A Classical Act

 

 

 

 

 

My brother, the internationally infamous banjo player, is fond of saying that he has studied all the masters of classical music.

 

“Beethoven,  Mozart . . .  umm . . .  Gucci  . . .  Rimsky-Korsakov . . .  umm. . .  Black & Decker, Briggs and Stratton . . . all the greats.”

 

Of course, some people prefer their classical music played by a full orchestra, instead of on a banjo.

 

Go figure.

 

Since there’s no accounting for taste . . . and I do try to be inclusive in this blog  . . .  today I’ve a repository of  classical music freely available for you to download for your own listening pleasure.

 

I’m currently downloading my favorite symphony, Rimsky-Korsakov’s  Scheherazade which I plan to save to my beloved iPod Touch.

 

But that just scratches the surface of this collection, made available by the Peabody Institute at Johns Hopkins University.

 

I’ll let their Website describe the offerings.

 

 

Peabody Orchestras

The orchestral division of the Peabody Conservatory is comprised of two full symphonic orchestras.

The Peabody Symphony Orchestra draws its members primarily from graduate and upper-division students of the highest level of musicianship, and performs six to seven public concert programs each season.

The Peabody Concert Orchestra, whose members are drawn mainly from undergraduate students, performs six public concert programs per season.

 

 

The individual recordings are simply too numerous to list, but for 6 full seasons of the PSO (Peabody Symphony Orchestra) recordings, follow this link.

 

And for six seasons of the PCO (Peabody Concert Orchestra) efforts, follow this link.

 

These are live concert recordings, not pristine studio sessions.  But they are of high quality, well performed, and would make the basis for a fine collection of classical music.

 

Whether your interests run to Tchaikovsky’s Nut Cracker, or to Stravinsky's Firebird, or Handel’s Messiah   . . .  I’m sure you’ll find a lot here to download and enjoy.