Rosenberg: There's plenty of recordings to listen to

As part of a roundup of new recordings of the music of Brahms, Cleveland Plain Dealer classical music critic Don Rosenberg jumps into the debate pitting Alex Ross against Greg Sandow and Norman Lebrecht over whether the classical music recording industry is declining. Rosenberg writes, " The classical recording industry can't possibly be in trouble. Compact discs keep piling up, like sonic mountains. Most of them stay put in their plastic wrappers, nonetheless ready for listeners eager to hear everything from ancient music to Pulitzer Prize winners."

It would be nice for Rosenberg to go beyond anecdotal evidence and offer a few statistics. On the other hand, Rosenberg makes the often-overlooked point that listeners matter, and that there is plenty of new classical music to listen to, regardless of how musicians and record companies are faring.