Back in the mid 80's the UK branches of Woolworth's Stores [ remember the
old 5c &10c Stores (thruppence & sixpence my side of the Pond)----gosh,that
dates me! ] were selling a very wide range of classical CD's at very
competitive prices--I particularly remember purchasing symphonies by the
Haydn brothers on Hungaraton White Label and Schubert's piano trios on
Naxos, all at sub-Naxos prices.
     Then, all of a sudden, the bubble burst and all the "interesting"
classical disks like the above and Mahler's 8th symphony disappeared from
their shelves, to be replaced by "popular" compilation CD's with such titles
as "The Best of Beethoven" and "Tchaikovsky's Greatest Hits".The sort of
bits and pieces put out interminably by BBC Radio 3's commercial rival,
Classic FM.
     Maybe I was the only one buying the "good stuff" and so commercial
necessity drove them to swap it for something that they thought would have
more popular appeal. Anyway, it was good while it lasted!
     Cheers,
                 John.