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The Nordic Sound and Trondheim Solistene: Divertimenti are two recent purchases

For about two years now, I have really been into opera. My addiction has been inpired by broadcasts of live Met performances on HDTV to remote locations, one of which is a 15-minute ride from my home. So I have been building an opera library and spending quite a bit of money. MP3s and and Internet downloads hold no attraction for me. For me therefore, it is CDs and LPs only!

Surround sound tickles my fancy at the moment.

I buy used discs. I suspect others consider this matter like I do: Why do I need a new disc when the secondary CD/SACD market online is so vibrant?

How about a little music education in our schools? If you can have football, which kills about 40 kids a year, why not music? It's all about the exposure.

Only SACDs.

It's not that I don't like it, I would think that this genre would be better served if there was a dedicated website where one could listen to and/or download it.

Has to get a great review/write-up as I now purchase mostly audiophile-quality recordings

It is hard to find any information on new classical recordings today.

The situation is a little complicated. I listen to classical music. But my preferred playback medium is vinyl. That limits me to performances from the 1960s and '70s. OTOH, there are plenty of works that do not have audiophile-grade recordings from that era, so there is plenty of room for modern performances in today's marketplace. Another problem is that many/most classical music lovers have all of the Beethoven, Mozart, etc, that they really need. So yet another Beethoven cycle isn't going to sell much, especially if one of von Karajan's cycles is still considered the best. I think that it has not helped that classical music has been mostly marketed to the crossover crowd, which is never going to buy more than a few discs. Also, I would like to register my vote firmly against depending on modern compositions. I realize that someone involved with classical music on a daily basis can get bored at some point, but that is not the case with most music lovers. These points may paint a bleak picture, but it means that there are windows of opportunity for those willing to do business a bit differently. The SFS Mahler recordings are one example. Also, the audiophile market could be a great source of revenue from hi-rez recordings. While SACD is barely treading water, many audiophiles have at least some interest in building a music server. A steady stream of new hi-rez classical titles could be quite successful.

That piece in the Washington Post was an eye-opener. This country, if those numbers are accurate, puts a lot of money into maintaining classical music. They've got to find a way to sell better. Is there creativity in the market for sales? I doubt it. I miss the knowledgeable staff at Tower Records, by the way. We've got people who know what they're talking about maintaining the little classical section at the Politics & Prose bookstore, the best in Washington, by far.

Classical music is music that was written to sound good without any modern "studio magic," It relies purely on the natural acoustic magic of real instruments and nice performance spaces. I love being able to bring part of that experience home.

Classical music, from chamber to opera, is about all I buy. Amazon usually sends me to used stores for obscure albums at a lower price, so I doubt much of what I buy ends up recorded by manufacturers—with the perpetual exception of Naxos, the good guys!

With most of the brick & mortar classical stores going the way of the Dodo, the web is a good resorce. Thank goodness for ArkivMusic for keeping thousands of great titles alive by their On Demand program.

30% classical, 30% jazz, 30% pop? 10% other.

I say some because I already have a sizable collection (mostly on vinyl). I currently buy hi-rez (88.2/24 and up) downloads. Stereophile should have a specific column devoted to reviewing hi-rez (classical and pop).

I buy CDs, LPs, and downloads.

Since most shops (Borders, etc) have reduced inventories, I have reduced my browsing habits—and browsing was when I formerly bought most of my discs.

In advance, I buy a copy of whatever I plan on attending live. I usually buy from ArkivMusic—not the best choice. Many discs and jewel boxes arrive damaged in transit. Support is terrible.

I clicked "Yes, quite a bit," but maybe it should have been "What is classical music?" Groups like Kronos Quartet are changing the definition of classical music to include "world music," ie beyond the traditional precincts of Europe, Russia, and North America. I buy about 10 CDs or downloads of traditional European-based classical music per month.

Some or little lately, but a lot at various times in the past. Like other genres I guess, sometimes it's my "thing," others it's not for months at a time.

Why has Stereophile nearly eliminated reviews of classical music? Most of what is reviewed is awful.

I have found downloads to have either very poor sound quality or they are horribly inconvenient (ie, have to be played through a computer/server—a horrible idea if you know anything about electronics). So, discs (CDs, SACDs, etc) are the only way to go if I don't want to sacrifice sound quality.

By this time we have 50+ years of classical performances. The only "new" material is artists/interpretations that are often inferior to the old performances. Ergo, limited sales.

Very, very little. Out of 3000 LPs, about 20 are classical and about 75 out of my 4000 CDs. I love all kinds of music but classical doesn't pull me in, nor does soul, dance, or much that new music now.

Yes, I buy it, and usually at concerts, and I like it when the artists bring discs to sell. I picked up three of Vadim Gluzman's CDs when he performed with the Spokane Symphony recently.

I made a few purchases of some of the select classical performances I do like. There's not much more is there? Occasionally I do find some that I must have, but it's a genre I listen to only a few times a year.

But mostly used vinyl from Everyday Music in Portland.

Not as much as I'd like to. I just don't know what I'd like and what is a good recording of it.

I buy a lot of different music. Thing is, if you go to a classical music concert, the only people who don't have gray hair are music majors. Until we get a new generation of listeners, sales are going to drop as the listeners do.