Thursday, September 6, 2012

Musopen Kickstarter Collection - Public Domain Music Jackpot!


As discussed at the My Continuing Education blog, a huge number of great recordings were recently released into the public domain as part of the Musopen Kickstarter campaign.  There was some skepticism as to whether or not the musopen folks would come through, but they have delivered in a very big way--it's like Christmas in September.
So far, all the performances/recordings I have listened to are ones to be proud of and will aptly serve as the public domain flag-bearer for those works.

What is in the collection (with my rating on the performance/recording, which is subject to change):
  • Beethoven - Coriolan Overture
  • Beethoven - Egmont Overture Op. 84
  • Beethoven - Symphony No 3 Eroica *****
  • Borodin - In The Steppes Of Central Asia
  • Brahms - Symphony No 1 in C Major
  • Brahms - Symphony No2 in D major
  • Brahms - Symphony No 3
  • Brahms - Symphony No 4 in E minor ****
  • Brahms - Tragic Overture
  • Extras [cover art, recording jpg's]
  • Goldberg Variations
  • Grieg - Peer Gynt
  • Mendelssohn - Hebrides *****
  • Mendelssohn - Italian Symphony ****
  • Mendelssohn - Scottish Symphony
  • Mozart - Magic Flute Overture
  • Mozart - Marriage Of Figaro
  • Mozart - Symphony No 40 in G Minor 
  • Rimsky Korsakov - Russian Overture
  • Schubert - The Piano Sonatas
  • Smetana - Vltava
  • String Quartets
  • Tchaikovsky - Symphony Pathetique
Which are your favorite recordings of this group?  How do you think they compare to copyright performances?