# MC Classical Library



## flamencosketches (Jan 4, 2019)

Anyone familiar with this line or know anything about who puts it out?

I have downloaded two great albums from them, both big compilations with lots of material for dirt cheap. $1 a piece. They are these:

















Especially enjoying this Richter, but both were awesome finds. There must be more out there? I'm having trouble finding anything with an internet search outside of these and one which is a complete set of the Beethoven piano sonatas, of which I already have two and I'm not interested at the moment.

Someone must know; I was introduced to these two by members on the forums.


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## gardibolt (May 22, 2015)

I think this may be related to Parnassus Records operated by Leslie Gerber. www.parnassusrecords.com
Parnassus also sells both of these titles in CD form, though with somewhat different cover art, it's in the same style.


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## flamencosketches (Jan 4, 2019)

gardibolt said:


> I think this may be related to Parnassus Records operated by Leslie Gerber. www.parnassusrecords.com
> Parnassus also sells both of these titles in CD form, though with somewhat different cover art, it's in the same style.


Thanks for the link! There are some really great lookin CDs on here. Since I've been loving the 4 hours of '50s Richter I downloaded from the MC Library, I'm tempted to get that 2CD of '40s Richter.


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## SuperTonic (Jun 3, 2010)

See the link below. I found both of those albums there. There are a number of very large collections available for download, and all of them are currently marked down to $0.99. The Classic Select home page says that they are closed and not to order from them, but the Bach Guild digital download page that I've linked to below is still active and it looks like you can place an order.

https://www.classicselect.com/collections/digital-downloads-99-cents-each


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## Oldhoosierdude (May 29, 2016)

I second the Classics select site. Not sure what their trip is right now but they have taken all CD's from the site and started a new site without the digital selections. And they still have a disclaimer that they are closed on classics select but you can order the digital products. Go figure.

As for the MC products, I have the Beethoven symphonies which are not a bad offering, they have some power to them and are decently recorded. I have the Beethoven complete sonatas, also at least middle of the road but that it my taste. I find Taub a little harsh at times. Also have the Beethoven quartets as you do and like them pretty well.

But best of all they offer Rachmaninov works that are excellent but only available on Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07B8M11J5/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1


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## flamencosketches (Jan 4, 2019)

Excellent call on the Rachmaninov! I will be downloading this as I have none of his symphonies in my library.


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## Common Listener (Apr 6, 2019)

When I buy something, I want to receive something like a book or a CD so I don't usually mess with the other stuff (and even then it absolutely ought to be in lossless formats such as FLAC rather than MP3) but this seemed interesting. However, I'm not interested in creating another account anywhere and Amazon seems to require you to have certain browsers to access "your" music in "the cloud." They will not just let you download the files after you give them your money. Is this correct?


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## flamencosketches (Jan 4, 2019)

Common Listener said:


> When I buy something, I want to receive something like a book or a CD so I don't usually mess with the other stuff (and even then it absolutely ought to be in lossless formats such as FLAC rather than MP3) but this seemed interesting. However, I'm not interested in creating another account anywhere and Amazon seems to require you to have certain browsers to access "your" music in "the cloud." They will not just let you download the files after you give them your money. Is this correct?


No, that's not correct. I was given a download link after purchase. I would NOT pay to access music on any cloud.

I prefer CDs too, but I usually burn them and listen on my laptop regardless. Not having the booklet or physical media is less than ideal, but for the price I can't complain.


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## Common Listener (Apr 6, 2019)

flamencosketches said:


> No, that's not correct. I was given a download link after purchase. I would NOT pay to access music on any cloud.
> 
> I prefer CDs too, but I usually burn them and listen on my laptop regardless. Not having the booklet or physical media is less than ideal, but for the price I can't complain.


Thanks for that information. I decided to give them a try with the "Big Harnoncourt Box" first. Two zipfiles of 457 and 405 MB. And, yeah, with over eight hours of music (174 tracks) costing about 12 cents a CD's-worth and the punch of a couple of buttons, it's hard to complain. 

Enjoying the Muffat now.


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## flamencosketches (Jan 4, 2019)

No problem! I'm pretty sure they do have some sort of cloud based music library, in an attempt to compete with Spotify, Apple, etc., but I wouldn't use it. 

Glad you got some good music out of it! I'm still enjoying the Richter one a lot along with the Beethoven. I'm going to get that Rachmaninov once I finish burning some new CDs.


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## Common Listener (Apr 6, 2019)

Update (word of warning, request). I ordered a few more of those Big Boxes and downloaded them without too much problem, though they do insist on splitting the files into multiple zips and giving them the same names and the process glitched so that I had to try again after a few seconds more than once and it once spit up an error box telling me to wait 15 minutes but I did and it worked. They also scrambled up my orders, assigning a new single order to an older order, I think more than once. All this was not ideal but was still fine. However, when I tried to download #7 I got this: "You've reached the download limit for this purchase from Your Orders. You can still download this music from your Amazon Music library." When I complained, they told me to wait two hours and repeatedly promised everything would be fine. So I did and this time it wasn't. When I complained again, they refused to explain why this one was different from the others and refused to fix it. They did apparently finally refund the money (it's the principle of the thing) but this turned out to be an incredibly unpleasant experience in which, somewhat like their constant pushing of Prime, they are obviously not content with making billions of dollars but are intent on coercing buyers into doing what Amazon wants and not what the buyer wants and pays for. This is Amazon's third time screwing me over and after the second (cancelling an already expensive price-guaranteed pre-order of a book against my explicit request, promising me the price would still be honored, and then jacking the price up) I didn't use them for a year or so (and got the book elsewhere) and strike three means they're out. I don't expect anyone to join an Amazon boycott (though it'd be cool) but if just a few people would order from some other vendor or go to a physical store rather than using Amazon a few times, it'd make me feel a WHOLE lot better. 

TL;DR: Amazon sucks. Please avoid.


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## AeolianStrains (Apr 4, 2018)

flamencosketches said:


> Glad you got some good music out of it! I'm still enjoying the Richter one a lot along with the Beethoven. I'm going to get that Rachmaninov once I finish burning some new CDs.


Burning or ripping? Burning = put onto a CD, while ripping = pull off a CD


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## AeolianStrains (Apr 4, 2018)

Common Listener said:


> TL;DR: Amazon sucks. Please avoid.


I only buy from Amazon if I have to, and usually it's something that just makes no economical sense to buy in a store (like HDMI cables, etc).

Otherwise I'm right there with you on Amazon hate.


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## flamencosketches (Jan 4, 2019)

AeolianStrains said:


> Burning or ripping? Burning = put onto a CD, while ripping = pull off a CD


In my worldview, you can burn from a CD onto a hard drive 

@Common Listener, that's rough. Definitely noted. I hate Amazon too. Pretty sure they lost a CD I ordered from there a couple days ago.


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## Common Listener (Apr 6, 2019)

flamencosketches said:


> @Common Listener, that's rough. Definitely noted. I hate Amazon too. Pretty sure they lost a CD I ordered from there a couple days ago.


That sucks. They lost a box set I ordered recently, too. To be fair, they did refund my money with no hassle that time and I ordered it again and got it the second time, but it was still obviously not ideal. If you yell at them, they should give your money back, too.


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## flamencosketches (Jan 4, 2019)

This was a box set too, Sibelius, Berglund/Bournemouth... I was excited, I was gonna spend some time this weekend listening through in chronological order since I've only heard a couple of his symphonies. Ah, the best laid plans of mice and men, etc... :lol:

I was hoping I'd get it today but they flagged the order with an alert so I'm just gonna go for a refund.

Anyway, are any of these "Big Box" style classical downloads available through any other online retailers?


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## Triplets (Sep 4, 2014)

SuperTonic said:


> See the link below. I found both of those albums there. There are a number of very large collections available for download, and all of them are currently marked down to $0.99. The Classic Select home page says that they are closed and not to order from them, but the Bach Guild digital download page that I've linked to below is still active and it looks like you can place an order.
> 
> https://www.classicselect.com/collections/digital-downloads-99-cents-each


Wow! Thanks for providing this-great stuff!


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

Common Listener said:


> ...However, I'm not interested in creating another account anywhere and Amazon seems to require you to have certain browsers to access "your" music in "the cloud." They will not just let you download the files after you give them your money. Is this correct?


As Flamenco noted, it's not correct. Amazon Music should work in any browser and you can download from your cloud any time.

Another advantage of storing your purchases in the cloud (which is free and can hold infinite albums if they're purchased) is that you can access your albums easily on your smartphone wherever you are. Just install the Amazon Music app and enter your e-mail address and Amazon password. If you're a Prime member, you can add a huge number of "free for Prime" albums to your cloud and those, too, will be available anywhere.

For somebody who grew up in more musically starved times, this is like heaven on earth. It's hard to understand how people can possibly complain about it!


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## Oldhoosierdude (May 29, 2016)

KenOC said:


> For somebody who grew up in more musically starved times, this is like heaven on earth. It's hard to understand how people can possibly complain about it!


And yet.................


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## Oldhoosierdude (May 29, 2016)

Common Listener said:


> That sucks. They lost a box set I ordered recently, too. To be fair, they did refund my money with no hassle that time and I ordered it again and got it the second time, but it was still obviously not ideal. If you yell at them, they should give your money back, too.


To your previous point, I have also noticed that Amazon can screw up your downloads. Then you have to download from the music app which is clumsy. As for complaining, it depends on if you get someone who knows what to do because they can fix it.

But still they are less hassle than buying a download from Google music. That is a nightmare where you are forced to use their terrible app and they hide your download.


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## jegreenwood (Dec 25, 2015)

Oldhoosierdude said:


> And yet.................


It's a matter of priorities. For music, my priority is the near-infinite library and the ability to hear it through 10 players, from my phone to my primary system, using a single WiFi interface For this, I am willing to tolerate the occasional hiccup (most often rebuffering) and the rarer problem solving session.

For my TV, computer activity and most other aspects of my life, I am very much in the KISS camp.


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## Common Listener (Apr 6, 2019)

KenOC said:


> As Flamenco noted, it's not correct. Amazon Music should work in any browser and you can download from your cloud any time.
> 
> Another advantage of storing your purchases in the cloud (which is free and can hold infinite albums if they're purchased) is that you can access your albums easily on your smartphone wherever you are. Just install the Amazon Music app and enter your e-mail address and Amazon password. If you're a Prime member, you can add a huge number of "free for Prime" albums to your cloud and those, too, will be available anywhere.
> 
> For somebody who grew up in more musically starved times, this is like heaven on earth. It's hard to understand how people can possibly complain about it!


As I already said, it does *not* work in my browser and I have nothing to do with the cloud. IIRC, last time I looked into it, it required a specific, additional registration despite being an Amazon customer. My phone is very, very dumb and I wouldn't want to listen to music on it any more than I'd want to watch movies on a tiny screen or type with only my thumbs. I, too, grew up in musically starved times in which I at least anonymously walked into a store and paid cash in exchange for an item I took home. I'm perfectly happy to play anything on youtube but, if I'm paying for something then, like at McDonalds, I want to "have it my way." Why people accept what these corporations do, I have no idea. "Oh thank you, Amazon, for spying on me and coercing me into your rental model and your other channels of dictated purchase methods and selling me pixels and digits that, if I'm not able to download them or neglect to download them, you can delete at any time." No, and no thanks. I walked into a store, paid, and walked out. Even with Amazon, I should be able to go to the site, pay, and "click out" with my damned download.

Anyway, that's the last I'm going to say on this and I'm sorry for having derailed your thread, flamencosketches. The point is supposed to be the MC library which is supposed to be independent of the monopolistic Amazon and seems to be a very spiffy thing.

-- One last thing: "does not work in my browser" - this is the same irrelevant crap the Amazon rep got me into. It DID work in my browser for several downloads (the first hit is free) but then, for no technical reason whatsoever but due to their arbitrary software design which attempts to push me to their cloud music database datamining thing, they STOPPED the downloads AFTER I had paid for it and refused to fix it. There is nothing wrong with my browser but only with their intentional code. I repeat, the message was "You've reached the download limit for this purchase from Your Orders. You can still download this music from your Amazon Music library." The arbitrarily imposed post-purchase download "limit" after which I must do what THEY say to access MY stuff.


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## bigshot (Nov 22, 2011)

It's easy to download from Amazon. They have a free helper app that queues everything up and unpacks it automatically.


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## apricissimus (May 15, 2013)

Things get a lot dicier if you're using certain flavors of Linux. The Amazon player does not work so well with my set up.


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## Larkenfield (Jun 5, 2017)

Common Listener said:


> When I buy something, I want to receive something like a book or a CD so I don't usually mess with the other stuff (and even then it absolutely ought to be in lossless formats such as FLAC rather than MP3) but this seemed interesting. However, I'm not interested in creating another account anywhere and Amazon seems to require you to have certain browsers to access "your" music in "the cloud." They will not just let you download the files after you give them your money. Is this correct?


You can download any music files that you purchase on Amazon. Follow the directions. But it does require a certain patience and rhythm in the process. If you get mad at it, you've just made everything worse and it might be over a dollar download. If you're not going to play your files on a cell phone, you don't need the Cloud or the Amazon app and you can just download them to your computer and play them from there, burn them to a disc, or load the files to an MP3 player. So the files can be downloaded to your download or music folder. There are options. The advantage of the Amazon music library is that if your computer ever crashes you don't lose your files, or you have access to your entire library through the Amazon app for your computer or cell phone and always have them with you. I like Amazon and I like their customer service. But I never yell at them because usually anything can be straightened out without being rude or a pain in the ***.


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## gardibolt (May 22, 2015)

The thing I like about the Amazon Music app is that I use iTunes primarily, and the Amazon Music app has a setting that when you download something you've bought from Amazon, you can have it automatically download to iTunes. No mess, no fuss, no need to use their abysmal player (yes, even worse than iTunes).


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## gardibolt (May 22, 2015)

flamencosketches said:


> Thanks for the link! There are some really great lookin CDs on here. Since I've been loving the 4 hours of '50s Richter I downloaded from the MC Library, I'm tempted to get that 2CD of '40s Richter.


The sound is a bit dodgy on the '40s Richter set, but the performances are pretty excellent, and it's the only source I'm aware of to get that material (radio concerts, as I recollect).


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