Callas at Juilliard: the Master Classes

We have provided technical information below to assist in using this disc. This disc, AE101, is the student edition with audio editing and simplified display of the indices. AE102, the scholar's edition, is unedited and offers more attractive indexing.

This CD-ROM contains the full audio record of Maria Callas' master classes presented at the Juilliard School of Music in 1971/72 Those classes are accessible through indices by
Number and date of the class
Composer and selection under study
Student name.
Those indices were developed and prepared by Frank Hamilton whose industry and attention to detail benefit us all. Please note that some of his source materials were contradictory and that even such basic matters as the spelling of a student's name may be in error.

Our intent is to provide an audio complement to the text presentation by John Ardoin in his book, Callas at Juilliard: the Master Classes published by Amadeus Press, 1998, and reprinted with permission. To the extent practical, format and text in this student edition follow those in the book.

While this disc is designed to stand alone, its value is substantially enhanced if it is heard while following in Callas at Juilliard: the Master Classes. The book provides clear text where some words on the recording are obscure; and musical notation to complement the sounds of both student and master on the disc. In addition to the content of selected classes, the book includes three invaluable texts reproduced here:
Foreword by Nicola Rescigno
Introduction by John Ardoin
Prologue adapted from Maria Callas

The audio selections here were processed from copies of the stage tapes made available briefly. Those tapes have been returned to their source and are not available for copying, nor were wide-range, stereo, digital masters generated. In a word, this disc is deemed sufficient for research and for study and I cannot provide higher-quality material for an individual than is made available here for all.

Technical Matters

Macintosh users are urged to read macread.htm or macread.txt on this disc as well as the following.

The audio files on this disc are recorded in MP3 format. Players for such compressed audio are available for most platforms. Since most users of personal computers when this disc was published have 32-bit Windows installed on their systems, we include a licensed browser and a freeware player so that it is self-contained. Most users of these discs will find that they automatically load the browser and its support programs; in that case, all functions should be directly accessible in the same way they would be with any other browser.

Those running Windows who do not find that the browser begins automatically may start it by running I_VIEW.EXE from the root of the CD-ROM drive. Those running other systems, such as Mac and Unix boxes, will need both a browser and an installed MPEG player. Even Windows users may use their preferred browsers equipped with MPEG players. Operation with any browser other than the one on the disc requires that you point it to the CD-ROM and WELCOME.HTM as the URL.

Every effort has been made to ensure that all files are accessible to all users. The prototype of this disc was tested on a variety of computers and all reasonably modern ones have managed to work in the configurations tested. There is little that can be done if your computer has problems with these files short of upgrading the computer. As an indication of its modest needs, the disc proved fully functional on a Pentium 75 laptop with 8 MB of RAM and a 2x CD-ROM drive.

Using the software

Those using their own browsers will certainly need no assistance from me. That is fortunate, since it would be difficult to cover all the options of browsers and MP3 plugins and helpers. If you are running the I_VIEW browser on the disc, you should find all operations familiar. Simply click on a link to access it. If you have trouble seeing everything in the browser, please make sure that the page is maximized by clicking the icon one to the left and one down from the top-right corner. Unfortunately, the browser does not 'remember' that setting and you will need to click the icon each time you start the program.

One easy way to integrate MP3 playback into your browser is to visit http://www.audioactive.com and to download and install the helper appropriate for your system. At the time of publication, they offered helpers not only for Win95 and NT, but also for Windows 3.x. Due to a problem in the design of the AudioActive encoder, their Mac player will not reproduce the files on this disc.

The WinAmp player here is not the current, shareware version. However, it is an excellent freeware release quite sufficient for the needs of this disc. It has been preset to the values needed for operation - which is fortunate, since those values cannot be recorded to the CD-ROM and therefore will return to the presets whenever the disc is first accessed. This disc contains only monaural files and is preset for monaural playback. I urge those with more general interest in MP3 playback and those seeking players for other browsers to explore http://www.nullsoft.com/ and http://www.winamp.com/ for the current offerings for Mac and PC.

Producer's notes

The sound on these discs has been limited in frequency response and mixed down to monaural in order to maximize overall value to students and researchers. As demonstrated on the few selections available from EMI, professional processing can enhance quality and preserve stereo to add to enjoyment of the materials. However, the pedagogic functions seem better served in single-disc, indexed format even at some sacrifice of esthetics.

The material is presented in two forms. On AE101, the audio is edited for maximum audibility and the indices are simplified for maximum legibility on modest equipment. On AE102, the tapes have been presented unedited, simply split into the sessions by student and a more pleasing but more demanding page layout is used. In editing, I removed material of little interest (e.g., locating a music stand or a score), tamed some extraneous noises, and expanded speech where necessary to allow you to retrieve as much of the discussion as practical without substantial use of your volume control. I think of AE101 as the student edition, AE102 as the scholar's version - requiring higher quality of equipment but potentially allowing an expert to extract more than I could with my modest resources. With AE102, you have essentially the same starting point for your purposes that I had for mine.

Mike Richter
mrichter@mindspring.com