Web of Music
Internet Resources Bring the World of Music Home
By Scott Foglesong
Once upon a time, there was no Internet. It wasn’t all that long ago, actually. Although the scaffolding was being bolted together as early as the 1950s, our world-enveloping and ubiquitous Internet of today is only a few decades old. Nowadays every place is filled with folks who have no concept of life without the Internet, and for many others steady access to the Net has become an absolute necessity. It’s a rare profession indeed that has not been touched, even transformed, by the Internet, and that special corner of the arts we call “classical music” is no exception.
Musicians are traditionally early adopters of promising new technologies and as such took to the burgeoning digital age like so many ducks to silicon. Intrepid pioneers back in the 1950s juggled stacks of punched cards as they explored computerized composition, and pop performers were amongst the first to adopt standardized networking systems that allowed electronic musical instruments to communicate not only with each other, but with computers. The World Wide Web, with its ease of navigation and audiovisual virtuosity, has become a particularly rich resource for all things musical, no matter what one’s area of interest, field of expertise, or depth of knowledge. That very richness may well prove intimidating to the newcomer, however, who may well agree with software pioneer Mitchell Kapor that “getting information off the Internet is like taking a drink from a fire hydrant.” So join me on an introductory tour of classical music on the Internet, a place where all the music in the world is but a click away.
Getting Started
When traveling on the Internet, it’s always cool to ask for directions, and among the best places to stop is Google, a service so ubiquitous that most Web browsers build it right in as the “search” feature. A Google search can bring up an overwhelming number of results and may well need refining. Happily, Google dispenses with arcane techie-talk. Just try to describe what you’re seeking in plain English, and you run a good chance of finding it. Keep in mind, however, that Internet-based material comes with no guarantee of integrity; information may be incorrect, services may be fraudulent, and media may be offered in violation of copyright. Caveat emptor. However, the references offered in this article are all of established worthiness, so click away with confidence.
Education
What if you’re interested in acquiring some basic music education? Perhaps you would like to brush up on elementary music theory or find out a bit about general music history. You might want to give classical.net a try; acting as a clearinghouse for music sites, it offers its own articles of interest as well. For the beginner in the classical music world, there is no better place than the “Basic Repertoire” section, which offers a clear overview of musical periods and their primary composers, including suggestions for further exploration. The “Music Links” section provides a handy gateway to Web sites devoted to just about anything and everything under the sun, musically speaking. Just for fun, I used the “Links” section to discover that the now obscure nineteenth-century German composer Felix Draeseke is the subject of an entire Web site—complete with its own links to catalogues, societies, articles, and so forth.
In 2002, the San Francisco Symphony launched sfskids.com, an interactive music educational resource designed to serve children, adults, families, teachers, and schools. Free to adults and children alike, sfskids.com has received over four millions hits since its launch, and links educators and music lovers to all things SFS.
Keeping Score (keepingscore.org) is the San Francisco Symphony’s multimedia project designed to make classical music accessible to people of all ages and musical backgrounds. At the Keeping Score Web site, you can follow the scores while listening to MTT and the SFS perform Beethoven’s Eroica Symphony, Tchaikovsky’s Fourth Symphony, Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring, Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique, Ives’s Holidays Symphony, Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5, and Copland’s Appalachian Spring. At keepingscore.org, you can go as deeply into this music as you want or just revel in its immediate beauties, meet the composers, discover how music conveys emotions, see what music shares with other arts, and watch MTT and the SFS in video action. Another option is to visit the PBS video site (video.pbs.org), where you can stream the full-length Keeping Score episodes on Beethoven, Stravinsky, Copland, Berlioz, Ives, and Shostakovich.
Arts Organizations, etc.
The San Francisco Symphony Web site at sfsymphony.org offers concert information, calendars, ticket purchases, an online store for recordings and other materials, press information, artist biographies, program notes, educational resources, support information, a directory of contact information, and more. Anybody interested in exploring the Symphony can make no better start than spending some quality time at sfsymphony.org, a vital treasure chest of information about anything and everything pertaining to the SFS.
Music schools and conservatories also offer their own Web sites, which may well feature materials of interest to the general community. Online courses in music, information about public concerts and classes, or even lecture notes, recorded classes, and other valuable materials may well be freely available. Try the aforementioned Classical.net for a hefty assortment of links to such resources, and also check out iTunes U (accessible through the iTunes Store) for free college music courses online.
Recordings
A great way to get your feet damp on the Internet is to go shopping for records, a reassuring pastime reminiscent of good old record clubs and mail-order catalogues. But no catalogue or physical store could ever have matched the selection available on the Internet. Even those stuffed Tower Records stores of yore were pipsqueaks compared to today’s online vendors.
Outstanding sources for classical CDs include arkivmusic.com and amazon.com. At the San Francisco Symphony’s eStore (sfsymphony.org/store) you can purchase SFS recordings and the DVDs in the Keeping Score series.
ArkivMusic is a classical-only site that enhances its already vast catalogue with ArkivCD reprints, which bring valuable out-of-print items back into the market. ArkivMusic’s clever organization makes it a trivial matter to discover, for example, that a staggering 223 recordings of Beethoven’s Eroica Symphony are on offer as I write these words.
Web giant Amazon includes both new and used recordings, making it the all-around champ in terms of catalogue size. But even Amazon does not have the last word; not all recordings are released in the United States, after all. Sometimes international vendors may offer treasures unobtainable through US-based retailers. Among those include the British Presto Classical (prestoclassical.co.uk) and The Classical Shop at theclassicalshop.net. German vendor jpc.de offers a fine selection, as do the various non-US Amazon sites such as Canada, United Kingdom, and Germany.
The compact disc is a worthy medium for sound, but when you get right down to it, a CD is really nothing more than storage for digital data—gazillions of binary digits, or bits. Those bits will make music no matter how they’re stored, so a file residing on your computer’s hard drive can be “played” just like a CD. That’s why among today’s most popular electronic gadgets are handheld computers designed specifically for playing digital media—iPods and their ilk.
Binary digits can be scattered around the Internet as well, making it possible to buy downloaded music via a service specifically designed for shopping, payment, and delivery, all handled online with no physical media changing hands. Without question, this is the future of home audio and video, and for many people, it’s the present as well.
Because digital audio requires substantial amounts of data, various methods of compression have been developed to squeeze audio files down to sizes more practical for sending over the Internet. Compression has a negative impact on overall audio quality, but it’s almost unavoidable, at least for now. Only a few specialized vendors offer audio in either uncompressed or lossless formats, both of which trade large file sizes (and long download times) for optimal sound quality.
The iTunes Store (accessed via Apple’s iTunes software) is currently the industry champ, combining as it does convenience, scope, and tight integration with Apple’s popular iPods. Unlike many music download vendors, Apple understands that shoppers focus on the music’s composer as well as its performers, and that classical albums are typically not collections of single-track “songs” as is the case in popular music. Now the world’s largest music retailer with more than 8.5 billion individual tracks sold, the iTunes Store is popular with classical and popular music lovers alike.
Every one of those award-festooned Mahler recordings from the SFS and Michael Tilson Thomas is available on iTunes—including the recently released Eighth Symphony (with the Adagio from Symphony No. 10). Should you purchase the new Eighth Symphony recording through iTunes, you will also receive a free digital copy of the video A Universe of Sound: Recording Mahler’s Symphony No. 8, a behind-the-scenes documentary about the recording of the mammoth work.
Last summer, San Francisco Symphony audience members participated in their own music-making via their iPhones and iPod Touch devices. They downloaded an app from Smule (smule.com), which converted their handhelds into ocarinas, and they played “Aerith’s Theme” from the FINAL FANTASY video game on their new “instruments.” Apple offers a wide range of music applications for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Users with those devices can access them via the App Store from their home screens, or through iTunes on their computers.
Apple’s iTunes success has encouraged other vendors to take the classical download market seriously, none more so thanAmazon, which offers an excellent selection of moderately compressed files, in an environment rivaling iTunes for ease of use. Although still primarily selling physical CDs, ArkivMusic has begun offering a small subset of its catalog in downloadable format, while software titan Microsoft has entered the fray with its Zune ecosystem, consisting both of handheld Zune music players and an online store accessible through the Zune software.
Classicsonline.com is a download site focusing primarily on independent labels such as Naxos, Chandos, or BIS, with a strong focus on classical music. Although it falls a bit short in convenience compared to iTunes or Amazon, it may offer higher-quality files than either store, and at better prices—so a bit of comparison shopping may pay solid dividends.
Streamlining the shopping process a bit, Google’s new music search feature (google.com/music) enables you to search for, listen to, and purchase digital music tracks directly from Google music partners such as LaLa, RhapsodyMusic, and iLike. Googlemusic even lets you audition full-length clips before buying, thereby helping to ensure a surprise-free retail experience.
No classical record label is more aristocratic than Deutsche Grammophon, which hosts its own Web site (deutschegrammophon.com) featuring high-quality downloads of not only the current DG catalog, but also a healthy assortment of recordings no longer available on CD. Of particular interest to audiophiles may be the store’s selection of downloads in the “lossless” FLAC format, which promises sound quality indistinguishable from compact discs. Clear organization and thoughtful design make it a winner all the way around.
Certain vendors specialize in one area of the repertory or another. Particularly intriguing are those companies offering historic recordings—i.e. performances from the past which are worth exploring for musical or historical purposes. Pride of place must go to Pristine Classical at pristineclassical.com. Pristine’s mission is to resuscitate worthy recordings (both live and commercial) from great artists of the past and offer them in immaculately restored versions, in a variety of download formats including extremely high-grade masters such as are used by recording engineers. One may find, for example, early recordings of the San Francisco Symphony under Music Director Alfred Hertz, brought back to glowing life from their 78 RPM shellac disc originals. For even earlier recordings, consult tinfoil.com and the Cylinder Preservation and Digitization Project (cylinders.library.ucsb.edu), both of which open a window to the discographic past, all as a public service.
Several other vendors are of interest to classical shoppers. eMusic.com sports a similar catalogue to ClassicsOnline, but with an intriguing retail plan in which a set monthly fee allows for a fixed number of downloads. HDTracks.com offers uncompressed files for maximum audio quality, as does Linn Records (linnrecords.com) and the Tallis Scholars’ label, Gimell at gimell.com.
Special mention must go to the NaxosMusic Library (naxosmusiclibrary.com), a subscription-based service that streams music à la radio, rather than selling downloadable files. The NML features a hefty assortment of educational resources as well, including some extremely fine guides to music history, linked to onsite recordings for easy reference.
Radio and Video
Classical music radio stations are finding happy new homes on the Internet. One of the easiest ways to access a fine choice of stations is via iTunes, which at last check featured about three dozen separate stations, some also broadcasting over the airwaves (such as the Bay Area’s KDFC), while others are Internet-only.
This is probably the best place to mention the popular youtube.com, a Web site devoted to video clips from all over the globe. A search on YouTube for a particular composer or performer can result in a wealth of unexpected goodies. Neither audio nor video quality is optimal, but there’s no beating the price (free) nor the seemingly unlimited range of materials on hand. Check out the SFS YouTube Channel at youtube.com/sfsymphony for a collection of videos produced by the San Francisco Symphony, including backstage interviews with Symphony musicians, conductors, and guest artists, as well as revealing mini-documentaries on the recording of Mahler’s Eighth Symphony and filming our Keeping Score PBS television series.
Music in Print
There’s a great deal more to the music world than listening; one can’t perform a Beethoven symphony without a copy of the score, after all. Nowadays many musicians acquire their scores and parts online, where for the first time in history a great deal of the standard repertory is obtainable for free. The rest can be purchased from online vendors who make up in selection what they lack in immediate gratification.
Mozart’s entire output is available at the online Neue Mozart Ausgabe (New Mozart Edition) (dme.mozarteum.at), providing ready access to the most scholarly edition of Mozart around. The International Music Score Library Project, or IMSLP (imslp.org), has returned online after some legal difficulties over copyright issues. The IMSLP serves as a warehouse for public domain, downloadable sheet music and as such brings that utopia of all-the-libraries-in-the-world-at-your-fingertips a bit closer to reality.
The Choral Public Library (cpdl.org) does not seem to be suffering from any legal issues, and offers—as the name implies—a grand collection of choral sheet music, all of it gratis. Therefore you are but one brief download and print job away from an after-dinner sing-along of the Saint Matthew Passion, should that be your pleasure. If earlier music tickles your fancy, the Werner Icking Music Archive (icking-music-archive.org) is a place to visit. The Indiana University Online Scores (dlib.indiana.edu/variations/scores/) collection offers, among other goodies, an impressive series of public domain opera scores.
If you require music in regular old printed form, excellent choices are Sheet Music Plus (sheetmusicplus.com) and J.W. Pepper (jwpepper.com). Both vendors offer searchable catalogues and excellent breadth, with J.W. Pepper focusing more on international publishers whereas Sheet Music Plus is broadly general. If your need is basic—say, a Henle edition of the Beethoven piano sonatas—either vendor can fix you up in nothing flat. Between the two of them, you’re likely to find anything you need, whether everyday or arcane.
Books
People who love music also love to read about it. Bookstores were among the first successes of Internet commerce and remain substantial online presences. Amazon, Barnes & Noble (barnesandnoble.com), alibris.com and Powell’s Books (powells.com) are all fine places to visit if you’re seeking books on music. Each store has its own special advantages: Amazon’s links to used-book dealers, Barnes & Noble’s textbook division, and Alibris’s and Powell’s selection of secondhand titles.
The Internet has always been first and foremost a source of information, so it shouldn’t be surprising that an entire music library is sitting there before you on the computer screen. In English-speaking countries, The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians has long been the standard reference work, a massive multi-volume affair traditionally requiring high expense and abundant shelf space. Grove’s is typically found in the reference section of your local library, but you can read it at home, at Oxford Music Online (www.oxfordmusiconline.com), a resource accessible via a reasonable subscription fee. Many public libraries subscribe to Grove’s, so your library card may let you in for free.
You might also turn to wikipedia.com, a vast public encyclopedia that may be edited by anyone. Wikipedia taps into the collective knowledge of humanity and is potentially of unimaginable scope. However, that very openness means that a Wikipedia article has not been subjected to expert scrutiny and may contain false or misleading information—although, on the whole, mistakes are typically winnowed out by the readership, aided by increasingly watchful editorial policies. All in all, Wikipedia can be considered reasonably trustworthy, provided one exercises a modicum of vigilance. Wikipedia cannot compete with Grove’s in terms of musical accuracy or coverage, as a rule. Just to give one example, the main article on Handel in Grove’s runs to nearly 30,000 words, while Wikipedia’s article weighs in a bit under 2,000.
Forums
What about chatting with other music lovers? Discussion groups have long been a mainstay of the Internet and require nothing more than a willingness to type out your two-cents’ worth. Although the choices are many, consider the San Francisco Symphony Social Network at community.sfsymphony.org. You’re welcome to browse around without actually joining, if you’d like to try the waters before plunging in. At the Symphony’s social networking page, you’ll find forums that tend to be practical, helpful, and extremely friendly; for example, a recent topic delved into restaurants near Davies Symphony Hall, with members chiming in with their favorites and recommendations. You might also consider some of the groups on yahoo.com that are devoted to classical music; many of these are frequented by passionately well-informed people who love to discuss performances, recordings, and just about anything pertaining to the field, while moderators ensure that disruptive behavior is kept to a minimum.
This is the place to bring up facebook.com, an online global village if ever there were. Facebook might be described as the ultimate evolution of the laundromat bulletin board, a potent tool for reaching out to others and staying in touch. The SFS’s Facebook page positively bulges with information, tips, videos, and other goodies, and sports thousands of chattering fans, with more joining all the time.
If you want the skinny and you want it right now, twitter.com is the service for you. On Twitter, followers of a particular topic receive instant tweets, or updates; for example, should you be a follower of the San Francisco Symphony, your tweets will include the latest news and concert updates, behind-the-scenes tidbits, photos, and special offers.
Bay Area music lovers will want to visit the San Francisco Classical Voice Web site (sfcv.org). Launched in 1998, sfcv.org attracts thousands of classical music fans each month with its previews, reviews, interviews, and informative articles courtesy of a group of ace critics and reporters, including Janos Gereben, Georgia Rowe, Jesse Hamlin, Steven Winn, Lisa Petrie, former San Francisco Chronicle classical music critic Robert P. Commanday, and many more.
The Worldwide Concert Hall
Back in 1997, a grumpy article in the Chronicle of Higher Education described the Internet as “a shallow and unreliable electronic repository of dirty pictures, inaccurate rumors, bad spelling and worse grammar, inhabited largely by people with no demonstrable social skills.” How things have changed in the twenty-first century! On the “town square for the global village of tomorrow” (Bill Gates), ex-President Bill Clinton can quip that “even my cat has its own page.”
Yes, the Internet is the network of networks, the information superhighway. But for music lovers it’s also the biggest concert hall in the world, open 24/7, where the lobby is always filled with interesting people and every seat is the best seat in the house.
Scott Foglesong, Chair of the Department of Musicianship and Music Theory at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, is a Contributing Writer for the San Francisco Symphony’s program book and a regular speaker at SFS pre-concert talks.