Stevo
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« on: 11:04:26, 09-07-2007 » |
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I'm going to Amsterdam at the end of the month. Never been before, so I'd welcome any "must visit" recommendations...
Thanks in advance.
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oliver sudden
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« Reply #1 on: 11:29:35, 09-07-2007 » |
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Ah, yes, absolutely, now there's one I always try to get to, you go out of the hotel then to the right, then another right into, yes, that little area and keep going down that street where the tram goes, not the street that goes to the Van Gogh museum and the Concertgebouw but the other one off to the east a couple of blocks, then it's usually there or if I've taken the wrong street then at least I often end up at that shop with the really nice coffee, no, coffee shop, for coffee, not koffieshop, never been my scene that. Not much help, am I? Pim? Richard? Ah, fortunately there's this chap.  Concerto, that's the one. Utrechtsestraat. Big dank je wel to Maarten D. Schermer. I see the Concertgebouw doesn't count as one of Amsterdam's main three concert halls...  |
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« Last Edit: 11:31:20, 09-07-2007 by oliver sudden »
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richard barrett
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« Reply #2 on: 11:38:32, 09-07-2007 » |
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Concerto is overall the best I think (though the s/h department isn't what it used to be), also for jazz. Fame at the Dam end of Kalverstraat is also worth a visit, as is Saul B Groen opposite the Heineken brewery. The shops mentioned on Ollie's map are almost all dedicated to various flavours of pop music, though Get Records pays lipservice to the experimental end thereof.
On my last few visits to Amsterdam I haven't found anything (apart from s/h stuff) I couldn't get cheaper elsewhere, Dutch prices being somewhat higher than German ones. There used to be good CD shops in The Hague and Rotterdam too, but these have all to my knowledge disappeared.
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time_is_now
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« Reply #3 on: 11:45:21, 09-07-2007 » |
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Thirded - Concerto (in Utrechtsstraat) seems to be the one, though I haven't visited all the others by any means.
The second-hand department may be not what it used to be, but I still found some pretty good bargains (and a few hard-to-find deletions) when I was there a year and a bit ago.
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The city is a process which always veers away from the form envisaged and desired, ... whose revenge upon its architects and planners undoes every dream of mastery. It is [also] one of the sites where Dasein is assigned the impossible task of putting right what can never be put right. - Rob Lapsley
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HtoHe
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« Reply #4 on: 21:33:35, 09-07-2007 » |
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Hello Stevo
I second richard barrett’s observation that Fame is worth a visit. Like the Oxford street HMV or Virgin it has a separate classical section insulated from the noisier departments so, while I’m not sure you’ll find much that you couldn’t get in London, looking is a pleasant experience.
More prosaically, may I suggest you pop your head into one of the larger branches of Kruidvat? This chain is a bit like Superdrug but they also carry a small selection of very cheap CDs. These are often ‘Brilliant Classics’ box sets and they typically cost less than €2 per disc. I’m looking at my Shostakovich Complete String 4tets by the Rubio 4tet, which still has the €8.49 price tag stuck on the outside of the 5 CD box. I usually buy something at Kruidvat – another example is Orchestre National de France/Inbal: Ravel Complete Orchestral works which I think was €7.99 for 4CDs. I won’t list any more because the stock changes regularly anyway; but it’s worth a 5 minute visit just to see what they’ve got. If, like me, you’re a liquorice fan you’ll find they also carry several varieties of the delicious ‘Old Timer’ Drop. If you do visit Fame, you can find a Kruidvat by going straight across the Dam from Kalverstraat (with the Royal Palace to your left) and going down the corresponding street on the other side; the street parallel to the Damrak. You’ll find a Kruidvat about 150-200m down on the left hand side. If you don't go there, you're probably not far from a branch more or less anywhere in the city.
Enjoy your trip.
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pim_derks
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« Reply #5 on: 22:00:47, 09-07-2007 » |
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Many discs from the Great Conductors of the 20th Century-series were for sale at Fame (Kalverstraat, near the Royal Palace) for 5 euros each. Two weeks ago, I bought the Scherchen and Mitropoulos (splendid Mahler 6 with the Cologne WDR Ochestra: grab it!). Saul B. Groen is called Kuiper Klassiek nowadays. Haven't been there in years. I don't visit Amsterdam a lot. As a matter of fact: I hate that city!  Richard: you're right about the Hague and Rotterdam. I only buy second hand LPs in those cities, but there's a new shop in the Hague selling all kinds of bargain CDs (classical, non-classical). Sometimes very interesting. HtoHe: the Kruidvat isn't selling that many Brilliant CDs in its shops anymore (though it depends which shop you visit). I'm trying to find the Malipiero String Quartets for months. I think I'm going to order them via the Kruidvat website. Sorry for my bad English. I'm tired. |
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"People hate anything well made. It gives them a guilty conscience." John Betjeman
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HtoHe
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« Reply #6 on: 23:13:24, 09-07-2007 » |
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Hello pim_derks
Your English looks fine to me - for an example of poor command of a language you should hear me trying to pronounce Kruidvat! I noticed the selection was smaller than usual last time I was over there but it's still worth Stevo's while to pop in. Thanks for mentioning the website. I've just had a quick look at kruidvat.nl and it's certainly changed since I last looked at it a few years ago. When they were releasing the Bach Edition box by box I'm pretty sure there was no online ordering facility; but the staff at the Ghent shop were very helpful and put aside each instalment as it came out so I didn't miss any. They also put in a special order for one box that I'd missed already. They didn't even ask for a deposit or card details even though I only visited the city every couple of months. They don't sell 'drop' in Ghent, though!
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richard barrett
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« Reply #7 on: 23:31:30, 09-07-2007 » |
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Saul B. Groen is called Kuiper Klassiek nowadays. Oops, yes, it has been for quite a few years, hasn't it? Sorry about that. the Hague and Rotterdam What was that lovely shop in the Theresiastraat in Den Haag which closed some time in the late 1990s? I used to spend my lunchbreak there when I was teaching at the KC. |
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Stevo
Posts: 56
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« Reply #8 on: 12:19:28, 11-07-2007 » |
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Hello Stevo
I second richard barrett’s observation that Fame is worth a visit. Like the Oxford street HMV or Virgin it has a separate classical section insulated from the noisier departments so, while I’m not sure you’ll find much that you couldn’t get in London, looking is a pleasant experience.
More prosaically, may I suggest you pop your head into one of the larger branches of Kruidvat? This chain is a bit like Superdrug but they also carry a small selection of very cheap CDs. These are often ‘Brilliant Classics’ box sets and they typically cost less than €2 per disc. I’m looking at my Shostakovich Complete String 4tets by the Rubio 4tet, which still has the €8.49 price tag stuck on the outside of the 5 CD box. I usually buy something at Kruidvat – another example is Orchestre National de France/Inbal: Ravel Complete Orchestral works which I think was €7.99 for 4CDs. I won’t list any more because the stock changes regularly anyway; but it’s worth a 5 minute visit just to see what they’ve got. If, like me, you’re a liquorice fan you’ll find they also carry several varieties of the delicious ‘Old Timer’ Drop. If you do visit Fame, you can find a Kruidvat by going straight across the Dam from Kalverstraat (with the Royal Palace to your left) and going down the corresponding street on the other side; the street parallel to the Damrak. You’ll find a Kruidvat about 150-200m down on the left hand side. If you don't go there, you're probably not far from a branch more or less anywhere in the city.
Enjoy your trip.
Thanks for your good wishes and info, HtoHe. And thanks to everyone else for their recommendations. I now feel armed with the requisite shopping information! |
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HtoHe
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« Reply #9 on: 17:09:54, 11-07-2007 » |
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You're welcome, Stevo.
One more thing, about as different from Kruidvat as it's possible to get: if you happen to find yourself in Haarlem you could do much worse than to visit Bruno Klassiek in Gierstraat. This is an independent retail outlet run by a man with a real passion for music and an excellent command of English should you wish to discuss any of the items in stock. It's not a huge place and the stock is carefully chosen rather than comprehensive, so you might not want to make a special trip to check it out; but if you are in town it's well worth a look.
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HtoHe
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« Reply #11 on: 17:44:11, 11-07-2007 » |
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Nice thought, Oliver. Different Haarlem, different charms I'm afraid! I've never been where the 'A' Train goes but I expect it's rather livelier than the place I'm talking about.
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oliver sudden
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« Reply #12 on: 17:47:01, 11-07-2007 » |
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Should have called it the AA traain perhaps...
(Reminds me for some reason of arriving in Amsterdam once upon a time and hearing the driver announce: 'we are about to arrive at Amsterdam Central station where this train will be terminated'. We got off quick smart, I can tell you.)
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