Sad day: Canada’s last classical store shuts down

Sad day: Canada’s last classical store shuts down

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norman lebrecht

May 02, 2019

From Ludwig Van Toronto:

The last classical music CD store in Canada is officially closing. As the company announced in a Facebook post earlier today, L’Atelier Grigorian will be shuttering its last retail store in Toronto’s Yorkville in mid-June of 2019….

Read on here.

Comments

  • Martin Smith says:

    Very sad indeed! The days of spending hours checking “live” recordings for quality, etc., and building a unique collection are but over – the situation is the same WW!
    At least, one has what one has!

  • Geoff says:

    The store maybe closing but there are millions of classical CDs for sale.

    • M McAlpine says:

      Yes the second hand store in our town has literally thousands. Certainly not worth buying new CDs these days unless you want brand new recordings.

  • Barry Guerrero says:

    I went there three years ago – a very interesting shop. However, it seemed that they carried waaaaay too many copies of new classical CD’s of artists that most people would have never heard of. It’s a pity – it’s nice to have places where you can just browse. On the bright side, I also went to an incredible used book and classical cd store in Montreal. I even bought a few things!

    • David K. Nelson says:

      Carrying CDs of artists that most people have never heard of can be doing a great service to music and to serious record collectors. The ways artists become “heard of” these days are so slap-dash and chancy, and seem to emphasize skin shows and other extra-musical traits. Artists who refrain from these gimmicks are among those we never heard of.
      I agree about the virtues of browsing. That and if the staff plays interesting recordings over the sound system are how I made my most interesting musical discoveries. When you shop online you know what you are looking for and seek it out. When you shopped (past tense) in a good record/CD store (or sheet music shop for that matter) is when you bought stuff you never dreamed existed just minutes earlier.

      • The View from America says:

        The most lucrative way to explore unfamiliar music these days may be on YouTube or SoundCloud. I’ve discovered many new (to me) items this way — and often it leads me to purchase the music in order to obtain maximum audio fidelity.

  • MusicBear88 says:

    At least Québec still has Archambault, 15 locations according to their website. I always spend a couple hours there when we go to Montréal since I can’t do a good browse (both scores and CDs) at home anymore.

  • mathias broucek says:

    Noooooo!

    Just back from Japan where there are still loads of (excellent) shops but everywhere else these shops are sadly dying. Even London has nothing these days

  • Arthur says:

    So sad. Hardly any culture-related business can survive in Yorkville Toronto due to extremely high rental fees. I guess this one will turn into a Cafe or a luxury boutique as well.

  • BrianB says:

    Sadly, Sikkora’s in Vancouver closed as well. It was a reason to go to Vancouver all by itself.

  • Luigi Nonono says:

    Toronto’s last, not Canada’s, from what readers are saying. It doesn’t mean a new one can’t open, but articles like this create a doomed atmosphere that prevents new enterprise. How long since America has had a classical music magazine? It’s all a question of attitude. Music lovers are far too prone to negative attitudes.

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