember the words of that fine contemporary composer Jonathan Harvey - 'I've always felt that it is, and will be, strong enthusiasm that will change the world!'

* On February 24th on my Future Radio programme I'll be expressing strong enthusiasm for Elliott Carter's Sonata for Flute, Oboe, Cello and Harpsichord and Pastoral for Clarinet and Piano in recordings from the independent American label Cedille together with transcriptions of Bach's Trio Sonatas by Robert King.
With thanks to Antoine Leboyer who raised the notes or interpretation debate with me in the context of his review of a recording of Morton Feldman's music. Any copyrighted material on these pages is included as "fair use", for the purpose of study, review or critical analysis only, and will be removed at the request of copyright owner(s). Report broken links, missing images and errors to - overgrownpath at hotmail dot co dot uk

More on Norman's pulped fiction

The UK press (and some bloggers) have been strangely reluctant to cover the Norman Lebrecht versus Klaus Heymann case which I reported here more than a week ago. But today's Independent on Sunday reports:

"This week Penguin agreed to pulp all copies of Lebrecht's book, which criticised Mr Heymann. Behind the scenes the victory has been greeted with glee by figures in the classical music world who have yearned for Lebrecht's wings to be clipped.

Mr Heymann said yesterday ... "The book made me look like a shit, so something had to be done," he said. "When Lebrecht talks to people he doesn't take notes so he confuses and confounds what people say."

(Lebrecht's) polemics on the music industry have also made him many enemies, which is why this humiliation has been met with glee. Such is his power as a critic that few are willing to speak publicly against him. One of the world's leading conductors, however, told the IoS that Mr Lebrecht has, "for years, been getting away with "pompous, preposterous judgment" and "inept research".

Lebrecht said he could not comment on the Naxos case, but added: "The book contains a handful of minor errors, as most books do. They are being corrected." He also denied not taking notes or confusing his facts.".

But while we are on the subject of errors and confusing people a couple of points for the Independent On Sunday.

Their headline - 'Music critic's book is pulped as Penguin loses defamation case' - is confusing. Penguin didn't lose the case, it was settled out of court.

And it is an error to say on Oct 28 that 'This week Penguin agreed to pulp all copies of Lebrecht's book.' The pulping announcement was made ten days ago, on Oct 18, and was reported on this blog more than a week before the IoS ran the story.

Which is, presumably, why I received this email last week:

..........................

Lebrecht v Naxos‏
From: A.Johnson at independent.co.uk
Sent: 24 October 2007 16:46:38
To: overgrownpath at hotmail.co.uk

Hi there. I'm a reporter for the Independent on Sunday and I'm writing an article for this week's paper about the Lebrecht book on Naxos being withdrawn. I'd really like to speak to someone (off record if necessary) about the rights and wrongs of the row, the standing of Naxos in the classical music world, and the standing of Lebrecht. My numbers are below.

Everything in confidence of course.

Thanks for reading this. Please do not post.

Andrew Johnson
The Independent on Sunday

................................

Sorry about posting Andrew. But as a journalist famous for his polemics once blustered -"Until bloggers deliver hard facts … paid for newspapers will continue to set the standard as the only show in town".

Follow the Lebrecht paper trail here.
Image credit KMX Shredding, who are doubtless rubbing their hands. Any copyrighted material on these pages is included as "fair use", for the purpose of study, review or critical analysis only, and will be removed at the request of copyright owner(s). Report broken links, missing images and other errors to - overgrownpath at hotmail dot co dot uk

Lebrecht is right - Naxos is not in same league

Thought-provoking email about the Naxos v Lebrecht case:

'Lebrecht is right in so far, as Naxos product is not in the league of a fine opera recording of the 60 to 80s with top cast, recorded by DECCA or even DG, Philips or EMI. Their product will still sell in 50 years, whereas Naxos product does not have this unique quality, neither sonically nor artistically. A recording with a top approved cast with a conductor like Karajan (above) is still a seller today, even if recorded "only" in Stereo. The 5.1 surround sound format is no quality asset, for classical music this is not the decisive feature. That is the great difference to Naxos or other label products.

Sincerely, L. Ruschin'

Now read another reader suggesting that Naxos dumbs-down production standards.
Header image shows Herbert von Karajan with Christa Ludwig during a playback at the 1969/70 sessions for Götterdämmerung, which, as L. Ruschin says, continues to sell today. Any copyrighted material on these pages is included as "fair use", for the purpose of study, review or critical analysis only, and will be removed at the request of copyright owner(s). Report broken links, missing images and other errors to - overgrownpath at hotmail dot co dot uk

Norman Lebrecht and unchecked trivia

'For years, the British critic Norman Lebrecht has been throwing firebombs in the world of classical music, denouncing what he sees as industry evils in a provocative style that has sometimes been described as accuracy-challenged.

On Thursday, in an unusually crushing act of contrition, his publisher agreed to recall his latest book, destroy it, say “Sorry” and promise not to do it again — all over a few pages discussing Naxos Records and its founder, Klaus Heymann.

The book, “Maestros, Masterpieces & Madness: The Secret Life and Shameful Death of the Classical Record Industry,” was released in Britain in July. Mr. Heymann sued the publisher, Penguin Books, in the High Court of Justice, saying the book wrongly accused him of “serious business malpractices” based on false statements. He cited at least 15 statements he called inaccurate.

Despite the suit, Mr. Heymann said he did not think the book had a “negative impact” on his reputation. “But,” he added, “I don’t think somebody like Lebrecht should get away with 20 or 30 errors in a five-page article" ' - Reports today's New York Times.

'Until bloggers deliver hard facts … paid for newspapers will continue to set the standard as the only show in town ... that is the real scandal and it could have been exposed had the blogger taken the trouble to check his scoop ... the supposed fraud shows up the flaws of a classical blogosphere that trades in unchecked trivia ... online blogs won't become required reading until they start focussing on the facts’ - Wrote Norman Lebrecht in the Evening Standard on 8 November 2006.

Don't say I didn't tell you. But read the alternative view here
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Best damn record he never made

Last year I wrote about the record which Glenn Gould (above) described as the 'best damn record we've ever made' - his LP of Tudor consorte music. Today I am writing about the best damn record he never made.

Zenph Studios' "re-performance" of Glenn Gould's 1955 Goldberg Variations was released a couple of months back. I didn't dream up the word "re-performance". Zenph Studios did, and here is their definition - 'A “live realization of the original interpretation.” Zenph Studios takes audio recordings and turns them back into live performances, precisely replicating what was originally recorded. Our software-based process extracts every musical nuance of a recorded performance, and stores the data in a high-resolution digital file. These re-performance files, represented in a computer as MIDI files, contain every detail of how every note in the composition was played, including pedal actions, volume, and articulations – all with millisecond timings.'

Glenn Gould in Re-performance has some big fans. They include Stereophile Magazine, who made it their recording of the month, the Glenn Gould Foundation, and Gould's recording producer Lorne Tulk. When the "re-performance" CD was released most of the coverage came from the audiophile press. The music media, including this blog, didn't get too excited. The view was that this was just an interesting technical exercise similar to the reprocessed stereo that was around when two channel LPs were launched. But we were wrong. Read this from the 'record labels and recording studios section of the Zenph website:

The Diversity of Copyright Laws

The USA has strong copyright laws; sound recordings essentially don't go into the public domain until well into the 21st century. But, in the European Union (EU), for example, recordings go into the public domain 50 years after their first release. Small recording companies in the EU already re-issue CDs of historical mono recordings in volume. That's been a small concern to the labels, but in 2006 the situation gets troubling. 1956 was the start of early stereo, which is how we still listen nowadays. Starting in 2006, the "good stuff" from 1956 forward starts going into the public domain. Year by year, labels will lose European rights to the most prized, profitable recordings in their archives. With global retailing, CDs made in the EU are readily available anywhere.

The way around this is to create new, highly-desirable music recordings, which establish a new copyright. A modern re-recording can be a premium product, protected with the latest Digital Rights Management (DRM). For a modern re-recording to be acceptable to discerning jazz, classical, and pop listeners, it must be faithful, note-perfect, and identical to the original performance. That’s our business."

And this from Zenph's Investors section:

"In our contracts we look like a cross between an artist and a record producer, receiving a combination of fixed fees and a portion of the royalty stream of the release."

Are Zenph Studios "an entertainment technology company that specializes in software and processes for understanding - and re-creating - precisely how musicians perform"?

Or are they a vehicle for "establish(ing) a new copyright ... protected with the latest Digital Rights Management (DRM) ... receiving a combination of fixed fees and a portion of the royalty stream of the release"?

The jury is out. But the copyright date on my CD of Gould's 1955 Goldbergs is 1956, which means it is among "the "good stuff" from 1956" which has entered the public domain in the EU. Today, here in the EU, the "re-performed" Goldberg's on the Sony Classical label retail for £14.99 ($30.52), and the original mono 1955 recording is available on Naxos for £5.99 ($12.20).

With thanks to IP detective extraordinaire Carol Murchie. Any copyrighted material on these pages is included as "fair use", for the purpose of study, review or critical analysis only, and will be removed at the request of copyright owner(s). Report broken links, missing images and other errors to - overgrownpath at hotmail dot co dot uk

Classical recording under different stewardship

“Far from being ‘on the verge of disappearing’, the classical recording industry is alive and well, but just under different stewardship" wrote Anthony Anderson, managing director Naxos UK, recently. Very true, but while Naxos, Hyperion and the larger independents are often in the spotlight the lesser known labels frequently don’t get the attention they deserve. One example is the Jaro label from Germany which is part of a small media group active in music publishing, artists bookings and live concert promotion, as well as recording. Among the eclectic list of artists on Jaro is the pioneering early music ensemble Sarband seen in my header photo, and their CD Pilgrim of the Soul is a great example of innovative programming and packaging from a small independent label.

Pilgrim of the Soul was recorded live at the Baalbek International Festival in the Lebanon. It features music from the three great religions which originated in the Middle East, Judaism, Christianity and Islam, and focuses on the pilgrimage centres of Santiago de Compostela, Las Huelgas de Burgos, and Santa Maria de Montserrat. Sarband has featured on these pages before with their Bulgarian born director Vladimir Ivanoff, and they are joined on this CD by the Osnabrück Youth Choir and Lebanese contralto Fadia El-Hage. The single disc comes in a lovingly produced book format with excellent articles and beautiful colour photos. The packaging is a miniature work of art, but the downside is it won’t fit into your CD storage system.


This is an inspirational album which ranges from the sacred music of Hildegard von Bingen to the Arabic art-song genre called Muwashshah that originated in Al-Andalus (Muslim Spain). This repertoire is virtually owned by Jordi Savall, but the atmosphere and electricity of the open-air concert is very different to the church ambiance that create the signature sound of Alia Vox. The recording venue for Pilgrim of the Soul was the great Roman Temple of Bacchus in Baalbek in Lebanon which is seen in my photos here, and the summer thunder rumbling in the background is a great test of loudspeaker bass response. Listen to music samples by clicking here.

Baalbek is a UNESCO World Heritage site, and is a wonderful venue for music celebrating the co-existence of Jews, Christians and Muslims in Al-Andalus. But since the recording was made in 1998 Baalbek has been at the centre of religious conflict, not co-existence. The town has a Shi'ite majority, and is a strategic, medical and educational centre for Hezbollah. The commandos who kidnapped two Israeli soldiers in July 2006, and triggered war between Israel and Lebanon, are reported to have been trained in the Baalbek area. While later, in August 2006, Israeli forces used helicopters to raid the Hezbollah hospital in Baalbek.

Pilgrim of the Soul is a very moving document, but sadly events have proved that religious co-existence in Baalbek remains a musical rather than practical concept. But this is music to share, and I will be featuring a selection from Pilgrim of the Soul on my Overgrown Path radio programme at 5.00pm UK time on Sunday October 7 coupled with a neglected 20th century masterpiece that also takes its cue from pilgrims - more details tomorrow.


Buy Pilgrims of the Soul online here, And now read about an Islamic setting of the Psalms that also features Sarband.
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Classical internet radio - a user's guide

Email received in response to my post This is the future of radio ~ First, we appreciate very much your On an Overgrown Path coverage, including Antoine’s very kind words after using Radeo. We had noticed it, with the help of Google Alerts; and we’ve noticed a number of other blogs covering you since. And, we’re having some great classical activity on Radeo, some of which is apparent on Most Listened under Search!

I was surprised by the comment posted feeling that Radeo is primarily podcasts, and appreciated your response that we are first more than 10,000 radio stations around the world. Our first priority is programmed stations, the simulcasts of broadcast stations and Internet only stations. Shows and their Episodes from Stations is our second priority. And, Podcasts included as Shows and Episodes is our third priority. We have many great podcasts, but that is not primary and some use and exploration should easily confirm that.

Regarding the BBC iPlayer, our view is that this is focused on downloading video programming, and radio is an after thought—the multiple current BBC Players get incorporated eventually. It’s limited to the BBC; and there is no personalization—no presets, interests, or sharing. Our Radeo player is focused on streaming audio programming and video is secondary (although very present). Radeo offers the largest database of audio and video programming worldwide, and encourages easy personalization—presets, interests, share and news emails. Try “The BBC” under our Search tab for essentially all of BBC Radio and much of the rest of their audio and video offerings—easily from one page.

We would like to suggest several ways for you, Antoine, and your readers to share classical music recommendations:

1. First, anyone can Signup with only name, password and email address and begin storing their personal preferences—fast, free and easy. That’s PC and Mac: Windows and Mac OS X operating systems; Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Safari web browsers; and Windows Media, Real, and QuickTime players. And, with confirmation of their email address, they can Share email their recommendations including descriptions and links which will open Radeo and begin playing the recommendation.

2. Second, anyone can Share their Listener Name and Password with others to allow access by others. Others can be signed in and playing with the same Listener Name at the same time; the preferences are saved when the last person closes.

3. Third, we can fix your preferences as a Profile for your readers, so that anyone can open and play Radeo with your preferences; but only you can Login and change the preferences. And, any Signup from within the Profile, starts with those preferences (rather than our standard Demo preferences). Most easily, this can be a Radeo link from your Blog, which opens the Radeo player with your profile preferences.

As for some recommendations, Antoine seems to be doing well working through our offerings. WGBH Classical HD 2 Station and WGBH Classical Performance Show are very good, in addition to WGBH 89.7 FM Station. Hopkinson Smith lute—recently in Most Listened—is a particular favorite of mine. Radio Latvia Three Klassika is a favorite Station. And, Naxos Classical Music Spotlight Show has great offerings. And, our MyBBC Demo includes Playlist D with latest Episodes of a dozen BBC classical music shows. Also, the Vatican Stations offer some good listening. As you are listening, check under the Related tab for additional, related possibilities—which can be previewed and websites visited, while you continue listening. For links to these stations see below.

We are involved with music. Our recommendations are sincere. It’s worth going through our Standard and MyBBC demos; everything there is considered. Maintaining and expanding our database is a continual process. In addition to our ongoing checking and sourcing, listener tuning attempts with no connection are investigated; and recommendations are appreciated.

And, we also very much look forward to internet radio being available away beyond a computer. But, some computer is now with very many of us much of our day—and radio listening is greatest in the office, followed by commuting. Tabletop alternatives are improving. And, mobile players, including Wi-Fi access, are now appearing and improving. As internet access becomes more constantly available, streaming is generally more appealing than downloading. Try our Radeo companion version beta. The 12 x 4 presets from “desktop” preferences are easily available on a mobile phone with Windows Mobile which including Windows Media Player—with no additional setup: http://www.radeo.net/mobile/.

We look forward to communicating with you further.

Sincerely, Darryl Pomicter, Ressen Design

Links to the stations mentioned above:

WGBH Classical 89.7-HD2, Boston, Massachusetts
Click to Listen

WGBH Classical Performance, Hopkinson Smith plays lute music of Robert Ballard - WGBH Classical Performance
Hopkinson Smith has been described as "one of the world's real masters of the lute". We were honored to have him visit our studio at WGBH to play music of an early 17th century French master lutenist, Robert Ballard, as well as a couple of pieces by his English contemporary, John Dowland. Robert Ballard (Works primarily from the Premier livre de luth, Paris, 1611): Entrée de Luth; Courante [...]
Click to Listen

Radio Latvia Three Klasika, Latvia
Click to Listen

Naxos Classical Music Spotlight, Classical Music Spotlight Special Editon - Class of '38 - A Conversation with Composer Ellen Zwilich
Raymond Bisha chats with composer Ellen Zwilich about her most recent work.
Click to Listen

Ultima Thule Ambient Music, UT 559
A post-classical excursion with Vangelis, Philip Glass, John Tavener and Arvo Part.
Click to Listen

Download the Radeo internet player here. Internet radio is the future, which is why we should all be very concerned about this.
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Over the Moon

I was listening on the web to Amsterdam based Radio MonaLisa the other day, and was delighted to hear Patricia Werner Leanse using a Beata Moon (left) track as her signature tune. The music is from the CD Perigee & Apogee which was released in 2000 and has been a longtime favourite of mine. Now the great news is that Beata's music is going to reach a far wider audience with the release this month of a Naxos CD of her piano works. A fantastic opportunity to get to know the music of a contemporary composer who is really going places, and well done Naxos for yet again supporting new music.

Listen to Beata Moon's music here, and read about her peers here.
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Classical music under different stewardship

"I read with interest Martin Kettle's review of Norman Lebrecht's new book, Maestros, Masterpieces and Madness, (Vanishing acts, G2, April 3). The impression given by the piece is that the classical-record industry is in its death throes, which is far from the reality. While it's true the major record companies have markedly reduced their classical output, shifting significantly into "crossover" projects, it is the vibrant independent sector (comprising Naxos and many other labels) which is as active and creative as ever in the production of new classical recordings.

Kettle's statement that "production is down to just 100 new discs a year - many in the crossover repertoire ..." is belied by the profusion of new classical releases which come into the market each month. In 2006 Naxos released 238 new classical recordings and new issues from other independent labels easily numbered in excess of 1,000. All these recordings - and the large number of back-catalogue titles - are now available to the public not only through high street stores, but also through retailers and, in many cases, digital downloads or online streaming: consumer accessibility and choice is broader then ever before.

It is undeniable that the past business models of the major record companies have been shown to be unsustainable and have been abandoned, but the inference that the industry is dead is as illogical as it is untrue. Other record companies run successfully on a quite different basis - without the excesses depicted in Lebrecht's book. Far from being "on the verge of disappearing", the classical recording industry is alive and well, but just under different stewardship."

Anthony Anderson managing director Naxos UK writes in today's Guardian:

But now read a view on how Naxos dumbs-down technical standards, how we have to pay the piper, and how we are moving towards music like water.
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This new CD demands blind listening

Composer Vanessa Lann's email proposing we listen to music 'without pre-judging its merits because the composer happened to be male or female, young or old, living or deceased, famous or unknown, European or non-European, etc' arrived the day after I bought the Maggini Quartet's (left) new CD of Sir Malcolm Arnold's two string quartets.

This excellent new Naxos CD just demands blind listening. Play it to a knowledgable friend and I wager they will tell you it is Bartok or Hindemith, but certainly not Arnold. The First Quartet dates from 1949, and the Second from 1975. The masterpiece is the Second, which was written during an Indian Summer of British string writing, a period which also produced Elizabeth Maconchy's quartets which I will return to in a future article. The Maggini are persuasive advocates of the Arnold quartets, and the sound recorded in Potton Hall here in East Anglia by producer Andrew Walton and engineer Eleanor Thomason is demonstration quality.

Arnold's Second Qartet was well received at its Dublin premiere, and was then performed at the 1976 Aldeburgh Festival. But since than both the composer, and the string quartet as a genre, have slipped out of fashion. If you need any proof of how stupid, and damaging, musical fashions are, go out and buy this new Naxos CD.

Now read about Arnold's neglected 20th century masterpiece
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Music-like-water

A world where music is available via the latest technologies for a single monthly subscription charge. A world with unlimited access to a huge range of music. A world where the music business will explode and reinvent itself. A world where listeners are empowered, and the reach of new music is limited only by your own imagination. A world where the major record companies aren’t invited to the party. A world where music becomes a utility on tap, just like gas and electricity. A world where music is like water.

No, Pliable hasn’t been on the wacky backy again. Music-like-water is the title of a really thought provoking paper from Gerd Leonhard published on New Music Box, the web magazine of the American Music Center. (And many thanks to Garth Trinkl who blogs at Renaissance Research for bringing it to my attention). Leonhard is the founder of ThinkAndLink, a consultancy working in the area of convergence between the entertainment and technology sectors. When he is not future-gazing Leonhard is a pretty mean guitarist and composer, and winner of a Quincy Jones Award. His blog is also worth a visit.

The main thrust of Leonhard’s paper is that consumers are now taking charge of their own entertainment, and the borders between performance and copy, and access and ownership have been crossed. He says the music business is rapidly moving towards a flat charge for access, and away from the historic, and clumsy, pay per performance model. A flat charge for access is how utility providers operate, and is where his catchy music-like-water moniker comes from. Leonhard predicts that once distribution is no longer a barrier to entry, the music market will explode. And the traditional record companies will be left for dead as new players control the flow of music-like-water.

Fanciful? Unlikely to happen in our lifetime? Harmless crystal ball gazing? I don’t think so. Music-like-water has already arrived. Just last week mobile (cell) phone operator T-Mobile announced an 18 month deal with Robbie Williams, which will make some of his songs and concert footage available exclusively over the phone network - presumably music will follow.

I have already written about Naxos Radio. This subscription service is pure music-like-water. It has 60 channels of different classical music genres, with each offering 100 hours of unduplicated music at 64Kpbs, which is pretty close to CD quality. All channels are commercial free, and new recordings are added at around 50 per month. And now Naxos are starting to loan recordings through public libraries. They are already a global force with a dominant share of classical CD sales in most major markets worldwide as the following figures show: UK - 15%, Finland - 40%, Sweden - 50%, Norway - 50%, Denmark -30%, Canada - 25%, Greece - 45%, South Africa - 45%, Spain - 20% and Germany - 20%. In the United States, Soundscan lists Naxos as the leading independent classical music label. Naxos’ business model is music-like-water, and it is here today.

The BBC has one of the three best known brand names in the world. They have a guaranteed war-chest from a poll tax on UK residents (disguised as a license fee) of nearly £3 billion ($5.5 billion) a year. The BBC will have an increasing impact outside the UK as music-like-water flows uninterrupted across geographic boundaries. Inside information leaked from the BBC in the last few days indicates that more than half of the much-trumpeted 1.4 million Beethoven MP3 files went to US downloaders. (Personally I am not convinced that this music giveaway was the best possible use of the £126.50 ($230US) annual license fee I have to pay the BBC. Particularly when 3780 of their staff are being cut to save costs, and domestic programming is full of cost saving repeats.)

The BBC has complete control, including broadcasts, public performances, touring, and programmes, of five leading orchestras, plus the BBC Singers. They also have total control over the world's largest music festival, the BBC Promenade Concerts. This employs musicians ranging from the Berlin Philharmonic to Ravi Shankar.

The BBC has one of the largest commissioning budgets for new music, with an annual spend in excess of £350,000 ($630,000). This commissioning budget is larger than the turnover of many independent record companies. It is quite wonderful that the BBC is able to fund the creation of so much new music, and this year's new music feast at the Proms is an excellent example of money very well spent. But conversely, misuse of their commissioning budget and programming authority can stifle new talent. This allegedly happened to tonal composer Robert Simpson, and others, in the 1970's under the regime of progressive Director of Music William Glock and modernist Principal Conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra Pierre Boulez. The BBC is already supplying every channel through which music can flow - live music making, CDs, DVD’s, satellite, FM, AM, web and on-demand broadcasts, music book and magazine publishing and MP3 files. The BBC’s business model is music-like-water, and it is here today.

Gerd Leonhard says that in the new music-like-water order “all music, all artists will be in those pipelines.” And this is where we start to differ. Dream on Gerd. Music-like-water won’t bring a utopia where every recording, of every work, by every composer from Evaristo Abaco to Johann Zumsteeg, is available via the technology of your choice. What will happen, no what is happening, is the new utility companies become gate keepers. And Pliable’s first sonata for prepared piano and vihuela won’t get through the gate unless I cut a deal with the keeper. And financially that means I am better off clearing tables in a fast food joint than composing music. Pessimism on my part? No, fact. Amazon.com, with their world-wide operating companies, are a global gatekeeper in the brave new books-like-water world. Which means if you are a small specialist book publisher they will surcharge your book before they list it. (Believe me I know, I am also a small publisher). And the global gatekeepers are already flexing their muscles in the music-like-water world. I wonder what role Naxos played in Marin Alsop’s appointment in Baltimore?

Music-like-water is here to stay. And I don’t particularly like the taste of it. But the good news is Pliable doesn’t have to exist on water alone. I prefer music-like-Château Latour. And that also is here today. Volume 24 of the John Elliot Gardiner Bach Cantata Pilgrimage has just arrived chez Pliable. This remarkable project was conceived to bypass a global gatekeeper (Universal Music) who wanted to restrict the flow of music-like-water by shelving Gardiner's visionary Bach Cantata project.

I wrote a very positive post about John Eliot Gardiner’s Soli Deo Gloria record company when their first releases came out. Suffice to say their new double CD of the cantatas for the Third and Fourth Sundays after Easter is a work of art in every respect, and even surpasses the outstanding vintage of the first volumes. Exquisite and tactile packaging that revives the long lost art of sleeve design. Informative and entertaining sleeve notes. Perfect bound slip cases. And the music, the music…..the sinfonia from this recording of BWV 146, recorded in the Schlosskirche Altenburg, with its mighty Trost Organ, is music to die for.

Yea, music-like-water is the way to go. And I’ll keep writing about it while I sip my music-like-Château Latour thanks very much.

And here, courtesy of SDG, is your chance to taste some premier cru music making from Volume 24 of the Bach Cantata Pilgrimage. These are decent length extracts, not the Amazon type snippets. My first paragraph talked about music by subscription. And in a wonderful example of the overgrown path coming full circle the complete cycle of SDG's Bach Cantatas is available by subscription. Which just goes to show that, despite what the futurologists may tell us, there is nothing new under the musical sun - cheers!

Freue Dich Erloste Schar BWV 30 - no. 1 chorus.....
Freue Dich Erloste Schar BWV 30 - no 5 aria (Wilke te Brummelstroete, alto)....
O Ewigkeit du Donnerwort BWV 20 - no.1 chorus....
Die Elenden sollen essen BWV 75 - no 7 chorale....

Was Robert Simpson's music unfairly neglected in the Glock/Boulez era at the BBC? Judge for yourself with these two samples from Hyperion's excellent cycle of his complete symphonies:
Robert Simpson, Symphony no.1 (1951), 1st movement (opening) [4'48]...
Robert Simpson, Symphony no.2 (1956), 3rd movement Allegro grazioso (opening) [3'51]...

Do you think music-like-water is the future? Or will the independent specialists like Soli Deo Gloria continue to set the benchmark? Was Robert Simpson's neglect by the BBC justified?Add your views to this post using the comments feature at the foot.

If you found this article useful share it with friends and colleagues by emailing it to them, including the music links, using the envelope icon below.

And if you enjoyed this post there is more like it at Discovered - the online Arnold Schoenberg jukebox

Is recorded classical music too cheap?

There has been a gratifyingly big response to my post Discovered - the online Arnold Schoenberg jukebox with its listing of more than sixty worldwide classical music stations broadcasting on the web (see right hand side bar). The eclectic mix of readers for that post surprised me. The visitor logs show this particular overgrown path has been trodden by the BBC, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Mechanical Copyright Protection Society (the UK body that enforces copyright protection on recorded music), Minnesota Public Radio, the Czech Academy of Science, the City of Berlin Arts Adminstrator's Office, a number of major US orchestras, and many, many more.

In a recent post I mentioned buying the inspirational Philippe Herreweghe recording of the Missa Solemnis for just £5 (US$9.10). And elsewhere I've written about Brilliant Classics (complete Haydn Piano Sonatas in excellent performances and recordings with 10 CD's for £23.99 - US$43.70), and the deep, deep discounts (and first-class service) available from Amazon.com Marketplace partners such as Caiman USA. All this set me thinking, is recorded music too cheap today?

Let me explain. The major record companies had a hissing fit about the impact of file sharing on pop music sales. In the classical music world it is not recorded music sales that are at threat, it is concert audiences. The ticket prices at the recent Norwich Festival were very reasonable by London standards, and certainly offered wonderful value for money. But the value of two average priced £15 (US$27.30) tickets for the Tallis Scholars doesn't look so good when compared with a discounted CD. After the concert I bought the wonderful Tallis Scholars CD of the Sheppard sacred choral works, including Media vita which was performed at the concert, for just £9.52 (US$17.30) including delivery from Caiman USA. (US readers will have spotted that CD prices are considerably higher in the UK. Which is why I buy Gimmel CD's of the Tallis Scholars recorded in Salle Church, just 25 miles from my home in Norfolk UK, from Florida. Great for my bank balance, but the 3500 mile air freight round trip for the CD can't do much to help global warming).

The Deutsche Grammophon LP of Karajan conducting Tchaikosky's Pathetique Symphony which was my first classical record cost me one pound ten shillings ($2.20) as a student in 1969. By my calculation graduate starting salaries in the UK have increased by a factor of around twenty since then. That would price the LP at £30 (US$54.60) in today's terms. A full price CD in the UK today is £15 (US$27.30), so real prices have halved before deep discounts and budget priced labels such as LSO Live are factored in. In orders of magnitude I reckon recorded music costs about one quarter of what it did thirty five years ago. Concert tickets have shown little or no price deflation in the same period. So the balance of pricing has swung massively in favour of recorded and internet streamed media, and against attending live performances.

On An Overgrown Path has commented before that performers like the Kamus and Sacconi Quartets seem to be getting younger, and their audiences seem to be getting older. Is it surprising when the absurdly low cost of great recorded music is giving the quite wrong impression that concert tickets are expensive? Naxos have done more than any other company to reduce the price that consumers expect to pay for recorded classical music. Recently I bought their highly recommendable CD of the Vivaldi Gloria and Bach Magnificat for £3.99 (US$7.30) in a Virgin Megastore - that is just stupidly cheap. And ironically the very people that stand to lose most, the orchestras, are fuelling the trend by pricing their own label recordings so low. Ask anyone in the retail trade what they think of the LSO Live CD's and they will say two things. Great performances, and too cheap at £4.99 (US$9.10). Ask any of the LSO players what they think of LSO Live after they have received their measly £400 (US$728) annual profit share from the label, and they will say one thing, too cheap.

One development that must surely further cheapen the perceived value of recorded classical music seems to have slipped under everyone's radar - Naxos Web Radio. This subscription service offers sixty channels of classical music plus jazz, blues, world, folk, and New Age. There is up to one hundred hours of unduplicated commercial-free music available per channel. The channels are pretty well targeted. Contemporary Classical offers Adams, Brusa, Balada, Glass and Norgard among others, while the Early Sacred Music programme includes Palestrina, Tallis, Lassus and Obrecht.The service uses Naxos and other label recordings, and offers the opportunity to buy the CD's via amazon.com. And my question is recorded classical music too cheap must surely be answered by the token annual subscription charge of just US$9.95 (£5.50) for Naxos Web Radio. With this pricing it is difficult to see what their business model is, other than world domination. Naxos, and others offering give away pricing on the internet, should ponder the first law of the cyber-economy. This says that the price of information will tend towards zero. Unless we stop treating recorded music as an information commodity the price, and perceived value, will continue to plummet, with an attendant disastrous knock-on effect on the size of audiences for live performances. Another factor to take into account is that web radio is the medium of choice for tecno-savvy youngsters (plus a few older early adopters). Most older folk don't have the technical confidence to use a computer for much else than email and e-Bay. So the vicious spiral of ageing concert audiences is accerlerated. If you want to find out what Naxos Web Radio is almost giving away to the internet literate just open this link for 15 minutes no-obligation listening.

Thankfully some people are trying to boost concert attendances, rather than undermine them. One particularly noteworthy example is fellow blogger Drew McManus' "Take a Friend to Orchestra" project. Recorded music, even via my wonderful B&W Nautilus 803 speakers, can never replace live performers. We are in danger of bringing up a generation who will never have heard the earthy texture of a baroque cello, the lightning fast attack of a harpsichord, or the true bass from a 32' organ pipe. But, I wonder, could the solution to declining concert audiences be economic rather than educational? I am certainly not suggesting lowering the price of concert admissions. But I am querying our wisdom in allowing the cost of recorded music to decline so sharply.

Live music making is sacred, and we must do everything possible to ensure not only its survival, but also its growth. In 1964 Benjamin Britten was awarded the first Aspen Award at Aspen, Colorado. Britten's acceptance speech was so thought provoking that Faber published it as a very slim volume. Here is part of Britten's speech which was made decades before the arrival of the CD and internet, but which with uncanny prescience identified the real danger of treating music as a commodity......

Anyone, anywhere, at any time can listen to the B minor Mass upon one condition only - that they possess a machine. No qualification is required of any sort - faith, virtue, education, experience, age. Music is now free for all. If I say the loudspeaker is the principal enemy of music, I don't mean that I am not grateful to it as a means of education or study, or as an evoker of memories. But it is not part of true musical experience. Regarded as such it is simply a substitute, and dangerous because deluding. Music demands more from a listener than simply the possession of a tape-machine or a transistor radio. It demands some preparation, some effort, a journey to a special place, saving up for a ticket, some homework on the programme perhaps, some clarification of the ears and sharpening of the instincts. It demands as much effort on the listener's part as the other two corners of the triangle, this holy triangle of composer, performer and listener.

If you enjoyed this post follow the overgrown path to A direct line to Britten

Note to regular readers of On An Overgrown Path. The next post will be uploaded on Saturday 11th June. Sorry about the pause; the overgrown path hasn't come to a dead end, but travel arrangements dictate the interruption. The posts will continue, including an interesting contribution about violinist Elmar Oliveira from a guest blogger in the US.....