Introduction

Download (commercial)

Download (free)

Streaming

Webcast

You can help! We cannot hope to be fully comprehensive - that would be impossible - so we ask your assistance. If you are aware of a website that isn't on our list and would seem to fit this category (or one of the others), please send us an email at musicweb60@yahoo.com.au. We will check it out, and if we believe that it is appropriate, will add it to the list.

Key to software abbreviations
RP: Real Player; WMP: Windows Media Player; QT: QuickTime

Andante

Home page
Format	audio
Software required	not known
Pricing	Monthly or yearly subscription; 14-day free trial
Comments	Concert performances of signficant orchestras, including the Vienna Philharmonic and London Symphony; also sells its own label CDs (not by download)

British Library

Home page	British Library
Format	audio
Software required	not known
Pricing	Free
Comments	Pre-1958 recordings of Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Haydn & Mozart; limited to UK users (I believe)

Classical.com

Home page
Format	Audio
Software required	Not known
Pricing	Monthly or yearly subscription
Comments	Also offers downloads

ClassicLive

Home page
Format	Video
Software required	WMP
Pricing	Pay-per-concert, price depends on time period that the concert be accessed (24 hours up to a week)
Comments	Concerts by a number of smaller European orchestras (eg Lahti Symphony Orchestra); available for up to three weeks after the actual performance

Monteverdi.TV

Home page
Format	Video & audio
Software required	Download and install
Pricing	Pay-per-concert or download
Comments	Very new, but has very substantial claims: major label downloads, feeds from 200 classical radio stations, classical music news. Not entirely clear at this stage what is free.

Music Makes Friends

Home page
Format	Audio
Software required	Not known
Pricing	Free with advertisements, monthly charge (no ads)
Comments	Very new, described by one person as a cross between MySpace and ITunes. Includes the major record companies (Universal Music, Sony BMG, EMI) and others. Europe only.

 

National Public Radio

Home page
Format	audio
Software required	RP
Pricing	free
Comments	National Public Radio (one of the treasures of the Internet for those living outside the US) offers its Classics in Concert series, featuring performances by notable orchestras, conductors and soloists. At the time of writing, these included Julia Fischer playing a Bach partita, Leon Fleischer playing Schubert and Leif Ove Andsnes playing the Grieg concerto with the Los Angeles Philharmonic under Esa-Pekka Salonen.

Naxos Music Library

Home page
Format	audio
Software required	WMP
Pricing	Monthly or yearly subscription
Comments	The streaming complement of ClassicsOnline (see Downloads); all of Naxos stable, BIS, Chandos, Hänssler, cpo and others; over 15,000 CDs

Pristine Audio Direct Access

Home page
Format	audio
Software required	None
Pricing	Monthly subscription
Comments	The streaming complement of Pristine Classical (see Downloads)

Rhapsody

Home page
Format	audio
Software required	Not known
Pricing	Monthly subscription (Rhapsody Unlimited or ToGo)
Comments	US residents only; available to members of either plan (with or without downloads)

Sydney Symphony Orchestra

Home page
Format	video
Software required	none
Pricing	free
Comments	Coverage of many of the orchestra's concerts through one of its sponsors, the major Australian ISP bigpond. While the SSO website gives the impression of only offering live coverage, the archive of past performances is provided at the Bigpond site.