Classical music library

Abstract

Classical Music Library. Published by Alexander Street Press. http://www.classical.com. [Requires an audio-enabled computer with an Internet connection. Microsoft Windows users need Windows 98, Internet Explorer 5.5 or Netscape 6, Macromedia Flash Player 6, and Windows Media Player 7 (Internet Explorer users only). Macintosh users need Apple OS9, Internet Explorer 5.2 or Netscape 6, and Macromedia Flash Player 6. Library subscriptions begin at $995 annually for three simultaneous users.] Classical Music Library (CML) has made some significant upgrades to its service in the year since it was first reviewed in these pages (Notes 60, no. 4 [June 2004]: 1009-12). There have been some improvements in usability and even bibliographic control, but the most significant are in the area of repertoire and sound quality. Classical Music Library was acquired in November 2004 by Alexander Street Press, a publisher of electronic collections in the humanities founded in 2000. So far the merger has not changed the look or functionality of CML. Alexander Street intends to incorporate parts of CML's content into cross-disciplinary products, so that a collection focusing on a particular time and place can be enriched by recorded examples of that culture's music. In the past year, CML has added large recording labels--including Hanssler, ASV, Lyrichord, and Bridge Records--and one major label--EMI Classics--to its catalog. These agreements have enabled it to more than double the number of available tracks, bringing the total to over thirty-five thousand. The service continues to negotiate with other major labels. Potential subscribers should be aware that the presence of a label on the service does not mean that the label's complete catalog is available. In most cases, CML licenses complete catalogs, but at least for now, only a selection of recordings are actually added to the service. CML now offers Hanssler's complete works of Johann Sebastian Bach, the well-regarded Hanssler Edition Bachakademie (3,690 tracks), thereby filling a number of holes in the repertoire noted here a year ago. The general lack of opera has been addressed to a degree, with the largest chunk of recordings coming from EMI's catalog. There are now complete operas by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (four), Gaetano Donizetti (twelve), Giuseppe Verdi (five), Giacomo Puccini (three), and Benjamin Britten (three), among others. In general terms, most of the lacunae noted in the original review have been filled to some extent. For example, the list of twentieth-century music now runs to over ten tracks, as opposed to several thousand a year ago. This makes twentieth-century a close second to Baroque music in the number of tracks. The selection of medieval music has more than doubled, to 260 tracks. Obviously there are still some significant holes: for example, the only complete opera among the selection of Richard Wagner's works is Der fliegende Hollander. The addition of these well-respected labels has also improved the quality of performances (or at least the name recognition of the performers). Selections from EMI's catalog include performances by Herbert von Karajan, Daniel Barenboim, Jacqueline Du Pre, Claudio Arrau, [Nigel] Kennedy, David Oistrakh, and Itzhak Perlman. Helmuth Rilling features prominently in many of Hanssler's recordings, which also include Arleen Auger, Trevor Pinnock, and Roger Norrington. The searching capabilities seem not to have changed markedly in the past year. Inputting and symphony into a simple search box still finds all entries containing beethoven or symphony, with matches containing both terms displayed first, followed by partial matches. The search terms can be found in any field, so a recording of the Piano Concerto no. 5, performed by the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, is considered an exact match for this search. With the exception of composers' works lists, none of the browsable lists allow users to select a sort field, despite the fact that this was announced as a projected enhancement. …