Pristine Audio Direct Access has for some time been offering a high-quality streamed access to all of the historic releases on the Pristine Audio label, allowing subscribers to listen on demand, 24/7, to any of Pristine's output anywhere they can log into the Internet service. We are now building on this by adding new transfers not otherwise available. In many cases these are very high quality transfers made by enthusiasts - non-professionals who wish to share their passion (and expertise) for music with a wider audience. In other cases these are recordings which, for a variety of reasons, Pristine Audio has worked on but decided not to release commercially.
In each case subscribers can not only listen online to the recordings, but also download the master MP3 files directly.
No, there are no covers, notes or cue-sheets - these are not commercial releases, more a bonus for our subscribers and an excellent way of bringing more recordings to a wider audience than Pristine Audio can manage on its own - there are only so many hours in the day!
Current list of PADA Exclusives:
Beethoven - Symphony No. 5: Berlin Philharmonic, Nikisch (1913) - one of the first ever full symphony recordings, restored by Aaron Z. Snyder
Moeran - Violin Concerto: Sammons, BBC SO, Boult (1946) - rather rough acetates from AM radio, but a stunning rendition, restored by Andrew Rose
Britten - Serenade for Tenor & Horn: Pears, Brain, Boyd Neel Strings, Britten (1944) - excellent recording restored with mild stereospread by Dr. John Duffy
Bach - Goldberg Variations: Wanda Landowska (1945) - Landowska's 2nd and preferred recording, restored with mild stereospread by Dr. John Duffy
Prokofiev - 11 Piano Pieces: Prokofiev (1935) - the composer at the keyboard, restored with mild stereospread by Dr. John Duffy
Beethoven - Moonlight Sonata: Benno Moiseiwitsch (1941) - restored from 78s by Andrew Rose
Charlie Parker's Reboppers - Billie's Bounce (1945) - experimental XR jazz restoration by Andrew Rose
Schubert - Sonata No. 20 in A, D959: Artur Scnhabel (1937) - restored with mild stereospread by Dr. John Duffy
Charlie Parker All Stars - Donna Lee (1947) - experimental XR jazz restoration by Andrew Rose
Jelly Roll Morton & Red Hot Peppers - Various 78s (1926-9) - restored with mild stereospread by Dr. John Duffy
Elgar - The Fringes of the Fleet, Inside the Bar: C. Mott, F. Henry, F. Stewart, H. Barratt, Orch. Cond. E. Elgar (1917) - restored by Aaron Z. Snyder
Telemann - Harpsichord Fantasias: Ernst Victor Wolff (r. 1937 on a Maendler-Schramm instrument) - restored with mild stereospread by Dr. John Duffy
Vaughan Williams - On Wenlock Edge: Peter Pears, Benjamin Britten, Zorian Qt. (1945) - restored with mild stereospread by Dr. John Duffy
Shostakovich - Symphony No. 9 in E flat: Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra of New York, Kurtz (1949) - restored with mild stereospread by Dr. John Duffy
Respighi- The Birds: Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Defauw (March 16, 1945) - restored by Bill Anderson
Prokofiev - Scythian Suite: Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Defauw (March 16, 1945) - restored by Bill Anderson
Franck - Psyche Suite excerpts: Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Defauw (March 16, 1945) - restored by Bill Anderson
Gretry - Cephale et Procris (Airs de Ballet): Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Defauw (March 16, 1945) - restored by Bill Anderson
Franck - Le Chasseur Maudit: Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Defauw (March 16, 1945) - restored by Bill Anderson
Franck - Redemption: Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Defauw (March 16, 1945) - restored by Bill Anderson
Smetana - Bartered Bride Overture: Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Defauw (March 16, 1945) - restored by Bill Anderson
Louis Armstrong All-Stars - The Town Hall Concert: Armstrong, Hackett, Teagarden, Hucko, Haggert, Catlett, Cary, Wettling (April 24, 1947) - restored with mild stereospread by Dr. John Duffy
Shostakovich - Symphony No 6 in B minor, Op 54: Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Reiner (March 26, 1945) - restored with mild stereospread by Dr. John Duffy
Kabalevsky - Overture to 'Colas Beugnon': Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Reiner (March 26, 1945) - restored with mild stereospread by Dr. John Duffy
Stravinsky - Ebony Concerto: Woody Herman (clarinet), Herman's Herd, cond. Stravinsky (August 19, 1946) - restored with mild stereospread by Dr. John Duffy
Elgar - Introduction and Allegro : BBC Symphony Orchestra, Boult (March 24, 1937) - restored by Bill Anderson
Elgar - Sospiri : BBC Symphony Orchestra, Boult (March 24, 1937) - restored by Bill Anderson
Turina - Piano Trio No. 2 : Russian Trio (Nina Mesirow Minchin, Hans Muenzer, Ennio Bolognini) (Private issue, RCA 78s) - restored with mild stereospread by Dr. John Duffy
Chopin - Etudes, Opp. 10 and 25 : Alexander Brailowsky (rec. 1928-34, ordered as per original album issue) - restored with mild stereospread by Dr. John Duffy
Smetana - Bartered Bride, Overture : London Philharmonic Orchestra, Harty (1933) - restored by Bill Anderson
Liszt - Hungarian Rhapsody : Hallé Orchestra, Harty (1931) - restored by Bill Anderson
Berlioz - Les Troyens March : London Symphony Orchestra, Harty (1935) - restored by Bill Anderson
Berlioz - King Lear Overture : London Symphony Orchestra, Boult (1935) - restored by Bill Anderson
Elgar - Sea Pictures : Leila Megane, contralto, Symphony Orchestra, Elgar (1922/3) - restored by Aaron Z. Snyder
Bach, Arr. Elgar - Fantasia and Fugue in C minor: London Symphony Orchestra, Coates (1928) - restored by Bill Anderson
Liszt - Les Preludes : London Symphony Orchestra, Coates (1928) - restored by Bill Anderson
Rimsky Korsakov - Dance of the Tumblers : National Symphony Orchestra, Coates (1945) - restored by Bill Anderson
Tchaikovsky - Romeo and Juliet : National Symphony Orchestra, Coates (1945) - restored by Bill Anderson
Mussourgsky, Arr. Rimsky Korsakov - A Night on the Bare Mountain : London Symphony Orchestra, Coates (1931) - restored by Bill Anderson
Pristine Classical - bringing you DRM-free historic classical FLAC and MP3 download music since 2005
FAQ
FLAC downloads use lossless compression - when replayed or transferred to disc they are bit- identical to original recordings.
16 BIT files are at full CD resolution, identical to our CD masters.
24 BIT files are at higher, studio master resolution, identical to our finished master files.
Please ensure you can play our 24 bit FLAC files before purchase - try our test files here.
Not all media players support FLAC yet, so you may need to convert to WAV or AIFF before playback. See our FLAC help guide
FLAC downloads come as a series of tracks in a ZIP archive file.
Our MP3 files are encoded at very high variable bitrates using the LAME encoder or at 320kbps.
Each recording is presented as a single, long MP3 which can be split using the CUE sheet at the bottom of the page, adding track titles and other information.
CD writing programs such as Nero and Burrrn can write these files directly to CD with all track information added using MP3+CUE - see our tutorial
Alternatively a cue splitter program can automatically cut and name the MP3 into individual MP3 tracks
There are also media players which use the MP3+CUE system, allowing gapless playback of all long MP3 files - essential for opera and many other classical works
Save money when you buy several downloads together by using the following discount codes in the shopping cart:
Buy 5 or more - save 10%: Code: 85187052
Buy 10 or more - save 20%: Code: 12W07104
How To Use: Once you've made your selections, copy the correct code into the space marked Discount or Coupon Code in your shopping cart, then click the Update Cart button to apply the discount before heading to the checkout.
N.B. These discounts apply to all our FLAC and MP3 downloads only. Discounts do not apply to CD purchases
Our CDs are made to order on highest quality Taiyo Yuden Watershield CD-R discs, recorded directly from our master files
CDs are shipped worldwide by Air Mail from France. The price here includes all shipping costs - there are no hidden extras
Standard and Premium CDs hold the same quality of audio - the Standard CD comes in a slip case with no covers, the Premium comes in a jewel case with printed covers
Each music page has PDF covers for printing out at home
They can be found by clicking on cover artwork or scrolling to the bottom of the page
Always deselect any resizing options in the print dialogue of Adobe Reader before printing to ensure correct cover sizes
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You can pay by credit card directly with PayPal acting merely as a secure card payment processing facility
You can use a PayPal account for quicker, easier and totally secure payments
We do not recommend using the e-check option for download purchases as there is always a delay of 3-4 working days between purchase and receipt of goods while the check clears
Payments are charged in Euros and will be converted from other currencies at the current PayPal exchange rate
