Unbelievable, amazing, and altogether incredible Deutsche Grammophon deal

Okay, I don't use iTunes. I don't own an iPod (I use an iRiver iHP-120 which doubles as a moderately high-end recorder,) and I take umbrage at the propitiatory format thing. But when I heard about this deal tonight, there was no escaping it - I was off to download the iTunes client.

iTunes Canada has just released the 55 disc Deutsche Grammophon 111 year anniversary compilation. Nothing special there. Except that while the iTunes US is listing it at $119, (Amazon has it at $134 but you do get the box and the physical discs,) iTunes Canada has it for, wait for it....

$9.99

I don't know if it's a promo price or a typo. What I do know is that, as we speak, 7GB of recording history covering everything from West Side Story to von Karajan's Beethoven 9, is making it's way onto an external hard drive in my house.

Well, what are you waiting for? To the iTunes store!

Updated: As of last night, iTunes has changed the price. It's now listed at $120. I'll keep my eyes out for other deals though!



Still here? Here's an abbreviated disc list pilfered from an Amazon review:

1.CD Claudio Abbado: Brahms, Ungarische Tänze Nr. 1-21 (Wien PO/1982)
2.CD Amadeus Quartett: Beethoven, Streichquartette Nr. 7 & 15 (1959 / 1962)
3.CD Martha Argerich: Chopin, Preludes Nr. 1-26; Klaviersonate Nr. 3 op. 35 (1976)
4.CD Daniel Barenboim: Ravel, La Valse; Daphnis et Chloe-Suite Nr. 2; Pavane (Orchestre de Paris / 1981)
5.CD Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli: Debussy, Preludes Heft 1; Images I & II (1977)
6.CD Leonard Bernstein: Berstein, West Side Story / 1984)
7.CD Karl Böhm: Mozart, Requiem KV 626 (Mathis, Hamari, Ochmann, Wien PO/1971)
8.CD Pierre Boulez: Strawinsky, Le Sacre du Printemps; Der Feuervogel (Cleveland O, Chicago SO/1991)
9.CD G.Carmignola: Vivaldi, Violinkonzerte RV 190, 217, 303, 325, 331 (Venice Baroque O, A Marcon / 2005)
10.CD Placido Domingo / Carlo Maria Giulini: Opera Gala (Los Angeles PO, Giulini / 1981)
11.CD Gustavo Dudamel: Mahler, Symphonie Nr. 5 (Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela / 2006)
12.CD Emerson Quartet: Bach, Die Kunst der Fuge BWV 1080 für Streichquartett (2002)
13.CD Dietrich Fischer Dieskau: Schubert, Winterreise D. 911 (Gerald Moore, Klavier / 1971)
14.& 15.CD Pierre Fournier: Bach, Cellosuiten BWV 1007-1012 (1960)
16.CD Ferenc Fricsay: Verdi, Requiem (Stader, Radev, Krebs, Borg, RIAS SO/1953)
17.CD Wilhelm Furtwängler: Schumann, Symph. Nr. 4 / Haydn, Symphonie Nr. 88 (Berlin PO/1953 / 1951)
18.& 19.CD John Eliot Gardiner: Monteverdi, Vespro della beata vergine; Magnificat a sei voci (Monoyios, Pennicchi, Chance, Tucker, Robson, Monteverdi Choir, English Baroque Soloists / 1989)
20.CD Emil Gilels: Beethoven, Klaviersonaten Nr. 21, 23, 26 (1971-1974)
21.CD Reinhard Goebel: Bach, Orchestersuiten Nr. 2 & 5 / Pachelbel, Canon & Gigue in D/Händel, Sonate für 2 Violinen HWV 399 / Vivaldi, Sonate für 2 Violinen RV 63 (Musica Antiqua Köln / 1982)
22.CD Hélene Grimaud: Credo: Pärt, Credo for Piano, Choir & Orchestra / Beethoven, Piano Sonata Nr. 17 "Tempest"; Chorfantasie op. 80 / Corigliano, Fantasie (Swedish Radio Choir, Swe. RSO, E-P Salonen / 2002)
23.CD Hilary Hahn: Bach, Violinkonzerte BWV 1041-1043, 160 ((BWV 1043 für 2 Violinen; BWV 1060 für Violine & Oboe) (Hilary Hahn, Margaret Batjer, Allan Vogel, LA Chamber Orchestra, Jeffrey Kahane / 2003)
24.CD V. Horowitz: In Moscow: Scarlatti, Mozart, Rachmaninoff, Scriabin, Chopin, Schumann,etc (1985)
25.CD Eugen Jochum: Orff, Carmina Burana (Janowitz, Stolze, Fischer-Dieskau, O der D. Oper Berlin / 1968)
26.CD Herbert von Karajan: Beethoven, Symphonie Nr. 9; Coriolan-Ouvertüre op. 62 Berlin PO/1962)
27.CD Wilhelm Kempff: Beethoven, Klavierkonzerte Nr. 4 & 5 (Berlin PO, Leitner / 1962)
28.CD Carlos Kleiber: Beethoven, Symphonien Nr. 5 & 7 (Wien PO/1974 / 1975)
29.CD Magdalena Kozena: Handel Arien (Venice Baroque Orchestra, Andrea Marcon / 2006)
30.CD Rafael Kubelik: Dvorak, Symphonien Nr. 8 & 9 (Berlin PO/1967 / 1972)
31.CD Lang Lang: Tschaikowsky, Klavierkonzert Nr. 1 op. 23 / Mendelssohn, Klavierkonzert Nr. 1 op. 25 (Chicago SO, Daniel Barenboim / 2003)
32.CD Lorin Maazel: Mendelssohn, Symphonien Nr. 4 & 5 (Berlin PO/1961)
33.CD Mischa Maisky: Werke von Saint-Saens, Faure, Respighi, Dvorak, Glasunow, Tschaikowsky, Bruch, Strauss, Haydn (Orchestre de Paris, Bychkov / 1991)
34.CD Igor Markevitch: Cherubini, Anacreon-Ouvertüre / Auber, La Muette de Portici-Ouvertüre (Lamoureux Orchestra / 1958)
35.CD Paul McCreesh: Praetorius, Christmette (Lutherian Christmas Morning Mass ) (Gabrieli Consort & Players / 1993)
36.CD Marc Minkowski: Rameau, Une Symphonie imaginaire ((Suite of 20 Orchestral pieces from 11 Rameau-Operas,selected by Marc Minkowski) (Les Musiciens du Louvre / 2004)
37.CD Anne Sophie Mutter: Brahms, Konzert für Violine, Cello & Orchester op. 102; Violinkonzert op. 77 (Mutter, Meneses, Berlin PO, Karajan / 1983 / 1981)
38.CD Anna Netrebko: Opera Arias - Szenen & Arien von Mozart, Berlioz, Bellini, Donizetti, Puccini, Massenet, Gounod, Dvorak (Wien PO, GIanandrea Noseda / 2001)
39.CD David Oistrach: Tschaikowsky, Violinkonzert op. 35 / Wieniawski, 3 Etudes-Caprices / Sarasate, Navarra op. 33 (Staatskapelle Dresden, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Konwitschny / 1961)
40.CD Anne Sofie von Otter: Lamenti (Musica Antiqua Köln, Reinhard Goebel (1997)
41.CD Trevor Pinnock: Vivaldi, Concerti op. 8 Nr. 1-4, RV 548; Konzert für 2 Violinen RV 516 (Standage, Willcock, The English Consort / 1981)
42.& 43.CD Maria Joao Pires: Chopin, Nocturnes Nr. 1-21 (1995)
44.CD I. Pogorelich: Scarlatti, Klaviersonaten K. 1,8, 9,11,13,20,87,98,119,135,159,380,450,487,529 (1991)
45.CD Maurizio Pollini: Chopin, Etüden Nr. 1-24 (1971)
46.CD Thomas Quasthoff: Die Stimme - Arien & Duette von Lortzing, Wagner, Weber, Strauss (Quasthoff, Oelze, Orchester der Deutschen Oper Berlin, Thielemann / 2001)
47.& 48.CD Karl Richter: Bach, Messe h-moll BWV 232 / 1961)
49.CD Svjatoslav Richter: Rachmaninoff, Klavierkonzert Nr. 2, 6 Preludes (Warschau PO, Wislocki / 1959)
50.CD M.Rostropovich: Dvorak, Cellokonzert/ Tschaikowsky, Rokoko-Variationen (BPO, Karajan / 1968)
51.CD Bryn Terfel: The Vagabond - Vaughan Williams, Finzi, Butterworth, Ireland, (Malcolm Martineau, Klavier / 1994)
52.CD Rolando Villazon: Cielo e mar - Cilea, Donizetti, Gomes, Mercadante, Ponchielli, Verdi, Boito, Pietri (Giuseppe Verdi Chor & SO Mailand, Danielle Callegari / 2007)
53.CD Helmut Walcha: Bach, Toccata & Fuge d-moll BWV 565; Präludium & Fuge BWV 552; Triosonate BWV 525; Partita BWV 768; Choräle BWV 645-650 "Schübler-Choräle" (Orgel Laurenskerk Alkmaar / 1958-1963)
54.CD Fritz Wunderlich: Schumann, Dichterliebe, Beethoven, Schubert (Hubert Giesen, Klavier /1965)
55.CD Krystian Zimerman: Liszt, Klavierkonzerte Nr. 1 & 2; Totentanz für Klavier & Orchester (Boston SO, Ozawa / 1987)