# Music streaming Apps - Spotify - Amazon etc



## Loge (Oct 30, 2014)

I recently had my Amazon Prime package updated to include the Amazon Music App at no extra cost.

And I have to say Amazon Music when it comes to classical music and opera is pretty good, and is getting better by the day. Some of my favourite albums on this are the Naxos Opera Explained series. Each album covers an opera with parts of the opera and a narration that explains the historical context of the opera as well as the plot. These are like documentaries on the famous operas.

But recently Deutsche Grammophon and Decca recordings of operas started to appear. So we have recordings by Von Karajan, Kleiber and Abbado. And the other day they put on the entire Solti Ring Cycle. Never could afford the Solti Ring Cycle, so now I have it as another bonus.

So what i would like to know does anyone else use streaming services like Spotify or Amazon to listen to opera? I now have a library that is vastly larger than my CD collection, at my fingertips. And what are the best or unique albums on each service?


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## Boothvoice (Oct 5, 2015)

I have not signed on for a service yet...Been using the Spotify "free" version..Just heard the first movement of the Tchaikovsky 5th with George Szell and the Cleveland Orchestra followed by an add for a rap debut artist at three times the volume... Jarring to say the least. Before I bite the bullet for the commercial free Spotify, are there other that have more (or better) classical content?


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## mountmccabe (May 1, 2013)

There was just a Grammophone article discussing about classical music on streaming services (the focus is on what it means for small labels). I have issues with it, but it is interesting.

And it briefly mentions two forthcoming classical-only streaming services: MeloMe and Idagio. But neither are fully up yet, so who knows what they will become.


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## mountmccabe (May 1, 2013)

Loge said:


> So what i would like to know does anyone else use streaming services like Spotify or Amazon to listen to opera? I now have a library that is vastly larger than my CD collection, at my fingertips. And what are the best or unique albums on each service?


I transitioned to most of my listening being via Spotify (followed by mp3s, records, CDs, and radio), and I had a similar shocked reaction: there is so much available! I am very happy to pay for the premium subscription to listen without commercials.

I can listen to, say, everything in the SFO 2015-16 season! URI:

```
spotify:user:1236893927:playlist:0j1OlZ1NpdqGF462iptDaZ
```
Or, say, instrumental excerpts/transcriptions/fantasies of/from operas. URI:

```
spotify:user:1236893927:playlist:280Zlrj4OJphUZN02hBwXA
```
Spotify has also been a great companion to the recommended opera recordings threads; when someone's description of a performance catches my attention more often than not I can queue it up via Spotify.

The last time I looked at what was available via Amazon Prime Music I was not that impressed, but it's good to know there have been some additions; I will look again! And, speaking of Amazon Prime, I'll note again that their Instant Video includes numerous operas, recitals, and classical performances.


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## Braddan (Aug 23, 2015)

I've been a Prime member for a while as we have a Smart TV so the TV streaming is used and it is fast and convenient for delivery of online orders. I came across the operas available by accident while shopping for a recording of a Berlioz Les Troyens and was pleasantly surprised to see the live Davis recording was available to stream at no extra cost. It's so easy to add items to your library and then listen at leisure. I connect my laptop to my amplifier. Apart from the ones you mentioned there are also recitals and some live recordings of old classic performances, I recently listened to a live Chenier with Corelli and Tebaldi. The only problem is finding the time to listen to it all!


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## Boothvoice (Oct 5, 2015)

Are selections limited in Spotify free or only interrupted by commercials?


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## Triplets (Sep 4, 2014)

I have used Spotify Premium for over a year and have been pleased. Sound quality is good and a nice collection. I use it a lot in the car from the phone through the aux input of the cars receiver.
The search engine is the only downfall....


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## Bruce (Jan 2, 2013)

*Streaming services*

I've been using two services, and am quite satisfied with both: Spotify and the Naxos Music Library. Naxos is more oriented toward the classical music listener, with a lot more information about the recording, label, etc. Spotify seems to treat classical as if it were pop, and you often don't get important information about the performers. (Like who they are.)

One thing I like about Spotify is that they have DG, Phillips and Decca labels, which have not yet appeared on Naxos. (If they do, I'll probably drop my subscription to Spotify, and go exclusively with Naxos.) Naxos does not have a free option, though, which is not an issue for me, since I do not want my listening to be interrupted by advertisements between the tracks.


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## DarkAngel (Aug 11, 2010)

Spotify premium is by far the most extensive library of classical and opera, pay the $10 a month and get add free and 320 kbps music stream, search for classical is clumbsy affair but you catch on quick through trail and error, amazing amount of material including historical releases

Tidal has superior lossless CD quality streaming for $20 a month, you must use google chrome browser for CD quality and library not as big as Spotify

I am Amazon Prime member but do not use the music service, needs more work to be at same level as Spotify, not quite ready for "prime time"


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## Becca (Feb 5, 2015)

DarkAngel said:


> Tidal has superior lossless CD quality streaming for $20 a month, you must use google chrome browser for CD quality and library not as big as Spotify


Is the Tidal search engine better than Spotify ... which is very, very annoying.


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## GreenMamba (Oct 14, 2012)

I have Rdio. I forget why, but Spotify rubbed me the wrong way. I think their libraries are similar, but Spotify probably has more. 

$5 a month for no ads. Usual annoyances in that it isn't set up for Classical.


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## DarkAngel (Aug 11, 2010)

Becca said:


> Is the Tidal search engine better than Spotify ... which is very, very annoying.


Both are equally annoying because they are designed to search for rock music parameters.....but you learn some tricks through trial and error 

Tidal has enhanced video play features which I don't really use


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## Loge (Oct 30, 2014)

Thanks for the info on Spotify. There are 30 second adds every 3-4 tracks on the free version. But their collection is very impressive. Currently listening to Karajan's Rheingold, very nice. A great way to take a dip and hear how an album sounds.


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## BryGuySC (Oct 14, 2015)

I've only recently developed an appreciation for opera, and Spotify has been a great help.
A tip for everyone using the free version in a web browser. If you have an ad blocking extension installed, it removed the commercials, so you can listen interruption-free! 
(Mods, if I can't mention specifics, please remove these)
I use either uBlock or AdBlock Plus


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## Sonata (Aug 7, 2010)

May I ask what opera videos have been found on Amazon Prime Video? I've had no luck finding any! And what search did you do to find Solti's Ring? I haven't been able to find it on Prime


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## mountmccabe (May 1, 2013)

Sonata said:


> May I ask what opera videos have been found on Amazon Prime Video? I've had no luck finding any!


If you use the category "Prime Video" and the search term "medici.tv" I get 77 results. Of these maybe one third are operas (the others are vocal or instrumental recitals, orchestral concerts, classical music documentaries, etc). You can add "opera" to the search term to limit it some, but for some reason that misses 10 or so of the operas available. I made a list for an earlier thread:

Adams, Doctor Atomic - Peter Sellars, De Nederlandse Opera
Bellini, La Somnambula - Natalie Dessay, Evelino Pido, Opéra national de Paris
Debussy, Pelléas et Mélisande - Philippe Jordan, Robert Wilson - Opéra national de Paris 2012
Haendel, Giulio Cesare - Angelika Kirchschlager, William Christie, Glyndebourne 2009 
Janáček, The Cunning Little Vixen - Opéra national de Paris 2008
Offenbach, Les Contes d'Hoffmann - María Bayo, Aquiles Machado, Giancarlo del Monaco - Bilbao
Massenet, Werther - Jonas Kaufmann, Michel Plasson - Opéra national de Paris 2010 
Monteverdi, L'Orfeo - Sara Mingardo, Roberta Invernizzi, Rinaldo Alessandrini, Teatro alla Scala 2009
Mozart, La Clemenza di Tito - Susan Graham, Sylvain Cambreling, Opéra national de Paris
Puccini, La Bohème - Jesús López Cobos, Teatro Real
Puccini, Madama Butterfly - Cheryl Barker, Robert Wilson, De Nederlandse Opera 2003 
Purcell, Dido and Aeneas - Lucy Crowe, Sarah Connolly - Covent Garden 2009
Rossini, La Cenerentola - Peter Hall, Vladimir Jurowski, Glyndebourne 2005
Shostakovich, Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk - Eva-Maria Westbroek, Mariss Jansons, De Nederlandse Opera
Strauss, Salome - Philippe Jordan, Covent Garden
Tchaikovsky, Eugene Onegin - Alexander Vedernikov, Dmitri Tcherniakov, Opéra national de Paris
Verdi, Un Ballo in Maschera - Salvatore Licitra, Maria Guleghina, Riccardo Muti, Teatro alla Scala
Verdi, Otello - Gran Teatre del Liceu
Wagner, Lohengrin - Waltraud Meier, Kent Nagano, Baden-Baden
Donizetti, L'elisir d'amore - Maurizio Benini, Glyndebourne 2009
Mozart, Così fan tutte - Topi Lehtipuu, Luca Pisaroni - Glyndebourne 2006
Mozart, Don Giovanni - Glyndebourne Festival 2010
Moussorgski, La Kovanchtchina - Michael Boder - Gran Teatre del Liceu
Rossini, Il Barbiere di Siviglia - Juan Diego Flórez, Ruggero Raimondi, Teatro Real Madrid 2005
Rossini, La Pietra del paragone - Alberto Zedda, Pier Luigi Pizzi, Teatro Real Madrid
Stravinsky, The Rake's Progress - Kazushi Ono, Théâtre de la Monnaie, 2007
Wagner, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg - Sebastian Weigle, Katharina Wagner, Bayreuther Festspielhaus
Wagner, Tristan und Isolde - Robert Dean Smith, Christoph Marthaler - Bayreuth 2006

In addition there are a couple opera films available through Amazon Prime Instant Video:

Tosca, directed by Benoît Jacquot
Otello, directed by Franco Zefferelli


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## Sonata (Aug 7, 2010)

Thank you for the info! very helpful


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## mountmccabe (May 1, 2013)

Quite a few more opera performances have been added to Amazon Prime Instant Video. These include an _I Puritani_, Cav/Pag, and _Aida_. Other recent additions include ballets (Swan Lake, The Pharaoh's Daughter) and Honneger's oratorio _Jeanne d'Arc au bûcher_.

Perhaps more remarkable is that there are more options to rent or buy digitally. There always used to be a few, but now there are several options (usually around $4.99 for a rental).

Examples include Harding/Bondy _The Turn of the Screw_, Nagano/Bieito _Boris Godunov_, Minkowski/Tcherniakov _Il Trovatore_, and the _Aida_ at Arena di Verona by La Fura dels Baus.

They're not the easiest to find, unless you have something specific you're looking for. I searched the category Amazon Video for "opera," refined by movie, and then sorted by Newest Arrivals. Not everything listed is an opera (or even close), but many of them are. Other search approaches will give you a slightly different list order (and probably a slightly different list!)

At any rate, my queue has grown significantly. And I'm thrilled to have so much more choice in opera videos to rent digitally.

I'll also note that a Quello Concerts subscription appears to add a number of options as well, though perhaps not enough opera/classical/related content to justify a $7.99/month subscription for long.


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## mountmccabe (May 1, 2013)

I just looked again at what Amazon's Prime Video (in the USA, at least) had available and the lineup has changed a fair bit. There are still 50+ operas available, but not so many of them are the recent medici.tv versions. Other new ones have been added along with quite a few older recordings, something not previously well represented. This includes several with Beverly Sills and quite a few from the Bolshoi Opera.

There are also the _Das Rheingold_ and _Die Walküre_ from the Stuttgart Ring.


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## DarkAngel (Aug 11, 2010)

Tidal has recently introduced MQA "master" series audio playback featuring 24/96 bit depth (over 3x CD quality) for small but growing number of albums. To use this feature you must use the computer desktop app of Tidal (unless this has changed) and look for albums with "M" designation......

Most of the remastered Callas albums from new boxset are now available in masters series for instance.......

https://support.tidal.com/hc/en-us/articles/115000397069-TIDAL-MASTERS

No extra cost currently for HIFI Tidal members, but notice the finely worded statement perhaps indicating a future extra charge......



> We are* introducing *this to all TIDAL HiFi members at no additional charge.


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## mountmccabe (May 1, 2013)

mountmccabe said:


> There are also the _Das Rheingold_ and _Die Walküre_ from the Stuttgart Ring.


The entire Weimar Ring is available now, too.

It's filed under TV, as four episodes. Search for "Wagner the Ring of the Nibelung" not Weimar or Carl St. Clair.


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