<<  -- 8 --  Tess Crebbin    SHOPPING FOR OPERA ...

On the more contemporary side, there are at least five versions of Brahms' Tragic Overture, ranging in price from five euros to forty, some of them in combination with the Haydn Variations or the symphonies.

Try Bruckner's collected symphonies for all of sixty euros, or the wide range of Naxos CDs available.

Naxos is a classic label founded some twenty years ago by a German living in Hong Kong, Klaus Heyman, with the view of making good classical recordings available to a wide audience at a fair price. The average price of their well-recorded CDs is five euros, with entire operas like Puccini's Madame Butterfly available at only ten euros. Their repertoire is astonishing, and you might want to try a five euro CD of Eric Satie, the crazy French composer whose piano music is as widely known as his strange, funny writings about a composer's life.

If you want to take a break from listening to the music, try grabbing a catalogue and browsing through it while enjoying the delicious, authentic food of the little Vietnamese bistro on the same floor. A gui-coan (Vietnamese Spring roll) sells for only three euros, and provides a delicious way to restore your energies. Sitting at the bar as you eat, you'll find many other music enthusiasts with whom to exchange the tragic life stories of genial composers, or to share tips about new recordings of Mozart. More often than not your eating neighbors will be conductors or performers. Afterwards, return to the store and check out the latest releases you have just discovered in the catalogue or browse through some of the world's most prestigious music magazines, also available in the store.

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