Classical Connection

Resurrected

2006-11-05T16:17:00.000-06:00

Goodbye!

2006-10-23T22:49:00.000-05:00

Now dead.

Scaruffi's Brief History of Classical Music

2006-10-10T21:19:00.000-05:00

My new project is to collect all of the compositions that Piero Scaruffi lists on his Brief History of Classical Music. You'll find many, many works here (from Hildegarde of Bigen to today), including many that are OOP, and perhaps you'll be able to contribute!

Noah Howard - The Black Ark

2006-10-07T03:25:00.000-05:00

Not classical, I know, but I doubt anyone here will complain. Here is Noah Howard's utterly awesome The Black Ark from 1969, out of print. My jazz album discovery of the month.

The Black Ark

Piero Scaruffi's Rock Album Recording Date Project

2006-10-06T18:53:00.000-05:00

In August 2006, music historian and critic Piero Scaruffi wrote the following to his website:

I would like to date all rock albums with their recording date, not with their release date... The older I get, the more fed up I am that we are so influenced by what the bureaucrats of record labels did: a work of art should be dated with the date when the artist finished it, not the date when someone else started selling it!

Scaruffi's online music database covers thousands of musicians. You can help with his epic project to gather recording dates (month and year) for each album in his database by checking the liner notes for each album you own that he has written about, and submitting them to Scaruffi via email in the following format:

Artist: Title (month year)

Thank you for contributing to recorded history!

Carl Orff - Orff-Schulwerk Volume 1

2006-09-30T16:42:00.000-05:00

Haven't been able to track down the other volumes yet, but here's Vol. 1:

Orff-Schulwerk Volume 1

Various - Unknown Public 8: Sensuality, Essence & Nonsense

2006-09-29T15:23:00.000-05:00

A collection of avant-garde tracks from Unknown Public in 1996. Now unavailable.

Sensuality, Essence & Nonsense

Update

2006-09-26T23:50:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the death of posts! My time has been consumed elsewhere, including with this project (under my alter-ego lukeprog).

Does anyone have any Unknown Public releases? Those all seem to be out of print.

Wire's 100 Records That Set the World On Fire

2006-09-19T12:37:00.000-05:00

Here are downloads for albums on Wire's infamous "100 Records That Set the World on Fire, While No One Was Listening" list. (Several are avantgarde and out of print.)

Ake Hodell - Purgatory / Electric Buddha

2006-09-09T00:05:00.000-05:00

This extremely rare 1972 disc from multiple-discipline artist Ake Hodell contains four of his Luc Ferrari-esque electro-acoustic compositions. Enjoy.

Purgatory / Electric Buddha

Michael Levinas - Les Rires Du Gilles, etc.

2006-09-04T19:26:00.000-05:00

This 1989 Michael Levinas album contains several of his compositions. Each of the pieces is a terrifying nightmare. Many thanks to Jordan for sending me this. Liner notes included.

Les Rires Du Gilles, etc.

Dream Syndicate - 2 IV 64, Day Of The Holy Mountain

2006-08-28T11:57:00.000-05:00

Many thanks to Misha for sending me this. He wrote that this is an "extremely rare 1964 bootleg/recording of The Dream Syndicate, which I presume to go by the name of "2 IV 64 Day Of The Holy Mountain". It features the rare sounds of La Monte's Sopranino, which I heard on your blog only in the song B Flat Dorian Blues 19 X 63, 5th Day Of The Hammer."

I uploaded it to SendSpace because it was too big for Rapidshare.

Day of the Holy Mountain

Note

2006-08-24T13:09:00.000-05:00

skafunkrastapunk is a great forum for finding rare recordings of classical, jazz, and other music. You can find hundreds of recording indexed in the sticky posts of the Classical, Jazz World forum, alone. I'm sure that any of you who like what's been posted on Classical Connection will love what you see at skafunkrastapunk. See you there!

(I will continue to update Classical Connection when I have more OOP albums to post.)

Guillermo Gregorio - Ellipsis

2006-08-21T13:26:00.000-05:00

Many thanks to Reimer for sending me Guillermo Gregorio's other fantastic mid-90s avant-garde/jazz album, Ellipsis!

Part 1
Part 2

My Requests

2006-08-06T21:44:00.000-05:00

Dinu Lipatti - Works, Vol. 1
Arnold Van Wyk - Primavera / Symphony No. 1 / Symphony No. 2
Josip Stolcer-Slavenski - Sinfonija Orijenta (1934)
Mordechai Seter - Jerusalem (1968)
Primoz Ramovs - Symphony No. 4 (1968)
~~Hugues Dufourt - Erewhon (1977)~~ - thanks, arcaf!
Michael Levinas - Les rires du gilles - thanks, Jordan!
Natasa Danilovic - Horror Vacui
Guillermo Gregorio - Approximately - thanks, Eugene!
Guillermo Gregorio - Ellipsis - thanks, Reimer!
Diedre Murray - Running Man
D.D. Jackson - Québécité

To my knowledge, all these are out of print, or may never have been released.

Guillermo Gregorio - Approximately

2006-07-24T11:42:00.000-05:00

Blogger's image upload tool stopped working a few days ago, and I want to post this before I leave for a week in the BW. Guillermo Gregorio's Approximately introduced his cross between classical avantgarde and avant-jazz. I think it might be my favorite of all the albums I've posted on Classical Connection so far. HUGE thanks to Eugene for sending me this. Enjoy!

Approximately

Toru Takemitsu - Flute Music

2006-07-22T11:29:00.000-05:00

Classical Connection reader OZtransgressions sent me a ton of Takemitsu. Unfortunately, of those he sent, only Flute Music appears to be out of print. Ripped at 320kbps.

Flute Music (part 1)
Flute Music (part 2)

Diamanda Galas - The Litanies of Satan

2006-07-15T07:41:00.000-05:00

Avantgarde vocalist Diamanda Galas' out-of-print debut features some of her best and most terrifying work.

The Litanies of Satan

Note

2006-07-13T22:27:00.000-05:00

I'm running out of time and OOP classical works, so my posting pace will slow.

I'm always aching for contributions and requests.

Just so ya'll stick around, I'll let you know that I'm preparing a big-ass OOP Takemitsu post. Stay tuned.

Theatre of Eternal Music - various tracks

2006-07-11T08:21:00.000-05:00

The Theatre of Eternal Music, aka The Dream Syndicate, was a mid-60s drone music ensemble featuring La Monte Young, John Cale, Angus MacLise, Marian Zazeela, Tony Conrad, Jon Hassell, David Rosenbloom, Terry Riley, Jon Gibson, and Lee Konitz. Much of their music is now available in compilations like this disc, but some of their music never survived past the original, super-limited LP releases. I can't find reliable information about the original LPs, or any track listings, but here I've collected 6 tracks from those super-rare LPs.

For more information, see this lengthy interview with Young and Zazeela.

Part 1
Part 2

La Monte Young - Dream House

2006-07-06T14:32:00.000-05:00

Two more colossal La Monte Young compositions are compiled on Dream House (1973). Some critics rank this disc above even the popular Well-Tuned Piano. Enjoy.

Dream House

F.A.Q.

2006-07-03T08:44:00.000-05:00

What is Classical Connection?

Classical Connection is a "sharity" blog that posts links to MP3 downloads for out of print classical music.

Who are you?

Call me knowby. I'm just some guy who wants to share his love of innovative music with others.

Hey, ______ isn't out of print!

Oops, sorry. Let me know and I'll delete the offending post. I deal with very rare music on this blog, and sometimes it's hard for me to determine if something is really out of print or not.

I've got some out of print classical music I'd like to share.

Great! You can upload it yourself and post a comment with the download link, or you can email me at knowby [at] gmail.com and we'll figure something out.

I've got a request.

Great! Please verify that the title is actually out of print, then let me know! I love requests, and don't get enough of them.

Your writing sucks!

Yeah, I know. Unfortunately, I have very little time to devote to this blog, and since I don't actually know music (I just love it), I won't waste your time with pretty but ignorant commentary. I'll share the music and you can figure out if you like it. If you want to comment on the music or link to more information about it, please do so.

David Shire - The Taking of Pelham One Two Three

2006-07-03T07:44:00.000-05:00

p-eat requested David Shire's Schoenbergian score for The Taking of Pelham One Two Three. I'd never heard of it, and now I think it's some kind of masterpiece. You be the judge.

The Taking of Pelham One Two Three

Luigi Nono - Prometeo

2006-07-01T13:18:00.000-05:00

Today I get to fill another request, this time for late-period Luigi Nono. I've chosen Ensemble Modern's (out-of-print) performance of Prometeo, a 1984 opera and one of Nono's most famous works. I leave the commentary to people who know what they're talking about (like Stefan Beyst), but I will say this is one my favorite 20th century operas.

Encoded in 320kbps MP3 for your listening pleasure.

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4

Note

2006-06-30T21:24:00.000-05:00

I've deleted older posts that linked to music that is not out-of-print, so I feel like this blog is now, in some way, "legit".

Readers, please make more requests for out-of-print classical music. I love to fill requests. And, I'm still waiting for other contributors.

I hope you're all watching the comments. Some great info and commentary has been posted, along with additional download links.

La Monte Young - The Black Album

2006-06-27T09:18:00.000-05:00

Metallica. Jay-Z. Prince. The Damned. L.S.G. The Dandy Warhols. La Monte Young. What have these artists got in common? All have recorded albums called "The Black Album"! La Monte Young's The Black Album contains two more of his 60s minimalist compositions. Thanks to christian for sending me the cover art.

I can't find any information on it at all, let alone cover art or somewhere to buy it. Maybe it doesn't exist!

The Black Album

La Monte Young - Just Stompin': Live at the Kitchen

2006-06-23T08:02:00.000-05:00

Credited to La Monte Young and the Forever Bad Blues Band, Just Stompin' is a 1993, 2-CD composition of Young's epic minimalism, this time drawing from the blues. It is performed live by a quartet: guitar, bass, drums and synthesizer.

The album is out of print. Even the cover art image was hard to find.

Part 1
Part 2

Terry Riley - Le Secret De La Vie

2006-06-20T07:47:00.000-05:00

Thanks to William for this recommendation. Le Secret De La Vie is a Terry Riley movie soundtrack to, as far as I can tell, Klaus Kinski's Lifespan (1974). I can't say it's an outstanding piece of music, but it may be of interest to Riley completionists who've had trouble tracking down this out-of-print rarity.

Le Secret De La Vie

Pierre Henry - Messe pour le temps présent

2006-06-14T12:18:00.000-05:00

Pierre Henry's Messe pour le temps présentt (1967) is one of the earliest contemporary classical works to take on a rock influence. The piece sounds like "go-go" music with avantgarde instrumentation and effects. It's quite fun, actually!

Messe pour le temps présent has been released many times on vinyl and CD, but all releases are out of print. This is a vinyl rip, so the audio quality ain't the best. If somebody has a CD rip, let me know.

Messe Pour Le Temps Present

Diamanda Galas - Diamanda Galas

2006-06-13T15:09:00.000-05:00

Be not dissuaded by the cover art! Avant-garde vocalist Diamanda Galas followed her powerful debut, Litanies of Satan, with Diamanda Galas (1984). "This recording consists of two side-long pieces, both employing electronic effects to amplify some of her unusual techniques and to multiply her voices, creating a choir-like atmosphere. "Panoptikon," named after a circular prison where all occupants could be kept under constant observation, deals with the loss of personal identity and the psychosis derived therefrom. "Tragoutha Apo to Aima Exoun Fonos" deals with murderous oppression in Greece from 1967-74, the grief and rage it engendered. Both pieces are intensely emotional but without bathos, bitter yet without a shred of self-pity." (source)

Galas is one of those exciting artists working in their own genre. Most of her early (and best) albums are out of print, but her self-titled sophmore effort is particularly tricky to track down.

Diamanda Galas

Jon Hassell - Aka Dabari Java

2006-06-07T09:08:00.000-05:00

Jon Hassell (b. 1937) "is the visionary creator of a style of music he describes as Fourth World, a mysterious, unique hybrid of music both ancient and digital, composed and improvised, Eastern and Western.

After composition studies and university degrees in the USA, he went to Europe to study electronic and serial music with Karlheinz Stockhausen. Several years later, he returned to New York where his first recordings were made with minimalist masters LaMonte Young and Terry Riley, through whom he met the Hindustani raga master, Pandit Pran Nath, and embarked on a lifelong quest to transmute his teacher's Kirana vocal mastery into a new trumpet sound and style." (source)

Aka Dabari Java (1983) is the only major Hassell album out of print, available from the Amazon marketplace for $100.

Aka Dabari Java

Pandit Pran Nath - Ragas of Morning and Night

2006-06-04T22:40:00.000-05:00

And now for some classical music outside the European/American tradition! Pandit Pran Nath is a master of Hindustani classical music. His ragas and music teachings were influential on La Monte Young, Terry Riley, Jon Hassell, Don Cherry, Rhys Chatham, and more.

Ragas of Morning and Night is a 1986 out-of-print CD of two 1968 ragas by Pandit Pran Nath.

Ragas of Morning and Night

Note

2006-06-01T19:17:00.000-05:00

I should have done this from the start. From now on, I'll only post out-of-print classical music.

It's always been my desire that Classical Connection grow into a community blog or "team blog." If any readers would like to join Classical Connection, please let me know: knowby [at] [Gmail]. You may then post your own out-of-print classical music to Classical Connection at any pace.

Any takers?

Toru Takemitsu - Film Music

2006-06-01T11:53:00.000-05:00

Today I get to fill another request. Thanks again to confucius for his suggestion.

Toru Takemitsu (1930-1996) was perhaps the greatest Japanese composer of all time. His music "wed the western aesthetics of impressionism and expressionism with the eastern aesthetic of meditation and contemplation. The resulting synthesis was an elegant exploration of musical chromatism, with little or no interest for dynamics." (source)

He also wrote many excellent film scores, most famously for Akira Kurosawa. This rare, Japan-only, 6-volume box set compiles some of his best and most popular work for film and is very difficult to find.

Vol 1.
Vol 2.
Vol 3.
Vol 4.
Vol 5.
Vol 6.

Osvaldas Balakauskas - Ostrobothnian Symphony

2006-05-28T23:50:00.000-05:00

Osvaldas Balakauskas (b. 1937) wrote his Ostrobothnian Symphony in 1989. The work is a fantastic texture piece of incredible weight and power, and also apparently an excellent study in musical techniques that fly way, way over my head.

The work is included on this disc, out of print but available from the Amazon Marketplace for around $30.

Ostrobothnian Symphony

Igor Wakhevitch - Étre Dieu

2006-05-23T17:17:00.000-05:00

In 1927, renowkned painter Salvador Dali began writing the libretto for a poem-opera, Étre Dieu ("To Be God"). The opera stars the humble Dali himself in the titular role. The opera was not completed until 1974, when Dali hired Igor Wakhevitch to write the music. It was not actually performed until 2004, and then with different musical accompaniment which has never been recorded. The Dali/Wakhevitch recording was released on 3 CDs in 1992 and is very rare.

Étre Dieu

Note

2006-05-18T16:30:00.000-05:00

Dear friends,

Thank you for your encouragement and your participation in this blog.

Besides those which I've linked on the sidebar, what notable blogs share mostly classical music?

And, do you have any requests for rare or unavailable classical music from the 19th century or earlier?

Igor Wakhevitch - 6 albums

2006-05-17T15:31:00.000-05:00

During the 1970s, Igor Wakhevitch releasd 6 albums of menacing avant-garde music. His music is officially informed by Terry Riley, Olivier Messiaen, Pierre Schaeffer, and Soft Machine, and stylistically also informed by Klaus Schulze. As such, it often sounds nearly as much "rock" and "jazz" as avant-classical. Docteur Faust (1971) is perhaps his best, with heavy rock influences. In fact, the aesthetic effect is not unlike that of Faust's self-titled debut from the same year. Wakhevitch is one of my absolute favorite "unknown" musical artists.

The LPs were re-released by Fractal Records in a 6-CD, 500-copy box set, now out of print and very hard to find.

Logos (Rituel Sonore)
Docteur Faust
Hathor
Les Fous D'Or
Nagual
Let's Start

La Monte Young - The Well-Tuned Piano

2006-05-16T09:12:00.000-05:00

Here at Classical Connection I hope to provide a broad sense of "classical" music, ancient and modern. (All downloads are hosted by Rapidshare.) I'll focus on lesser-known or poorly available works, and those which provide a greater understanding of the breadth and passion of classical music beyond Bach, Mozart, and Beethoven. I'll kick things off with La Monte Young's The Well-Tuned Piano.

Seminal minimalist La Monte Young (b. 1935) is poorly represented on recordings, partly because his very long compositions don't fit the limitations of CD or Vinyl release, party because he often writes non-sound performance actions into his pieces, and partly because the composer himself is resistent to recorded mediums. "His compositions are based on a kind of timelessness, where sound and light (courtesy of his partner Marian Zazeela) are allowed to develop and grow, almost organically, over a period of days, weeks, months and even years." (source)

One of the few complete La Monte Young compositions to have been released is his most revered, The Well-Tuned Piano. The evolving piano piece relies on special tuning that was a secret for 27 years until Kyle Gann cracked the code. A performance was released on 5 CDs by Gramavision in 1988, and disappeared when the label was consumed by Rykodisc. It's now quite rare, but one copy is available for a mere $500 from the Amazon Marketplace.

There are many versions of The Well-Tuned Piano because Young continues to revise the piece, and because much of the work is improvisational within a prescribed structure. Here is the 1988 Gramavision recording.

Disc 1
Disc 2
Disc 3
Disc 4
Disc 5

Enjoy!