Well, I still haven't heard from Naxos regarding the problem that some people (including yours truly) have had downloading albums from their second promotion (the ones with the FLAC albums) of the month. But life moves on . . . .
Alexander Street's newest
free tracks, which they offer biweekly, are available now. Or, at least, most of them are. I have run into a glitch that prevents me from downloading the first of the four tracks that they're giving away this time. I don't know if this is a problem with me/my computer or if the problem lies with the source.
First, the details of the giveaway:
This week's download features Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 6, "Pathétique." This is the last symphony that Tchaikovsky wrote, quickly drafted in early 1893 (five years after he finished his fifth symphony) but not completed until August of that year. Tchaikovsky conducted its premiere in St. Petersburg on October 16, 1893, just days before his sudden death. This recording is performed by the Orquesta Filarmónica De La Ciudad de México under the direction of Fernando Lozano.
These are the four free tracks. I assume that they constitute the entirety of
Symphony No. 6, "Pathétique."
I. Adagio - Allegro non troppo
II. Allegro con grazia
III. Allegro molto vivace
IV. Finale - Adagio lamentoso
These are all provided as MP3's.
I
think that, if you are already signed up to receive Alexander Street's freebies, you
might be able to navigate to
this webpage to get the downloads. There should be a bright blue "Download" button on Tchaikovsky's photo that is impossible to miss. Click on it. That should take you to a webpage which has the links to the
free pieces. They're in blue and found inside the aqua blue box near the top of the page.
Now, here is a second glitch. Again, I don't know if the problem lies with me/my computer or if the trouble lies with the source. But the procedure that I gave you in the previous paragraph is not working for me. When I click on the "Download" button, I get stuff connected with the previous Alexander Street giveaway. If it doesn't work for you, either, try going directly to
the webpage with the download links. That was what I had to do. If for some reason you do not get the webpage, try using
this longer URL.
Now, whenever and however you get to
the webpage with the download links, you may find, like I found, that you will not be able to save the first track. That's the one for
1.Adagio - Allegro non troppo. I tried with two different browsers, and neither gave the desired results.
This new offer just came out in the last couple of hours. If the cause of one or more of the two glitches lies(?) with the source, Alexander Street may become aware of it/them soon and fix it/them. I will check again tomorrow, and let you know what I find out.
Despite the chaos, I did get to listen to the three downloadable tracks. The pieces are very nice--there is a reason that Tchaikovsky is a famous composer! I do hope that we can get the first track, and without the hassle that we've had with another music publisher, whose name I won't mention here.
Oh yeah, if you are not a subscriber to Alexander Street's announcements of new giveaways, you may need to become one, and may then need to log in, in order to receive the downloads. At least, you will need to sign up in order to get announcements every time new downloads are available. You can sign up by going to
this webpage, and scrolling down about one screen. Alexander Street markets to institutions (like libraries and such) and the form that you need to complete reflects that. Just make sure that you put something in each form field (for example, I put "MobileRead.com" for the "Institution").
Posting free classical music isn't my "job," but if it was I would feel very unqualified for it.