Music Chat: Call Me Ignorant, But Is This Classical?

Here, from the musical equivalent of The Twilight Zone, is a selection of "classical" releases for summer 2021 from Universal Music Group. Make of it what you will. I'm completely perplexed. Does the term "classical music" mean anything anymore? I guess not.

[@ftumschk]

A: "I say, I say, I say! What do you call a German with one car?" B: "I don't know. What *do* you call a German with one car?" A: "Ein Audi"

[@martinhochbaum8936]

I can't decide whether I want to laugh or cry...

[@llucrescu9058]

This was pure fun and I was smiling all the way! Thank you!

[@benjaminharris2043]

Dave, I’m hoping beyond hope that your anthemic rendering of Beethoven’s Fifth will be released in the next Universal lists. The virtuosity of the melody you beatbox here is moux to my ears. 😂

[@BVcello]

I'm sooo glad you talk about this, Dave... I was considering to write you to ask to do a video on this subject. Universal has really gone astray. If a label like DG has no more space for classical music, its very core repertoire, then where the heck have we come to? All they dare to record (and program in concert halls, same story) is the same repertoire over and over again. I'm in full disdain for the total lack of daring and adventurous spirit. So I'm 1000% behind you here, Dave. I hope Universal is watching this. All I can add is that it has been a while since I purchased disc from any of these labels, apart from older reissues. They lost me a while ago. Great video!

[@GastonBulbous]

David, would you consider making us the following videos? (1) A tour of your collection, how its organized, which are your most-prized possessions, etc. (2) Are you an audiophile? What’s the system on which you do most of your listening? Thanks!

[@michaelmurray8742]

I would also like to see this video please?

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

It is organized alphabetically by composer or performer, depending on the reason for purchase in the case of compilations. II have several audio systems, from earphones to bookshelf speakers bedside to high-ish end, and use them all. I am not an audiophile, and so I see no point in talking about them further. I can enjoy music anywhere.

[@williamwhittle216]

Agreed!

[@RequiemAeternam01]

Yes! I'd absolutely love to see a tour of your MAGNIFICENT collection!

[@gregm5775]

The marketing blurb is just regulation corporate-speak; this requires one to insert a few words related to music, add some emotion components, and wrap it up with visuals (e.g. landscape, etc). Then, you mix them together in one or more sentences. Chat GPT comes into play. The point is to create a product mostly out of existing material to keep costs down; that way marketing can reach its annual target and receive their annual bonus. Which is the real objective - music is the medium. The "classical" label provides the much-needed sheen of distinction and erudition as in, "this ain't just any music, it's classical, the stuff people who really know about music listen to". Thus we find a niche to resell techno, or rebrand old stock... get rid of ageing inventory and, most importantly achieve or surpass budgeted targets.

[@thiinkerca]

I cant get over how funny and brilliant your analysis is and how true david . Pure genius . Laughed so hard at the truth . Thanks

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

My pleasure, sadly!

[@thiinkerca]

@@DavesClassicalGuide I know it's not great that this is the case. I mourn the loss of a hmv that had an entire store size section of classical music no longer extant. The best albums remain the ones that note a composer and the artist and the work. That's really all that's needed. Instead her get pseudo tone porm titles to capture a market smarter than that, at least I think we are.

[@zdl1965]

All this is the result of the abject failure of arts education today. Many young people do not know who Beethoven is. Clue: He's not a dog.

[@ВеликийМудрец-д6р]

Very funny, but I agree. I actually stated something similar like that on Facebook and got called a "snob".(

[@dennischiapello7243]

Shoot. I thought I'd get extra credit for knowing the breed--St. Bernard.

[@dsammut8831]

Wahahaha

[@tbarrelier]

Years ago, I asked a co-worker if she knew who Beethoven was. She said "no". I was shocked. I'm sure there are millions like her.

[@Peter-wd1yo]

"Glenn Gould did it." You said it right after I thought it. Though I had the word "even" at the start.

[@michaelmurray8742]

A healthy dose of grumpy cynicism is always a good thing! Great video.

[@jackminot2431]

Are you the organist who recorded for Telarc?

[@estel5335]

Amen. Love Dave's sassy-mode!

[@johannessauer3758]

One of the best Hurvitz's ever. Thank you for that!

[@hugocalisto120]

I'm glad to see (judging by the video and the comments) that I'm not the only one to be utterly baffled any time I look at DG's list of new releases...

[@richardwiley3676]

Brilliant video Dave, so entertaining, thank you. I wonder who buys this stuff, I have never heard of most of these people apart from the real classical artists and music.

[@Gjoa1906]

Thanks for brightening up my afternoon..

[@dennislovinfosse6293]

Thank you! It reminds me of Andy Warhol changing the meaning of art: art is trash and trash is art. He's still right apparently. You handled this sore subject very well. "I laughed. I cried. I I wrote a public comment."

[@estel5335]

Man, you are a sassy you-know-what! Love it!

[@vinylarchaeologist]

Don’t worry, Dave. All music becomes classical at _some_ point in the future. These labels are just way ahead of their time...

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

Ah, but the future is now as they see it!

[@Jeff-wb3hh]

Universal Group has not been my favorite for a long time now. BIS is my favorite traditional classical label and they release everything in SACD surround sound too, which I love because it makes me feel like I'm in the concert hall.

[@ahartify]

Dave, maybe you could release Deluxe versions of your videos! Extended versions as well.

[@dsammut8831]

Wahahaha

[@martinhaub2602]

This is just the major's pointless attempt to remain relevant. Long gone are the days of recording major orchestras, performers and conductors. These once-great companies are in trouble; long gone are the visionary music lovers who ran record companies in the past. Thank God for the likes of Hyperion, Chandos, Naxos, and other small labels for their dedicated work. It would be interesting to see a comparison of sales for Moux with the recent Ormandy box.

[@GuyDerKoenig]

One thing I never understood about the release of live recording is why it takes so long for them to be released (after they've been recorded). Like, Dudamel's Mahler 8 and Barenboim's Debussy waited 3 years, and for what? Whatever sound mixing they're doing on the recordings, it can't be that significant in comparison to the unedited recorded performance (especially nowadays when you can stream in high resolution).

[@jerrygennaro7587]

My, how things have changed. Gary Marmorstein, in his book "The Label," p. 266 reports that the Broadway show "Kismet" was recorded by Columbia on Sunday, Dec. 6, 1953 and was available for sale on LP (OL 4850) at a Manhattan store that Wednesday!! And that was in the day of tape, lacquers, masters, etc.

[@ZviSRosen]

My impression is that Spotify et al playlists are a huge driver of revenue for the labels. A lot of stuff that's sort of in the ambient/classicalish mode is very popular in study playlists, resulting in a small kaching for UMG every time someone plays it, or even better if they just put it on endless repeat (also rather popular for students for studying). A lot of these "Deluxe Editions" are I suspect meant to be impulse buys recognizable to said younger people who have repeatedly streamed these tracks. I could be totally off here, but just a guess.

[@harrygerla6085]

I don't know if you remember this, but many years ago I sent you a copy of a fly by night company's description of a cd reissue of the Beverly Sills' Rigoletto as "hilarious" based solely on a picture of a clown on the cover. Apparently, the author of that one has once again found gainful employment, this time with a major label group. Your reaction then perfectly describes my reaction now--"OMG."

[@pascalrousseau1]

Hello Mr. Hurwitz. I like when you share your thoughts on the recording industry. Besides being interesting, it's entertaining. I have a suggestion for you. Among the novelties, I recently bought a Naxos 6 cd Thalberg box set by the pianist Francesco Nicolesi. And, a bit like Listz, although less prolific, this one composed beautiful pieces for piano based on well-known operas. I was not familiar with this composer (This year is a Thalberg year- 150th of his death) and these works. I can say that they gave me a lot of pleasures and I imagine that could also be the case for some of your followers on this channel. Regards

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

Thank you. I plan to talk about it.

[@OctavinaPlayer]

Extended Play (or EPs) are shorter than regular CD length, and usually only available on digital platforms. I think up to 6 short tracks.

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

Thank you. Actually I know what they are.

[@raphaelfournier8273]

Very, very true; Everyone observing the business since a few scores has seen this involution.

[@johns9624]

Got through this funny/slightly depressing rant and turned to my email to find an announcement for the new album by one Lise de la Salle on Naive (yes, but with two dots above the 'i') entitled "When do we Dance?" which, according to the accompanying blurb, is "more than a question". The announcement coincides with one by DG alerting us to the release of a new album 'Enargeia' (sic) by Emily D'Angelo who tells us she and DG have 'created a cohesive listening experience. Above all we share a passion for communicating in ways that can move, inspire and connect people.' This is good to know.

[@edwardcasper5231]

Maybe I'm off base, but I've always thought the term "Classical Music" is a bit contrived. The recording industry needed a way to categorize the genre (which covers hundreds of years) and decided to name it after a relatively short period in music history. On the other hand (and I do sometimes play devil's advocate with myself), I'm not sure any other name (Romantic, Baroque, Renaissance, "serious", "concert", etc.) would be better ... and some could be worse. Come to think about it, most of the other terms the recording industry uses to categorize particular musical genres are equally non-descriptive.

[@snadert]

Thank you, I needed this.

[@steve40004]

I too have noticed the disturbing trend in naming discs without telling you what the hell is on the recording.

[@murraylow4523]

I'm of a certain age (5 years younger than you) and yes I roll my eyes at some of this stuff from once very serious labels. Thanks goodness the independent labels have taken up the slack with an ongoing productivity of interesting repertoire even with the pandemic - I mean Hyperion, Alpha, HM, Linn, CPO etc etc are steaming away nonetheless. I don't really have a problem with trying "crossover" type things as such. I mean Radio 3 here had a show called late junction which was very popular and put together Jazz, Classical, indie pop, ambient etc etc in a stimulating sort of way. Someone like Erkki-Sven Tuur is a genuinely interesting example - also Andriessen- of bringing something of Rock music into classical music. And there is that long history of bringing jazz in, in one way or another, by very serious classical composers. This kind of marketing isn't that new, as I'm sure you remember things like "Hooked on Classics" that added beats to popular classics back in the 80s! Also I think the Shankars are actually rooted in "classical music". They used to do these all-night proms when I was younger, improvising on Rags appropriate to the particular hour and this is Indian classical music, just not in the same form/ style as that from Europe. "World music" strikes me these days as a strangely worn-out way of talking about, or categorising, so many different musics, "classical" and otherwise..

[@MusicalConcepts]

Thanks for articulating to a tee my own perplexity going back decades. Promotional hype for classical performances as if hailing the second coming of the Messiah! Classical labels appropriating pop artists (remember Vangelis on DG in th 80s?)

[@mike-williams]

Vangelis has always had his fingers in a lot of musical genres. He's been writing ballet and theatre scores for decades for both orchestral and synth-augmented ensembles. Much of his electronic* output I would rate at significantly higher artistic value than the "academic composers" who have released discs using the same instruments. ( *Much of his synth music is interwoven by traditional instruments, particularly percussion.)

[@marknewkirk4322]

The Czechs call Beethoven's 5th Symphony "Osudová", which means "fateful". The Germans sometimes call it the "Schicksalssinfonie". When asked to translate this into English in programme notes, I call it "Beethoven's Fifth Symphony" and ignore all that fate stuff.

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

Yes, I know, but it's still not common--not like the "Pastoral."

[@peterheiman8621]

Some critics in the past must have complained when people started calling Mozart’s final symphony “Jupiter” or Beethoven’s second piano sonata that he labeled “quasi una Fantasia” “Moonlight”. Some labels stick, some don’t. Can’t blame the publicists for trying.

[@whistlerfred6579]

@@peterheiman8621 Yes, we can! 😉

[@benschweitzer6307]

About a decade ago in Japan I saw a commercial for instant noodles featuring a guy dressed up as Beethoven slurping some in the famous rhythm and saying "Uuuun-meiii," a dumb pun on "delicious" and "fate." So it's pretty well known.

[@peterheiman8621]

@@benschweitzer6307 I believe Beethoven was quoted as describing the initial four note motif: "Thus fate knocks at the door". I don't know if he really said that, but that's the origin of the "fate" connection. I'm not sure that's been mentioned in this thread.

[@dem8568]

We all recognize that the term "classical music" is fraught and hard to pin down. I won't speak for anyone else, but I will say that much of the reason I listen to what's commonly referred to as classical music is that it has withstood the test of time. The truth is that I will never know if most of the people mentioned here are with listening to, because I'm not going to waste the time finding out. Life is short, and I intend to spend the rest of mine taking advantage of the massive collective time and knowledge of others from throughout history to help guide my musical explorations. It's pragmatism, pure and simple.

[@jgesselberty]

David, I love that the print on your tam tam, when you move your head just right, makes you look like you have horns. So appropriate for this devilish installment.

[@booger61801]

Dave: I have a suggestion for a future talk: Whatever Happened to War Horses? The objective measure of a war horse is the number of times it has been recorded. I think 100 recordings would be enough to qualify for War Horse status (?) It's hard to find a reliable data base - but you probably have resources unavailable to me. Off the top of my head, I would guess that the LAST WAR HORSE was (dramatic pause): -- Aaron Copland's Appalachian Spring Suite, premiered by Rodzinski/New York Philharmonic on October 7, 1945 (the full ballet for 13 instruments, premiered on October 31, 1944, is more of a novelty than a war horse). -- In second place is Bela Bartok's Concerto for Orchestra (premiered December 1, 1944). So we have gone 76 years without a new war horse. Contrast this to the 76 years 1869 to 1945, which saw quite a few war horses (an understatement). Of course, there are also a number of war ponies (works with 50-99 recordings) that could mature into war horses in the next few years. Copland composed two additional war horses: Rodeo (1942) and Fanfare for the Common Man (1943), followed by Bartok's Concerto for Orchestra (1944), and Copland's Appalachian Spring Suite (1945).

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

That's a very interesting concept, although I might have a different take--former warhorses that have been sent to the glue factory! Where have they gone? Anyway, I don't have any resources you don't have, and your knowledge of recordings is surely more comprehensive than mine! Thanks for the idea.

[@booger61801]

@@DavesClassicalGuide Dear Dave: I revised my original list. The LAST WAR HORSE was actually Aaron Copland's Appalachian Spring Suite, premiered by Rodzinski/New York Philharmonic on October 7, 1945 (the full ballet for 13 instruments, premiered on October 31, 1944, is more of a novelty than a war horse). So we have gone 76 years without a new warhorse. (and Copland beats Bartok for the honor).

[@whistlerfred6579]

A "transformative experience..."? Does that mean listening to it will turn me into a giant cockroach? Seriously, this was bemusing and a little painful. But thank God for labels like Naxos and Chandos, who give us good music without the overwrought marketing hype!

[@sjc1204]

Good point about Chandos and Naxos. Chandos holds a special place in my life. I'll add Hyperion to the list.

[@peterhaslund]

Don't be sad that you don't know Moby. Be glad, like Olaf!

[@shimoncrown]

Brilliant as usual. To answer your question. You are missing your youth😃.

[@Wolfcrag85]

True classical music industry is being led by independent labels. Majors only exist through the reissue of boxes and little more. Now, I'll go back to my modest record collection. It's way above this grim picture David shared.

[@TenorCantusFirmus]

Problem is, in nowadays' Market jargon: everything being played on piano and/or strings is "Classical", everything being played on an electric guitar with at least an hint of distortion is "Rock" and every time someone blows into a brass instrument or a saxophone it's "Jazz"... In other words, people often judge a book by the cover, and the "Majors" are very happy to sell them the cover. Anyway, no one will be called "an ignorant" for doubting all of this is "Classical", rather "a Boomer"...

[@mike-williams]

Back in the day the Moby disc would simply have been "LSO plays Moby" as they've done with Pink Floyd, ABBA, Queen etc etc.

[@ralphbruce1174]

I hope we will see the cd covers soon. LOL

[@michaweinst3774]

You already can see some of them on Presto Music

[@stradivariouspaul1232]

Interesting, maybe they are thinking it's trendier to label something classical than jazz or world music. I'm pretty sure Menuhin with Grapelli was always labelled as jazz so maybe the times are changing. We have a similar problem here in the UK where the classical music station spends half it's time playing film scores. Of course if you speak out on it you will be accused of being elitist by the 'anything goes' brigade.

[@luccharbonneau9382]

Moby on DG My god I took a minute to listen an excerpt on KZbin Sounds like Afterhour party with a touch of violin... I imaged the face of Mr Hurwitz after the first song lol

[@jackminot2431]

I like Moby. He specializes in electronic music.

[@luccharbonneau9382]

@@jackminot2431 I agree with you for his genre but the mixture of what I have heard was not my taste. Moby alone has his style and reputation but with an orchestra I was expecting more.

[@jackminot2431]

@@luccharbonneau9382 I agree that the orchestra wasn’t interesting but the chill acoustic stuff was enlightening.

[@Stephenjamesbutler]

Did he find his cello? I think I may give these a miss.

[@johnwright7557]

At least these will save me lots of cash! Well, maybe not the Argerich/Barenboim which does sound interesting-and CLASSICAL!😃

[@alfredofranco]

Masterpiece.

[@GastonBulbous]

David “PR” Hurwitz falls into marketing-spiel hell. 🤣

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

Yep.

[@jacquesjolivet5685]

Universal has so few bona fide new classical music releases that they have diluted the definition to include anything “unclassifiable”. The same nonsense applies when you look at Tidal or Amazon Music new “classical music” releases. Qobuz and Apple Music however get it right. Go figure! There is no doubt that there are more than enough new classical music releases to keep David and his faithful followers happy!

[@jesusalvarez-cedron6581]

They need to buy the staff to the millenial people. The age of the dinosaurs (like me) has already finished....🤣🤣🤣🤣.

[@lotusholder]

These releases, their 'packaging,' and in particular their press releases, strike me as the gurglings of the Music Industry ('Big Music') as it's drowning and sinking beneath the surface of the pond. Or, to switch metaphors, crap product just meant to be cheap musical wallpaper. Music for people who have no real interest in music. This sounds like another kind of hell. Too bad Dmitri isn't around to write a shattering symphony about this tyranny of bullsh-.

[@BryanHalo123]

"Classical for People Who Hate Classical Music"

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

Not even.

[@JamesAdams-ev6fc]

Also, the competition of straight forward new releases face fierce competition with a deep library of old but good performances. Think of the Sony Essential Classics. They are usually wonderful and they are always cheap. Hard to go up against them!😡

[@JamesAdams-ev6fc]

One has to ask: who is writing the liner notes these days? The tone suggests someone who has gone to journalism school but who does not know anything about the music, and ditto for the marketing group. Sad. In earlier days, the liner notes were written by experts youself or Melvin Berger, and the decision on which recordings to make were strongly influenced by orchestra conductors and the like. But let's not kid ourselves: a smaller proportion of the audience is interested in classical.😈

[@stevecook8934]

The artists better have cool names or be sporting cool fashions on the covers just in case the amazing market verbiage doesn't draw in the listeners. Doesn't this go back as far as "Drumroll" and "Moonlight", etc?

[@lokmanmerican6889]

All hail the "classically trained".

[@josepholeary3286]

An avalanche of illiteracy... a disturbing sign of crisis in Decca and DG...

[@philhomes233]

😄 I suspect money is involved !!!!!!.

[@AlexMadorsky]

“Have you ever seen Moby’s dick?” was a joke my oh-so-mature father liked to tell me when I was studying high school literature. I am familiar with Moby in passing, and while I have no inherent objection to him and ilk collaborating on fusion projects with classical musicians, I doubt the resulting product here is much good. I’m an even bigger jazz fan than classical fan, but the Gunther Schuller Third Stream stuff doesn’t do much for me.

[@ppfuchs]

That was so hilarious! But now I am having a Spenglerian moment!

[@stradivariouspaul1232]

Perhaps Chad Lawson's 'classical' album should be titled 'Who knew'?

[@flexusmaximus4701]

Wow, non entitles like Moby etc being used in desperation by add men to jazz up sales, with mindless jargon. I ignore it all, and go back to my unmixed, Beethoven, Brahms, Bruckner, Haydn, Rossini and Verdi. Etc P. Gibson

[@classicalduck]

As soon as I saw the title for this video, I figured it was going to be about Krossover Krap (as I used to call it in those delightful old Usenet days). Very sad that it has turned out to show the decline of the once-mighty Universal Music Group. Not that they haven't flagged before: Decca (London in the US), for example, spent decades building up their reputation as the leading label for opera, and then pissed it away with Russell Watson. Do I need to give more examples, particularly with regard to pretend opera singers? Nope. I move on. I have found that Nazgûl Snezzick-Yedin's, er, Yannick Nézet-Séguin's new album is really and truly a classical one; the listing at DGG's website says: "Works by: Debussy · Chopin · Brahms Scarlatti · Rachmaninoff · Mozart Champagne · Bach · Shostakovich Schubert · Berio · Haydn" and apart from the fizzy wine, everything there ought to be a known quantity to serious classical folk such as ourselves. I wish I could say the same for some of the other releases you mention, but I fear that the geniuses in A&R at Universal have watched Nonesuch's descent into irrelevance (at least where people such as you and I are concerned). Of course, we've seen these trends at the so-called "major" labels for years, which is why the boutique, import, and specialty labels are the ones which get more of my money, for example. (Although I DID go for Sony's magnificent Ormandy box, since I've been openly wishing for it for decades.) Depressing though this video was, you handled it with delightful snark, and I can only hope you give 'em the works (the "'em" being the labels that deserve it) at every opportunity.

[@VallaMusic]

haha - maybe jazz should take a page from this book - just start labelling everything 'jazz' and your brand popularity (& profitability) will escalate (when your genre's at the bottom, what other direction is possible ?)

[@carlconnor5173]

I guess the producers of this mess of a list assumed gens X and Z have no interest in actual Classical music.

[@122112guru]

classical music for texters,vid game players and pixar/Disney cartoon watchers

[@davesmusictank1]

Moby is an electronics guy into ambient music matey!!!!!

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

I rest my case.

[@atomkraftteddy]

Tori Amos's last 5 albums are on Deutsche Grammophon and Decca.

[@sjc1204]

Yes, Moby is a big deal but I was surprised and rolled my eyes when I saw he had signed to DG. I'm a fan of Moby's music but this is odd. I remember Tori Amos released on DG years back which also surprised me. Yannick Nézet-Séguin releasing a piano album seems COMPLETELY unnecessary. I guess the suits at Universal are desperate? Just before the pandemic, I heard the premiere of a new work by Esa-Pekka Salonen played by the Los Angeles Philharmonic. It took my breath away and I have no idea why it's not been released on a highly promoted album.

[@matthewv789]

Yes that would be interesting; I find Esa Pekka Salonen’s compositions quite engaging.

[@joshgrumiaux6820]

I wonder if the Yannik album is purely contractual. The labels pretend like each release is made with an urgent artistic mission, but I think more likely it is: "We made a deal to deliver X number of recordings in X number of years, insert Tab A into Slot B".

[@matthewv789]

@@joshgrumiaux6820 They were probably happy to be able to release something with such a low budget.

[@william-michaelcostello7776]

Well I said it before , you should be a stand up comedian for Classical lovers. Did you understand the English you were quoting from? I didn‘t.

[@arjenbij]

What's your take on max richter's four seasons?

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

What do you think?

[@arjenbij]

@@DavesClassicalGuide I don't think of it as classical. I like it though, but not as classical music. I ask this because a friend of mine recently brought up the piece when I asked him what he has been listening to lately. He told me he's also been tipping his toes into classical, mentioning Pärt and Richter's music. So I told him I don't really regard Max Richter as classical. Then again I had trouble articulating why I don't.

[@johnanderton4200]

current times we live in

[@Adrian-hq5jk]

Max Richter is a complete phoney to me. They call these guys 'sound designers' now.

[@petejilka968]

Is this Classical music brought by the same people who ruined Star Wars and turned Star Trek into Star Dreck: Puke hard ...

[@johntellnott12345]

2:02 an apt gematria number to say you are funny as. But then you probably knew that. Off to hear the 5th again, Rare they say? Even stoners on the internet have a list of fav "renditions" if you will. . But then you all ready said that, I reiterate, funny! (in a good way that is, nothing so crass as to be mean).

[@johnb6723]

Billie Eilish classical? My foot!

[@elagabalus-imperator]

These "releases" (from their titles & content to the performers themselves), reek of both ignorance & "identity p*******"; what makes something "classical" is now what you're told to accept as classical, regardless of what it actually "is". Boomers & Gen X'rs practically own all the classical physical content; Millennials & Gen-Z listen to everything (practically) on-line. When I think of "remixes", I think of many musical genres, but NOT classical. When labels have exhausted the release of all mono & stereo recordings of classical works, in all their iterations, this is the result: "classical music" that really isn't "classical". Sad.

[@antmanbee100]

Maybe you should have reviewed the recordings rather than satirizing the titles.

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

They haven't been released yet, so that would be a tad difficult. The point. which I guess you missed, was to talk about the release schedule as something to theoretically whet the appetite of the classical music listener.

[@dsammut8831]

...Even your solo A Capella might now also be considered Classical. Grin.

[@jimshulman9221]

Moux in haste, played at leisure.

[@john1951w]

I "hope" that the Beethoven CD finds its "fate" in the trash bin. All this cross over dumbing down is pathetic. Maybe some of it stems from shows such as "Britain's Got Talent" where a panel of celebs listens to a really poor fiddle player murdering The Four Seasons on an electric fiddle and swooning over their amazing talent.

[@EricGross]

Classical music is in advanced decline ... so I guess a new category needs to be created that isn't pop or rap or jazz or new age OR classcal (!), which describes this, nearly 100%, crappy universe of non-categorized music.

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

Actually, I don't believe that at all. The music is fine. The industry is brain dead, but that's another matter and I'm not sure I care.

[@clemteetonball1250]

If you don't like Mous your a silly poo - sorry.

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

It's Moux.