Today I was looking for music by Jean Sibelius (just learned about him on a trip to finland a few months ago).

I go to his Spotify page (i know, i know....) and there are literally 50 new releases this year... most of them i assume are the musical equivalent of shovelware.... lame compilations like, "classical music for focusing", "50 best classical songs for summer", "epic classics!"... album covers with clearly AI slop.....

even adding the name of a reputable orchestra doesnt do much...

How do you sort through the trash? What reputable labels should i search along with the composer name?

I pretty much filter out everything before after 2000 just to be sure...

i'm looking to switch to qobuz... not sure if they have better quality control...

(Yes, i still buy physical CDs... my question is about online discovery)

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[–] 3 points 13 hours ago (1 child)

You may or may not be the right person to ask but: why the heck is so much classical music mixed so low? Some albums I don't even listen to in the car because I can't hear them very well. And I'm talking about CD's specifically, I'm sure Spotify remixes everything up the same way TV advertisements do.

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  • [–] 3 points 11 hours ago

    Dynamic contrast (loudness and softness) is very important in classical performance. Composers employ in their scores a variety of dynamic markings that span a wide spectrum from very, very, soft to very, very, loud. Normalizing the volume goes against the composer's intent. A recording of Haydn's "Surprise" symphony would lose its intended effect if it cancelled out its stark sudden contrasts between loud and soft.

    Classical music wasn't intended to be listened to in the car or other noisy environments, so you have to keep that in mind. I think most music players though have a setting that can adjust the volume of the audio for such settings. (In Apple Music I think it's "Sound Check").

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