IMSLP Forums

I don't recall whether this matter was brought up before.

Given that the "Recordings" section of a work page involves only commercial links at Amazon, I thought it might be helpful to provide links elsewhere on the page to non-commercial, online recordings, e.g., videos on YouTube, etc.

These are two pages on which I've added links to some video or audio recordings. Here's one with YouTube performances by Phillip Sear:

http://imslp.org/wiki/%C3%80_Argenteau% ... onovich%29

Having recently stumbled on http://www.mediafire.com -- which has unlimited storage -- I decided to perform some pieces myself and upload them there, as linked on this page:

http://imslp.org/wiki/Piano_Works_%28Da ... eyevich%29

What do you all think of this, especially the formatting on the page (there are two different kinds)?

Brilliant! I find this a great idea! When it comes to composers like Dargomyzhsky and like it's also rather important. A problem might occur however when dealing with composers like Mozart, Beethoven, Bach a.s.o. It would do more harm than good to let anyone add a link to his/hers own performance of some of these composers pieces. Perhaps it would be wise to block this opportunity (if possible) when it comes to certain pieces. Though overall this is a magnificent idea, which, I think, will do much good for a lot of the more "obscure" music on the site.

I find nothing to say about the formatting on these two pages, but another system should perhaps be applied to operas and the like.

audunsj wrote:Brilliant! I find this a great idea! When it comes to composers like Dargomyzhsky and like it's also rather important. A problem might occur however when dealing with composers like Mozart, Beethoven, Bach a.s.o. It would do more harm than good to let anyone add a link to his/hers own performance of some of these composers pieces. Perhaps it would be wise to block this opportunity (if possible) when it comes to certain pieces. Though overall this is a magnificent idea, which, I think, will do much good for a lot of the more "obscure" music on the site. [...]

I quite agree -- I was thinking that this idea would work best for obscure composers or little known pieces, or pieces that don't have a commercial recording in print. The big names, warhorses, and chestnuts don't need the help, especially considering the abundance of recordings and possible unnecessary competition. The recordings I'm making at home of piano pieces should be considered "demos."

You can add links at the file level by inserting the following in the code: |Recordings=[http://www.yourlink.here Name of Link]. This is ideal for a hosted MP3 or similar link. I have one set up for Rachmaninov's Cello Sonata.

Carolus wrote:You can add links at the file level by inserting the following in the code: |Recordings=[http://www.yourlink.here Name of Link]. This is ideal for a hosted MP3 or similar link. I have one set up for Rachmaninov's Cello Sonata.

The file level would make sense if a performance were specific to a particular printed edition (song for high or low voice; arrangements, etc.). If it's a recording of the "generic" piece, it would make more sense to put it in a place separate from the PDFs, especially if more than one edition of the same thing is represented on the page.

By the way, would there be a way to generate a category list of work-pages that include links to recordings?

I don't know if one could generate a category list or not. As for specificity of recordings to particular editions, it is highly dependent on the individual work. For example, it is extremely unlikely that one could tell if an orchestra performed Beethoven's Symphony No.7 from the very common Breitkopf parts (or the Kalmus reprint thereof) or from the score and parts issued as part of the Henle complete works - especially in light of the common practice of conductors making minor changes to articulation, dynamics and tempi from other editions studied or even on their own. Most of the time, recordings make no mention of which edition was used on the stands. On the other hand, one can easily spot Ravel's orchestration of Pictures in contrast to Ashkenazy's or Gorchakov's. There's a very audible difference between Rimsky's re-orchestration of Boris Godunov and the composer's original. One can also hear differences between the Bessel first edition of Pictures and Lamm's urtext (in a couple of spots). In contrast, it would be practically impossible to hear any real differences between Bauer's edition (a derivative of the Bessel) and the Bessel itself.

It's easy enough to put links to recordings anywhere on the page that is most suitable. I don't think the file-level link always has to be tied to a specific edition, as long as the differences between various editions are minimal. Clicking a link for a Chopin piano piece and getting an MP3 of an arrangement for Saxophone, Tuba, and Accordion would be a bit disconcerting, though.

I didn't mean a specific edition of the same score (Beethoven symphony full score, many editions), but different versions in general. I've just added links for a few recordings for Cui's Op. 20, and moved the ones for Op. 40; since they're just from the piano version, I placed them underneath that set of editions:

http://imslp.org/wiki/Miniatures%2C_Op. ... onovich%29

http://imslp.org/wiki/%C3%80_Argenteau% ... onovich%29

Nothing wrong with the positioning you used. I changed the recording section heading to 4 equal-signs as it appeared to be a sub-section of the 'Soviet editions' heading for the Op.40. My only (very slight) concern is with visibility. In other words, it's not immediately apparent on the Op.40 page that there are links to hear selections unless the "contents" window is open. I'll put in same links in the first section using the wiki's built-in feature so we can compare visibility. The main point is that having such recordings linked is really a wonderful asset in making these pieces better known.

Of course, the issue with having them in the first segment is that it gives the impression that the recordings are all made from the original Bessel edition, when we have no idea of which edition was used by Mr. Sear. So, the trade-off for some improved visibility is a bit of a misleading impression. We're pretty strict about the similar built-in Amazon links for scores, where it has to be the same edition (or a reprint) as the one represented in the actual file.

Thanks for fixing that, Carolus.

I was digging through my old cassette recordings that have been transferred to CD and posted links to these IMSLP items today:

• http://imslp.org/wiki/Sonata_per_Cembal ... iuseppe%29
  http://imslp.org/wiki/Sonata_for_Piano_ ... Lyle_K.%29

The Bencini is from a lecture-recital that I did in 1980 and included works by Kuhnau, Pasquini, Soler, Seixas, Pergolesi, and Platti. Later I'll see whether any of those scores are on IMSLP and add MP3 links.

FYI: I created a category to collect the work pages that have online recording links:

http://imslp.org/wiki/Category:Work_pag ... recordings

I wouldn't use mediafire. It doesn't allow Hot Linking (in the free account) which essentially forces IMSLP's users to read adverts and click extra links. Personally I use dropbox. You only get 2gbs but it's got great integration security etc.. I sound like a salesman, so I'll stop now.

I've talked with Carolus regarding the formatting of non-commercial recordings on IMSLP. I would like the non-commercial recordings to be a separate section on the page, so we have:

==Music Files==
==Non-Commercial Recordings==
==Commercial Recordings==
etc.

Adding the recordings straight into the Music Files section is probably a bad idea because it takes away the flexibility that is required for changing page design, etc later on. Instead, using a list is a better idea.

I have therefore added a |Recordings= function to the work page. Play around with it

Implementing...implementing...

Works for me. I might add a few more youtube links.