Raga a good bargain


It is difficult to keep up with EMI's bargain boxes, and this 10 CD Ravi Shankar Collection - which is selling in the UK for under £20 - slipped under the radar. These highly desirable compilations are genuine limited editions and some are already deleted, so hurry. Collin Walcott was a disciple of Ravi Shankar's who went on to be the guiding spirit of the uncategorisable Codona - read more here.

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Travels beyond TripAdvisor

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Classical music's biggest problem is that no one cares

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These photos were taken by me in 2008 at independent record retailer Prelude Records in Norwich. Jordi Savall's impromptu viol recital and signing session preceeded two performances at the Norfolk and Norwich Festival. One was a solo recital by Jordi in Peter Mancroft Church ; the other was an immensely moving performance of his visionary Jerusalem multicultural project at the Theatre Royal*. As reported here Prelude Records closed earlier this year; it was a victim of predatory online retailing, and today its premises stand empty awaiting occupation by a mobile phone or E-cigarette retailer. The Norfolk and Norwich Festival has been the victim of savage funding cuts , but continues in a more modest form due to the dedicated work of its small management team. A few days ago I wrote about a two-thirds empty Snape Maltings concert and proposed that classical music's heartland is facing a perfect storm caused by the convergence of the shifts in consumer tastes and the r...
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