Does anyone know if the link to purchase Con Espressione on the still functioning Alison Stephens' website (http://www.alisonstephens.com/cds.html) is still a valid means to purchase this CD? Thank you.
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Does anyone know if the link to purchase Con Espressione on the still functioning Alison Stephens' website (http://www.alisonstephens.com/cds.html) is still a valid means to purchase this CD? Thank you.
I don't know, but I just tried it - the description said that the response would be a paypal invoice. There was no immediate reply from an auto-responder, so if it's still working we'll have to wait for whatever person is on the receiving end to pick up the email. I didn't see this one available anywhere else, so hopefully it will work - I'll let you know if I get a response. I really enjoyed the other recordings of hers that I have, so thanks for the prompt.
Nothing more to add other than the observation Alison passed away 10 years this coming Oct. 10. We ripped out all of the CDBaby links--the only resource amazon.com says has it but out of stock-- from the MP3 resource on this site some time ago as they stopped distributing hard copies. Unless someone in her estate was supplying amazon in the U.S. during that time it's likely it hasn't been available in the U.S. in years.
Depending on how bad you want it there's at least one copy on amazon UK. At the exchange rate, assuming they'll ship to the U.S.--they may not-- it'll be a pretty price at £32.46. Not even seeing if they'll ship to the U.S. A Wanted ad in the classifieds might stir up someone that has a copy and would be willing to part with it.
I really like this album. I wonder if Chandos—that had some pretty substantial hits via Alison (well, as substantial as classical music gets)—could be convinced to pick up a re-release.
I don't know if the album is still available but wanted to add to Eugene's voice that it's a wonderful recording, probably my favourite album of Alison's. The unaccompanied solo setting really gave her playing the chance to shine, with a romantic repertoire from an age when being a celebrity classical mandolinist wasn't a contradiction in terms. Plus, the natural reverb from making the recording in a French country church rather than a studio adds a pervasive charm and warmth to the album.
Martin
I went to Chandos web site ... they do not have "Con Espressione". However they do advertise that they "burn" copies of CDs. I sent them an inquiry asking if they had new copies of "Con Espressione" or if they would "burn" a copy of the CD as offered on their site.
From their web site:
"CDR Burning Service
The CDR Burning Service provides CDR's for Chandos CDs which have been deleted or CDR's of participating labels downloads.
Chandos offers a production-quality music CDR with white label (not original) packaged in a protective jewel case.
Pricing is the base download FLAC file album price plus £3.25 and plus postage and packing.
Due to the limitations of CDR's there is limit of total album duration of 76 minutes. Anything longer than this will not be available.
Please note: This is not an original CD manufactured by the label. Booklets and inlays are not included but can be downloaded from the media section (where available). "
Here is their response.:
"This is an automated email, please do not reply to this address.
chandos,
A customer support staff member has replied to your support request, #CHT005313 with the following response:
Dear Sir,
We only have the titles featuring Alison Stevens that you can see on our website.
Unfortunately we are not in a position to source one off discs as we rely on what labels offer us.
Kind Regards
The Chandos Team
If you wish to reply to this ticket, please do not send another email, instead, please login to your account (using the link below) for a complete archive of all your support requests and responses. From there you can reply to this ticket without starting a new one.
http://www.classical-mp3.net/osticke...8SESzHJw%3D%3D
Regard"
To be clear, this CD was never in Chandos' catalogue. Coincidentally, I also wrote to Chandos asking if they'd pick up the recording for a re-release. They didn't seem to understand. I received a copy-and-paste of the above reply prefaced with "As I said to another customer today asking about Alison Stephens . . ."
I thus re-replied with the following, but am not hopeful:
Quote:
Thank you for your reply, but it didn't quite address my question. This title was never a part of the Chandos catalogue and, because it was self published by a deceased artist, will never be printed again by the original publisher. My enquiry wasn't regarding a one-off printing of a single copy, but rather if you would be interested in picking up the title for full-blown re-release by the Chandos label. Sorry to bother and sincerest thanks for your initial reply.
I also wrote to Astute Music who had published some of Alison's compositions. Their reply:
Quote:
Hi Eugene
No we don't sell the CD, but I do know that the CD was released on CDBaby, so it should be available as a download on iTunes or at the very least on the CDBaby website. There was a limited run on the CDs so I presume they have probably long sold out by now.
Hope that helps
All the best
Lauren
I really don't think there's much hope to find this in print again, but we tried, eh?
I'm still having some conversations with diverse industry players on this. I'll share word as there's more, but for now, note this new word (and emboldened paragraphs) from Astute Music:
Quote:
Hi Eugene
Sometimes things move quickly... it just so happened I managed to catch Ali's partner online and we've had dialogue and sorted out her Con Espressione CD.
There are some physical copies left, but they are in storage somewhere in the UK, and at some point they will be retrieved and sent to us here at Astute. But I have no idea when that will be. It could be a couple of months, or a year or two!
In the meantime, the digital version of it is now available on Bandcamp here: https://astutemusic.bandcamp.com/album/con-espressione
If you could spread the word about the album being available again that would be great. I was looking at Ali's spotify listing just the other day and thought it such a shame this album wasn't on there, so it's great that people can access it again.
All the best
Lauren
That's great Eugene. Thank you for being so thoughtful and thorough!
That is very cool!
Thanks for the effort Eugene.
I have been looking for this CD for quite some time.
I hope that her work will come to light, Alison is deserving.
You are my hero, Weirdo a pizzico! :)
And you're mine, Mando-Accumulator!
Thanks Tim Logan for the reminder about this music (I never did get a reply from Alison's web site), and Eugene for the BandCamp info!!
I am happily listening to it now, although I had a shocking moment when iTunes decided to switch from Alison playing solo in a French church to the banjo lead in to a Grascals tune. :disbelief: