SPOTLIGHT The classical music general discussion thread

[gene_stl]

Alright NOW you're talkin! How much does it cost to subscribe?? Are there different levels of subscription? Does it tell you the bit rate and depth of the material being sent? Does it have sufficient buffering so that the music is ALWAYS uninterupted? (I am dissatisfied with my new ATT Fiber service for that reason. It pauses too much, on video)
Edit:Read the Rollout page.
Sounds very kewl! I guess I am going to get dragged kicking and screaming into the world of streeming. (eventually)

 

[4-earredwonder]

SONO LUMINUS announces 4 upcoming classical titles one of which is this extraordinary BACH program [be sure to sample the included track]:

https://www.sonoluminus.com/store/b...r!&ss_campaign_sent_date=2023-03-28T13:46:15Z

Boulder Bach Festival​

 

[johnbs]

Alright NOW you're talkin! How much does it cost to subscribe?? Are there different levels of subscription? Does it tell you the bit rate and depth of the material being sent? Does it have sufficient buffering so that the music is ALWAYS uninterupted? (I am dissatisfied with my new ATT Fiber service for that reason. It pauses too much, on video)
Edit:Read the Rollout page.
Sounds very kewl! I guess I am going to get dragged kicking and screaming into the world of streeming. (eventually)

It is supposed to be included in an Apple Music subscription (which has several prices - Individual, Family, Bundle with other things).

However, in Hong Kong, the app is still not available, although Hong Kong is supposed to be included.

John

 

[mkt]

In today's email, Kirill Petrenko conducts Shostakovich’s Symphonies 8–10, on CD and Blu-ray, and download. Unclear if there is surround content? The download just mentions stereo. I think the streaming versions were in atmos.
https://www.berliner-philharmoniker-recordings.com/shostakovich.html

I asked "Will the upcoming release Kirill Petrenko conducts Shostakovich’s Symphonies be available in surround sound formats? The download only mentions stereo 24/96."

Many thanks for your kind email and your interest in Berliner Philharmoniker Recordings.
Please excuse our delayed reply.
In our online shop, you can find the download files in stereo only.

However, you can find the Shostakovich 8-10 in Dolby Atmos via Apple Music Classical.

Still not super clear what is on the blu-ray. This says atmos
https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Shostakovich-Symphonies-8910-Blu-ray/333698/

 

[ted_b]

If it’s not yet available on ATV4K how are you folks getting Atmos? I see the Atmos labels on selections but they play in 2.0 on my system (cuz the only app installed so far is on my iPhone)

 

[mkt]

If it’s not yet available on ATV4K how are you folks getting Atmos? I see the Atmos labels on selections but they play in 2.0 on my system (cuz the only app installed so far is on my iPhone)

Asking about apple classical? I think it's just a different front end to the same content, and your library etc is the same in apple music as except just classical part?

 

[humprof]

If it’s not yet available on ATV4K how are you folks getting Atmos? I see the Atmos labels on selections but they play in 2.0 on my system (cuz the only app installed so far is on my iPhone)

Until Apple Music Classical is available on the ATV4K, the only Atmos listening option would be Atmos for Headphones, I would think (with AirPods Pro, etc.). I don't think it's possible to cast Atmos to an Atmos-capable receiver with Apple AirPlay...?

 

[ted_b]

Ahh, I thought some users were commenting on Atmos, which I assumed was system level Atmos, not headphones, which yes, I can use to play Atmos locally..just tested it on my Airpod Pros. My bad. And no, Airplay is not an option for system-level Atmos, just an option for using the iPhone to remotely manage the library and play on the system, but the Apple Classical app must be on the ATV4K and the ATV4K must be powered on.

 

[mkt]

I am using apple classical to find things, which I then add to my library and play in atmos in Apple Music. Awkward

 

[ted_b]

I am using apple classical to find things, which I then add to my library and play in atmos in Apple Music. Awkward

So everything in Apple Classical is now in Apple Music too (just not curated the same)?

 

[mkt]

So everything in Apple Classical is now in Apple Music too (just not curated the same)?

That is my impression.

 

[mkt]

 

[Blackwood]

Currently listening. In one sense, listening to a single instrument in Atmos seems odd. Yet having a single instrument all around you is enjoyable, too.

 

[humprof]

Profile of JLA in today's Times, focusing on the overt political/environmental message of his latest work, Vespers of the Blessed Earth:
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/29/arts/music/john-luther-adams-vespers-of-the-blessed-earth.html

 

[Blackwood]

I follow this guy’s blog. The other day he tackled Apple Music Classical:

https://500ish.com/a-classical-debate-9e637c1caef1

 

[humprof]

I follow this guy’s blog. The other day he tackled Apple Music Classical:

https://500ish.com/a-classical-debate-9e637c1caef1

Thanks for this. I'm so glad to see someone asking--calmly, respectfully--WTF? Especially regarding why it took 18 months for one of the biggest tech companies in world, one that regularly congratulates itself on how savvy and innovative and cutting-edge it is, to launch this--only to roll it out exclusively for mobile. I mean. . . .

His take on the time lag is very much on point, I think:

You might have thought Apple didn’t want to do the work to retrofit Apple Music itself to fit this new classical music metadata, but I also have to imagine they could [easily] have done that in 18 months[, too]. And I have to imagine they could have figured out a UI to make it work. Maybe there would have been a special classical music section of Apple Music, for example, where the UI changed slightly to match the needs. Maybe the search in that section could have been even more tailored for classical music and different languages, etc. Maybe you could have even pinned that section to be a main part of the UI if you so chose. Hell, I want this for jazz music. And ambient music. And, most importantly, grunge music.​

Well, okay: I'll pass on grunge. The point is: why not just rebuild Apple Music so that it incorporates tons of metadata--musical personnel, lyricists and composers, producers and engineers, recording place and date, etc., etc.--for all music, regardless of genre? With the resources at their disposal, how hard would that really be?

 

[Kal Rubinson]

Yet having a single instrument all around you is enjoyable, too.

Not unless its a sousaphone.

 

[Blackwood]

Thanks for this. I'm so glad to see someone asking--calmly, respectfully--WTF? Especially regarding why it took 18 months for one of the biggest tech companies in world, one that regularly congratulates itself on how savvy and innovative and cutting-edge it is, to launch this--only to roll it out exclusively for mobile. I mean. . . .

His take on the time lag is very much on point, I think:

You might have thought Apple didn’t want to do the work to retrofit Apple Music itself to fit this new classical music metadata, but I also have to imagine they could [easily] have done that in 18 months[, too]. And I have to imagine they could have figured out a UI to make it work. Maybe there would have been a special classical music section of Apple Music, for example, where the UI changed slightly to match the needs. Maybe the search in that section could have been even more tailored for classical music and different languages, etc. Maybe you could have even pinned that section to be a main part of the UI if you so chose. Hell, I want this for jazz music. And ambient music. And, most importantly, grunge music.​

Well, okay: I'll pass on grunge. The point is: why not just rebuild Apple Music so that it incorporates tons of metadata--musical personnel, lyricists and composers, producers and engineers, recording place and date, etc., etc.--for all music, regardless of genre? With the resources at their disposal, how hard would that really be?

I have theories, but my theories tend to be wrong. With that disclaimer out of the way:

Maybe they eventually want to make this a separate, paid service if they see there’s money to be made. So keeping this separate for now is part of a long-term consideration of a new “service” to make money from. That’s something Siegler mentions. Apple is a patient company. What seems baffling and “WTF" in the present tends to make sense (to them at least) down the road when all has finally been revealed.

Or, maybe a massively updated Apple Music app is coming in a future OS and they want/need more time. I used to work at Microsoft and plans for operating systems (and everything that went in or with them) were mapped out years in advance. When people were getting a new version of Windows, we were already testing the one to come next, and yet another team was mapping out ideas for the one or two to come after that.

What always caused Microsoft pain (and is common to all software companies) was adding code to something that really needed a complete overhaul. I specifically saw that with software drivers which weren’t anywhere near as complex as an operating system or big app, yet were still incredibly complex in their own right and subject to an endless filing of bug reports, the worst of which were regressions... something that had worked and was supposedly not touched by new code, yet now was clearly broken.

Sometimes it’s best to start with a relatively clean slate. As you said, a rebuild. But that can mean different things and have wildly different schedules depending on what the end-game is and how it might sync with other features, services, hardware or operating systems they have planned.

I would have no idea what the process is at Apple and I agree with just about everyone else... how hard would it to add some of these new features? But if your plan to do an overhaul of an app in a number of areas, not just these new classical features, it might be best to put resources in the “new” (and something that needs to line up with other plans on the horizon) instead of more effort in a soon-to-replaced app.

Just theories, though.

And just putting this out there in the hopes the wind catches it and it lands in Cupertino... could you please add, at least, FLAC capability to Apple Music? If you're making a new music app, let it actually handle all my music, not just the formats you approve or think are best for me.

 

[ubertrout]

I have theories, but my theories tend to be wrong. With that disclaimer out of the way:

Maybe they eventually want to make this a separate, paid service if they see there’s money to be made. So keeping this separate for now is part of a long-term consideration of a new “service” to make money from. That’s something Siegler mentions. Apple is a patient company. What seems baffling and “WTF" in the present tends to make sense (to them at least) down the road when all has finally been revealed.

Or, maybe a massively updated Apple Music app is coming in a future OS and they want/need more time. I used to work at Microsoft and plans for operating systems (and everything that went in or with them) were mapped out years in advance. When people were getting a new version of Windows, we were already testing the one to come next, and yet another team was mapping out ideas for the one or two to come after that.

What always caused Microsoft pain (and is common to all software companies) was adding code to something that really needed a complete overhaul. I specifically saw that with software drivers which weren’t anywhere near as complex as an operating system or big app, yet were still incredibly complex in their own right and subject to an endless filing of bug reports, the worst of which were regressions... something that had worked and was supposedly not touched by new code, yet now was clearly broken.

Sometimes it’s best to start with a relatively clean slate. As you said, a rebuild. But that can mean different things and have wildly different schedules depending on what the end-game is and how it might sync with other features, services, hardware or operating systems they have planned.

I would have no idea what the process is at Apple and I agree with just about everyone else... how hard would it to add some of these new features? But if your plan to do an overhaul of an app in a number of areas, not just these new classical features, it might be best to put resources in the “new” (and something that needs to line up with other plans on the horizon) instead of more effort in a soon-to-replaced app.

Just theories, though.

And just putting this out there in the hopes the wind catches it and it lands in Cupertino... could you please add, at least, FLAC capability to Apple Music? If you're making a new music app, let it actually handle all my music, not just the formats you approve or think are best for me.

I just don't see it. Music streaming is a loss lieder leader for Apple. They just want to sell more devices and the synergy is an inducement, even though it will eventually be on Android too, and raising barriers to accessing their classical app seems like it would be the opposite.

 

[mrcond]

Another article on Apple Classical. Subscription may be required or you may be able to read as a free preview.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/apple-music-classical-app-3325c6ba?mod=djemalertNEWS