Conductor and composer Wilhelm Furtwängler, one of the greatest symphonic and operatic conductors of the 20th century, once expressed himself to be against the production of CD’s.... but now classical music is available in many platforms and formats. For instance, the Berliner Philharmoniker have now taken their classical adventure to the internet with a “Digital Concert Hall”.

Here... you can not only listen to music, but you can 'experience' it by seeing it in on the Internet with both recorded and live streams of concerts. Seeing the choirmasters at work is almost like actually being there, live in Berlin, and maybe even better -  in the digital concert hall, the visitor is closer to the stage then a normal visitor would be sitting in the first row!

Five cameras ensure every angle is being covered by film, making it possible to watch several instruments closely at the same time and visitors can see trailers of any event on the programme as well as more detailed information about the concerts and the players.

The quality of the video and the sound are remarkable. But you do need a good computer and fast internet connection and last but not least, very good speakers! Unfortunately this service is not free - a full concert costs around 10 Euro but payment can easily be made online. All you have to do sign in, log in, buy the ticket of your choice and enjoy! Not only does this make concerts more inexpensive, it also gives people without a ticket a chance to experience them and makes classical music available for a wider audience.

Digital Concert Hall can be viewed at http://www.dch.berliner-philharmoniker.de/ .

In related news, the famous American band Phish is also branching out from traditional live concerts to presenting 3D movies in US theatres to allow more access to music to fans using new technologies.