FOR THE RECORD
DG Discovery: a less chaotic, more informative streaming alternative with access to 450 albums a month
Deutsche Grammophon launches its new streaming service, DG Discovery
Deutsche Grammophon has unveiled what not only a century but even a decade ago would have seemed unthinkable: a streaming app called DG Discovery that grants access to 450 albums for just £2.49 a month. The annual price is £24.99.
A free version of the app teases listeners with 30-second clips and both the free and paid stream versions include invitations to purchase albums on iTunes (for those who want to ‘own’ copies when the subscription runs out). The temptation might be hard to resist for classical music lovers who, with the quick entry of their Apple password, can stream or purchase the albums of 80 different artists – from Aimard to Zimerman. A wealth of information – programme notes, album covers, and the date, place and format of a recording – is all at one’s fingertips.
The experience is naturally networked with Facebook, where users can share their activity, and DG didn’t forget to include an entry point to its own website.
The curated interface is designed to provide listeners with a less chaotic, more informative alternative to across-the-board streaming services such as Spotify. ‘The currency of classical music is changing,’ said DG President Mark Wilkinson. ‘We have to lead the way and bring the artists with us.’
The app will roll out weekly playlists and gradually increase its selection by between 20 and 40 albums a month.
Conductor Marin Alsop awarded Honorary Membership of the RPS Marin Alsop received an Honorary Membership of the Royal Philharmonic Society on stage at the Royal Albert Hall during a BBC Proms concert. The RPS said of the conductor: ‘Marin Alsop is an inspiring and distinguished artist who is also a role model for the 21st-century musician. She is as widely recognised for her imaginative programming as for her deep commitment to education and to the development of audiences of all ages.’ Welser-Möst quits Vienna State Opera, citing artistic differences Franz Welser-Möst has resigned from his position as General Music Director of the Vienna State Opera. He had been scheduled to conduct 34 performances in the 2014/15 season, including Strauss’s Elektra and two operas by Verdi: Rigoletto and La traviata. His letter of resignation to Director Dominique Meyer cited ‘differences over the artistic direction of the house’. Han-Na Chang: shock resignation from the Qatar Philharmonic Han-Na Chang resigned from her position of Music Director of the Qatar Philharmonic just one day after the orchestra’s BBC Proms debut performance. In her official statement, Chang said: ‘Due to persistent administrative difficulties and irreconcilable artistic differences with the management of the Qatar PO, I have given notice of my resignation as Music Director, effective today.’
‘It is a very sad day for me. Just over a year ago I was honoured to take up this position. At that time I made clear my belief that the Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra could become an international ensemble of excellence
New jobs for conductors Fabio Luisi and Susanna Mälkki
The Helsinki Philharmonic has announced that its next Chief Conductor – replacing John Storgårds in 2016 – will be Susanna Mälkki. Currently Principal Guest Conductor of the Gulbenkian Orchestra, Mälkki will conduct eight-to-10 HPO concerts per season. She said: ‘It is with the greatest joy and pride that I will take on my new position with the HPO. This orchestra has played a central role in the musical history of my country for well over a hundred years, having premiered a large number of works by Jean Sibelius among others. I am greatly looking forward to this collaboration.’
Fabio Luisi, meanwhile, has been appointed Principal Conductor of the
Danish National Symphony Orchestra, succeeding Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, who died earlier this year. Luisi is currently Principal Conductor of New York’s Metropolitan Opera and General Music Director of Zurich Opera. Said Luisi, who has signed a three-year contract from 2017-20: ‘I have loved the Danish National Symphony Orchestra from the first moment we worked together in 2010.’
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8 GRAMOPHONE OCTOBER 2014
gramophone.co.uk
