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Hyperion makes complete Liszt piano works boxset available as a massive download

26GB FLAC download now available, includes the whole of Leslie Howard's record-breaking 99-disc set

Andrew Everard 2:44pm GMT 16th March 2011
Hyperion Liszt complete piano works

Hyperion's complete Liszt set now available for download

Hyperion Records has made its 99-disc set of Liszt's complete piano music available for download in both MP3 and lossless FLAC versions.

The set, performed by Leslie Howard, is available online for £200, saving £50 on the price of the CDs, this price falling to £150 with the company's 25% discount on all online orders over £59.

However, it's going to take a while to download the set, not to mention listen to it all: with a running time of just under 121 hours, it clocks in at 12GB for the MP3 version, and a massive 26GB for the FLAC files.

The set is already a Guinness World Record holder for the largest recording series by a solo artist.

The download system uses Hyperion's Adobe AIR-based manager software, similar to that used by other labels such as The Naim Label and Linn Records.

Once the set has been purchased, a single click will start the whole thing downloading, allowing the buyer to do other things while it's in progress.

Like go away for a week's holiday, for example…

Andrew Everard

Andrew Everard, Audio Editor of Gramophone since November 1999, read English at Queens' College, Cambridge a very long time ago, and was a member of the Westminster Abbey Special Choir even further back in the mists of time. He has worked on What Hi-Fi? Sound and Vision, High Fidelity, Audiophile and Home Cinema magazines, as well as contributing a monthly column to Japanese title HiVi.

Comments

Submitted by phlogiston on Wed 16th March 2011.

It would break my monthly download limit - more than somewhat. I suspect ISPs would bring in their unfair use criteria even on "unlimited" packages.

Impressive idea though