How in the world did it take me this long to find Free-Scores.com and its “radio” streaming feature? Just too cool for words. While most streaming services seem to focus on popular crap, I’m able to define a broad or narrow range of what I deem “classical” and have it stream randomly or as my own designed playlist. Whiloe I’ve found a number of other “internet radio stations,” some of which are close to my needs/desires (see my right sidebar for a decent station in Australia), this one offers some unique advantages for my uses–particularly free downloads of the SCORES! (The inclusion, on the download page for a score, of historical/biographical info is a nice plus, as well.)
I like. Ever since Dr Karl Haas died a few years ago, even classical radio stations, for the most part, have been–save for re-runs of Haas’ program–mostly either just stale Romantic-period only or that with a mix of modern crap thrown in. *sigh* Of course, I enjoyed Haas’ program almost as much for his musicological commentary as for the wide array of music he featured, but yeh, it was definitely the selctions of really good music well-performed that had me coming back to his program for years.
Nothing like his commentary survives in any of the prissy, inbred platter-spinners’ patter today that I can find, so just finding another source with a wide array of good performances of excellent music is a real nice find.
Of course, if you wanted to explore more limited genres, I suppose Free-Scores might do that for you as well, but since the actual SCORES are available, that knocks out a lot of crap. Nice to download a score, then play the piece along with reading it. Sometimes nuances are more obvious that way, and it frequently gives me ideas of how I’d change a performance were I directing/playing. And for those who want it, the default “human performances” can be altered to be computer-only or human/computer “performances”–and sometimes even I prefer to hear a piece as a well-wrought midi file, espeically when just reading along for analysis).
Just fun!
Seriously recommended for anyone who appreciates a wide range of classical music, and even for those who do not but are open to learning something new.
Seriously delightful!
*heh* A “sometimes fun” thing is that I’ve run into quite a few historical/biographical comments on the site in French. Now, I’ve not read (or spoken or heard) much French in the last 30 years or so, but it’s at least amusing to read the comments and realize just how rusty my French understanding has become. “Oh, yes, of course that’s what that says!” *heh* Just one of those sorta fun things. I’ve been refusing to read OR “understand” Spanish when it’s right in front of me for the past 10 years or so, ever since I came to see just how widely-dispersed illegals–MOSTLY coming across our southern border–have become. “What was that? I don’t speak Spanish” (Not the false “I can’t speak Spanish”), has become my default. I refuse to make it easier for those who are either here illegally or who are here legally but are lazy (or stubborn) about assimilating. Haven’t run into many German speakers who are immigrants in the last decade, nor any Russian immigrants. Couldn’t help out any other language speakers if I wanted to (my Greek isn’t modern).
Still exercising a language other than English is kinda fun. Another plus for the site.