Classical Music Online

Classic Music.

Summation: Some sort of precious metal typical, in any other case your precious metal typical, connected with on-line orchestral show encounters. HD top quality video fuses along with premium quality music for making on an unequalled practical knowledge. Each live seeing and also use of comprehensive show racks are offered, along with affordable membership prices, however forking over additional to help for good obtain materials seriously isn't offered. Similarly, we have a lack of any kind of totally free show materials, possibly in the “audio-only” format.


There is maybe zero much better place to begin for the on-line gourmet connected with time-honored audio compared to the Berlin Philharmonic. The particular A digital Live performance Lounge (DCH) challenge is very simply magnificent. Their own “behind your scenes” video is worth enjoying and also is likely to stimulate any kind of music-lover’s desire for food regarding using the product or service.

Featuring HD-quality video and also splendid music, your DCH incorporates a shocking selection of materials offered. Each and every Berlin Philharmonic show is available regarding live seeing since it comes about, and also the site possibly incorporates a countdown time clock showing the customers, because of the second, the length of time it will likely be prior to the up coming show. People outside European union would possibly not uncover live seeing hassle-free as a consequence of time period variations, however it is a wonderful function, enabling 1 your enjoyment of a live audio practical knowledge.

Each concert is archived, and the concert archive has concerts going back to the 1990-91 season.  From 1990 - 2002, there is only one or two concerts from each season, mainly an annual European Concert and perhaps a New Year’s Eve Concert, along with a smattering of other special events from the Claudio Abbado era.  There is a gap of no concerts from 2002 to 2008 -- the early years of Sir Simon Rattle as conductor.

Beginning with the 2008-2009 season, when the Digital Concert Hall project began, the archive seems to be a complete one, covering not only the concerts under the Rattle’s baton but also those conducted by the all-star guest conductor list that the Berlin Philharmonic regularly attracts. 

There is a free concert trailer for each concert, giving excerpts and a flavor of the event.  As a bonus, most concerts also include an extended interview with conductors, guest artists, and composers of new music being premiered.  Unlike the concerts, the interviews are free content, allowing the visitor to listen to a conversation about the music of the concert and to decide if he is interested enough to pay for the concert.

Which brings us to the one potential downside, for some, of the Berlin Philharmonic site.  Professional quality concert filming like this does not come cheap.  The DCH corporate partner is Deutsche Bank, but as with most artistic endeavors, such sponsorship only covers a part of the cost.  There are a variety of options available for viewing:  a 48 hour pass for 9.90 Euros that allows one to watch a single live concert plus have unlimited access to the archives for that time period,  a 30 day pass for 29 Euros that allows 4 live concerts and access to the archives, a monthly subscription with automatic renewal for 14.90 Euros a month, and a annual pass for 149 Euros that allows unlimited access to all live and archived content for the year.  Student and teacher discount pricing is available, but details on the size of the discount is not available online.

The Berlin Philharmonic has a history of technical innovation, in no small part because of the stamp that Herbert von Karajan placed on the ensemble.  Karajan and the Berlin Philharmonic’s recording of Eine Alpensynphonie is reportedly the first classical music CD ever pressed, and their collaboration resulted in some of the first digital recordings made in studio.  Perhaps most relevant to the DCH project, Karajan, partnered with the French filmmaker Henri-Georges Clouzot, pioneered the application of modern film-making techniques to classical music, taking concert recordings to another level of aesthetic experience.