99 Beethoven songs from Amazon for $2

[masraum]

So, saw this on slick deals today.

"The 99 Most Essential Beethoven Masterpieces MP3 Download for $2."

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001NWULS0?tag=slickdeals

It's 1.5 Gigs of Beethoven, several hours worth. It seems like a good deal if you want some Beethoven.

[Porsche-O-Phile]

Not bad, but isn't such music considered "public domain" anyway at this point?

There are a number of classical pieces (not just by LVB either) that I love.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by Porsche-O-Phile

Not bad, but isn't such music considered "public domain" anyway at this point?

There are a number of classical pieces (not just by LVB either) that I love.

Yeah, they may be.

[imcarthur]

The music is in public domain, but the recordings would not be. But that is a disjointed mishmash of music. They give you 3/4 parts of the 9th, 2/4 parts of the 5th . . .

I guess it would be fine since it's free.

Ian

[TerryH]

Thanks for the heads up, Steve. My $2 worth is downloading now. I enjoy classical music and am ignorant enough not to know what parts are missing.

[Porsche-O-Phile]

For $2 you can't go wrong - I'm going to get 'em too. I figure $2 is worth the price of them putting the compilation together so I don't have to scrape it together from different sources.

[masraum]

That's what I was thinking guys.

For some free stuff, if you use any torrent client, the other day I downloaded a bunch of Pachelbel, Mozart and Beethoven.

[Christien]

Originally Posted by imcarthur

The music is in public domain, but the recordings would not be. But that is a disjointed mishmash of music. They give you 3/4 parts of the 9th, 2/4 parts of the 5th . . .

I guess it would be fine since it's free.

Ian

Ugh. The result of our 2-second attention span world. It's not just kids anymore.

You can't properly appreciate the 4th movement of the 9th symphony without first hearing the first 3 movements. That's why the whole symphony is so long. To really "get it", you need to invest the time, just like anything else in life.

Beethoven is not background "wallpaper" music. If you really want to be blown away, get Karajan's recording with Berlin, set aside an hour where nobody will bother you and give it the proper time it deserves.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by Christien

Ugh. The result of our 2-second attention span world. It's not just kids anymore.

You can't properly appreciate the 4th movement of the 9th symphony without first hearing the first 3 movements. That's why the whole symphony is so long. To really "get it", you need to invest the time, just like anything else in life.

Beethoven is not background "wallpaper" music. If you really want to be blown away, get Karajan's recording with Berlin, set aside an hour where nobody will bother you and give it the proper time it deserves.

So if you don't have the time it's better to not listen at all?

[TerryH]

Originally Posted by Christien

Ugh. The result of our 2-second attention span world. It's not just kids anymore.

You can't properly appreciate the 4th movement of the 9th symphony without first hearing the first 3 movements. That's why the whole symphony is so long. To really "get it", you need to invest the time, just like anything else in life.

Beethoven is not background "wallpaper" music. If you really want to be blown away, get Karajan's recording with Berlin, set aside an hour where nobody will bother you and give it the proper time it deserves.

ahhh.. ignorance is bliss! I can enjoy it because I don't "get it". I have B's on other CD's too.

[Christien]

Originally Posted by masraum

So if you don't have the time it's better to not listen at all?

Yes.

[Christien]

Originally Posted by TerryH

ahhh.. ignorance is bliss! I can enjoy it because I don't "get it". Sorry for you.

I'm not sure exactly what you mean - of course you can enjoy pretty melodies and not get it. But to understand the greatness that has allowed a work of art such as the 9th to endure hundreds of years requires an investment of time. I'm not saying you need to understand the structures and theories behind it (though that will increase the payoff even more - for example to understand the gravity of the "vor gott" moment) but there's a lot more to it than just a pretty tune.

I guess what I don't understand is why, if you guys are like most of the Pelican group, you'll spend countless hours tinkering over an MFI pump or carburetor adjustment, but are unwilling to invest the same amount of time as an episode of Law and Order into one of the greatest accomplishments of the Western world.

[masraum]

It's the classical music nazi (Seinfeld reference, not Hitler).

No Classical for you!!!

[imcarthur]

I have a really hard time disagreeing with Chris. The 9th - in it's entirety - is truly one of the greatest musical works of all time. Beethoven was a master at transitions. His ability to take you from one movement to the next (or one 'emotional chapter' to the next) was sublime but you can only appreciate it when you hear the work in one sitting. In the 9th, listen to the 2nd to the 3rd & the 3rd to the 4th. In the 5th symphony my fav is the 2nd to the 3rd transition.

It makes Mozart's transitions in his symphonies - and most other composers - seem choppy. Even though Mozart always had every note in it's perfect place . . .

Ian

[masraum]

I completely understand that it would be best to listen to the whole piece in one sitting with no distractions to get the whole experience. I'm sure it'd be ideal to listen as it's played live in a hall with great acoustics or in a $50,000 home audio room. But I can't imagine that there's anything wrong with enjoying it piecemeal on the drive home, either.

[Christien]

There's nothing "wrong" with anything. My point is that you can't get the full impact of the piece without giving it your time. It's like turning a few screws on the carbs and saying "well, the car runs and drives, good enough". Sure, it works, but you're missing out on so much.

Here's a novel idea: why no go to a concert hall and hear it live as it was originally intended? If hearing the 9th live doesn't move you almost to tears, it was either a really *****ty performance, or you have no soul.

[imcarthur]

Well, you are right too, Steve. Some classical is always better than no classical.

Ian

[Porsche-O-Phile]

I agree with Christien - ideally you have to hear the entire pieces, but barring that I think there is some value to hearing just little bits here and there too. Better than nothing. And 5 minutes of classical has more value than 100 hours of (c)rap or hip-hop in any case.

[TerryH]

Originally Posted by imcarthur

Well, you are right too, Steve. Some classical is always better than no classical.

Ian

Checking my hard drive.... half of the 5th is missing. The 9th contains four parts, Choral I - Choral IV.

I enjoy classical as background when I'm working or reading. Occasionally I do sit back and focus just on the music... until my head nods.

[RoninLB]

Chances are that the download will not have much range. No range, no punch.

digital sucks to begin with but best is a single 24 bit CD. I need a 24 bit LVB /von Karajan