This is the future of classical music?

Top-selling classical downloads on iTunes

1 Barber's Adagio for Strings, Op 11, performed by the London Symphony Orchestra
2 You Raise Me Up, from Russell Watson's album Amore Musica
3 Jerusalem, from the Last Night of the Proms Collection, performed by the BBC Concert Orchestra under Barry Wordsworth
4 Duet from Bizet's the Pearl Fishers, from Andrea Bocelli's Aria: The Opera Album
5 Pachelbel's Canon in D, performed by I Musici, from the album 100 Classical Favourites
6 Nimrod, from Elgar's Enigma Variations, from the Last Night of the Proms Collection, performed by the BBC Concert Orchestra under Barry Wordsworth
7 Land of Hope and Glory, from the Last Night of the Proms Collection, performed by the BBC Concert Orchestra under Barry Wordsworth
8 Somos Novios, from Andrea Bocelli's album Amore
9 Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata, performed by Vladimir Horowitz
10 Bach's Air on the G String, by the London Symphony Orchestra

From Big demand for classical downloads is music to ears of record industry in today's Guardian.

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If you enjoyed this post take An Overgrown Path to Music-like-water

Comments

Shablagoo! said…
I guess the main issue for the serious collector is going to be compression. MP3s though all the rage are pretty much yesterdays news/technology when compared with lossless formats such as ape and FLAC. Though small size might be a boon, the reduction in the higher and lower frequencies required for compression isn't the same. For example Cymbals and similar instruments sound particularly awful in badly encoded/low bitrate MP3s.

Its a shame with the MP3 fad people accept less.
11:44 am
Anonymous said…
Not sure what your point is, Pliable.

If these downloads are mostly by people who would otherwise be buying "serious" classical CD's, then there may be a cause for concern.

I'd guess that it's more likely that these purchases are mostly by people who would not otherwise buy classical CD's. I find it hard to view this as other than positive, despite the ... well, "thin" nature of the repertoire. Not perfect or anything close to it, but positive.

And I agree with the words about "format" in the preceding comment. I would never call myself an audiophile, but I really have no interest in buying mp3 format.
2:57 pm
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