I don't know about other list members, but this member has been purchasing more music than ever with the advent of internet sales sites. With the goal of trying to maintain a viable degree of purchasing for listening and financial reasons, I decided to stop buying music at record stores. Of course, good intentions don't necessarily translate into good follow-through. As my mother-in-law has often told me with a steely gaze, "The road to hell is paved with good intentions"; she's so warm and cuddly. So, for the past three weeks, I have not bought anything from the local stores. Although my purchases through the net have been substantial, I can already see the differences from the financial end. Also, to my surprise, it's been easy to cease store purchases - very little regret. Much of this is likely tied in to the worsening inventory situation of the stores. Concerning internet purchases, I receieved yesterday what is probably the most "mainstream" order I ever made: Beethoven's violin concerto played by Hahn on sony, Chopin's piano concerto #1 played by Pires on DG, Bach's Goldberg Variations played by Tureck on DG, and the Brahms violin concerto played by Vengerov on Teldec. I didn't have much time last night to listen to these discs - my work life has been very hectic lately, and I need more sleep during these periods. But, I did play parts of each of the 4 discs and liked what I heard very much. The Tureck recording seemed particularly excellent. I think that a list member had complained about her extrememly slow tempos; I found no problem with them. As an aside, I have not been posting lately with my usual frequency or enthusiasm. Personal and work demands have left me feeling like a "lump on a log." Hopefully, my little problems will be resolved soon, and I can return to normal. Don Satz [log in to unmask]