Posted on 02/03/2010 9:37:42 AM PST by Borges
On Jan. 14, the violinist Hilary Hahn scored a rare gig for a classical music performer: She appeared on "The Tonight Show." And not just any "Tonight Show," but the "Tonight Show" during the final days of Conan O'Brien's brief tenure as host. Everybody was watching. So it came as no surprise that Hahn's new album, "Bach: Violin and Voice," debuted that week at No. 1 on the Billboard classical charts.
No. 1 on the charts: It doesn't get any better than that. Or does it?
The dirty secret of the Billboard classical charts is that album sales figures are so low, the charts are almost meaningless. Sales of 200 or 300 units are enough to land an album in the top 10. Hahn's No. 1 recording, after the sales spike resulting from her appearance on Conan, bolstered by blogs and press, sold 1,000 copies.
It's not exactly news that album sales in all genres have been declining for years. Nor is it news that classical recordings are not top sellers. "The classical charts have always been looked at as in the 3-percenter club," says Alex Miller, general manager of Sony Masterworks. "Three percent of total music sales are in classical music."
The idea that the classical recording industry is on the rocks, a suggestion raised from time to time in part because of strikingly low sales figures, is generally countered by the assertion that there are more classical recordings available than ever before. And that might be the reason so few of them are selling well.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Classical Music Ping
Classical Music Ping
I was - but should not have been - surprised the sales were this low.
I belong to the “Musical Heritage Society” which means I can get it for 99 cents! LOL
My band gets paid every time we perform a gig. We record only to allow people to hear what we sound like so they will hire us to do a gig. And then we get paid.
Isn’t that how musicians have been paid for virtually all of human history?
Many classical fans have thousands of records or CDs already. I have about 3,500 classical records in my collection.
Sure, Hahn is a good violinist, but there is a lot of competition from many well-recorded stars like Heifetz, Milstein, Rabin, Szerying, etc. If you already have 25 different performances of the Brahms Violin concerto, you don’t rush out to buy another one.
I can’t stand Conan but I recorded Tonight to see Hahn. She did a great job.
I would really like to hear an all-analogue, all-tube recording of her playing. The CDs are dreadful - cold and dead.
Sure, Hahn is a good violinist, but there is a lot of competition from many well-recorded stars like Heifetz, Milstein, Rabin, Szerying, etc. If you already have 25 different performances of the Brahms Violin concerto, you don’t rush out to buy another one.
Very good point. Think this is true of many genres of music.
She sounds pretty much the same live as she does on disc. Great technique. Cold and steely tone. Perfect for Bach.
I have a few of their LPs, and they are a pleasure to listen to.
By an amazing coincidence, that was the label I had in mind.
If only their recording techniques were combined with great musical talent, they would really have something.
Of course, all the pre-1965 violin records are recorded and mastered in just that way. That is why many of them sell on eBay for $100s.
It is not just coldness, but deadness, which is caused by pre-ringing artifacts from brickwall anti-aliasing filters. Such problems are particularly noticeable in violin music.
I'm too young to own (as first buyer) all those great RCAs, Mercurys, DECCAs, etc from the 'golden age', and have been disappointed by second hand purchases too often, but the reissues from e.g. Speakers Corner are pretty good, IMO.
Finding the best 6DJ8/ECC88-type tubes for my NYAL electronics is another problem...;-)
BTW, really looking forward to hearing Hilary this Friday! Got some great seats.
When was the last time Public Television aired a live opera with name stars nationwide.....or a Pavarotti-type concert, or a live symphony, operetta, piano or violin debut, or a three tenors, or the like appeared on the nation's screens.
New fans of classical music are not being groomed.....and nobody seems to care. Television is about the only vehicle left for mass dissemination of musical culture. PBS just airs crappioli now.
The energetic performers in various genres of today's pop culture seem to have no problem promoting themselves very well on TV and concert venues across the fruited plain.....venues that are easy to get to and are not all that expensive except for some big stars like Madonna.
Another example.....major league baseball is on TV and kids and young adults and housewives doing their ironing become fans....generation after generation....if one gets my drift.
In my opinion, and despite their denials and protestations, noted classical music entertainers are aloof, in their own comfortable world, content with what they earn, and apparently they keep busy doing their own things without worrying too much about a future when classical music buffs like us shuffle off and there's few to replace us.
Leni
The Chicago PBS station airs Classical material often enough.
A Hahn BTT. I was privileged to see her in Seattle a few years ago. Besides being a brilliant violinist Ms. Hahn is also quite a lovely young woman. That, of course, had nothing to do with my enjoyment of the concert. (Coughing)
Thanks, Hillary Hahn is amazing. So young, so talented.
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