Any suggestions where to find and buy a specific unfindable CD?

[Peter1953]

On the internet there are many opportunities to find rare CDs you are looking for. The unsurpassed Raff website gives us a very good help. Just view at http://www.raff.org/records/buy_cd.htm

However, we know that some CDs are released, sometimes long ago, but sometimes only recently, and they are already unfindable or "currently unavailable" (or available as "used – very good", but not seldom at ridiculous prices). Even after surfing for hours and trying sites like eBay, the specific label, and so on, attempts can be fruitless.

Two examples. I'm looking for Moscheles's "Études", op. 70, by Loredana Brigandí on Nuova Era (some gold digger at amazon.co.uk offers a copy for £164.78) and for Kirchner's "Präludien, op. 9 & Lieder ohne Worte", by Gisela Ungerer on Jecklin. Both preferable in new, unopened condition. So far without result.

I can imagine that a Rubinstein lover is searching for "Le Bal. Fantaisie en dix numéros pour le piano, A son Altesse Madame la Princesse Sophie de Nassau", op. 14, by Marius van Paassen on Babel. Released in the Netherlands in 1991. Or by the same pianist Rubinstein's "Variations sur l'air Yankee Doodle", op. 93, on the Attacca label (1987). Very difficult to find nowadays, but sometimes offered on eBay.nl.

It's just an example. What I suggest is that maybe we can help eachother to find specific rare CDs.

[Peter1953]

Dear all, I don't know a thread for my off-topic remark, but how lucky we are these days to be able to find real difficult CDs (I know, not all are easy) and make discoveries of very unsung composers thanks to the posts on this Forum (Alan, I will always be grateful to you for Rufinatscha!) and the internet.
I have just been for 3 weeks in Toronto (family visit) and downtown I found only one more or less important CD store. HMV has a few shops in the city and has now the only big 3 floor store on Yonge Street with just a small section of classical music. A few years ago also Tower and SAM had big CD stores in the same shopping area, but Tower closed their shop some years ago, followed by SAM. The easy buying of CDs at competitive prices on the internet must be the reason, I suppose. And what has HMV to offer? Only 1 CD with Raff (his gorgeous 1st symphony on Naxos), Rubinstein also just 1 disc (music for piano and violin), Bortkiewicz PC 1 on Hyperion, and nothing else. And average prices for many CDs of more than 25 Canadian dollars, excluding taxes. Well, I spend a pleasant half hour with a splendid Rachmaninov PC 2 as background music (an older Philips release with Ashkenazy and the LSO) and only watched without buying anything (the Dutch are famous for this behaviour abroad).

This post has nothing of any value, but I just wanted to say how fortunate we all are nowadays. I realized that again during my visit at the HMV store. Last night I came home and... immediately ordered the Noskowski 1 (jpc).

BTW, I've studied the booklet presenting the Concert Calender for the new season by the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. Looks all good, but with a lot of very sung (and great) works, to be performed by real fine (world famous) musicians like Itzhak Perlman (still my No. 1 violist). Also quite a lot of contemporaries, but no unsungs from our beloved Romantic era...