Idagio’s web interface is straightforward, but maybe a bit too simple. It’s less polished and more text-heavy than those of mainstream competitors. The service should rename its main menu choices to be clearer and more concise: Discover New Music, Browse the Catalog, Play My Mood, Concerts & Courses, and Recently Played. Below those choices, you see your Collection, which breaks down into Tracks, Recordings, Playlists, Albums, Artists, and Events.
(Credit: Idagio/PCMag)
The Browse the Catalog section is where Idagio shines. It lets you find music by composers, performers, periods, genres, and instruments. Choosing one, such as performers, breaks things down several levels further—into conductors, soloists (pianists, violinists, cellists, and vocalists), and ensembles (orchestras, choirs, string quartets, and period instrument ensembles). It’s a dream come true for the discerning classical listener.
The Discover New Music section gives you a lot of ways to dig into new recordings (in order): Featured New Albums, Award Winners, Curated Playlists, Live Compare (which lets you quickly switch between different recordings of the same work), Trending Albums, Trending Playlists, Critically Acclaimed Albums, Idagio Exclusives, and several more tempting categorizations. I especially like the Live Compare feature, since it takes you to the exact spot in the music in both recordings. Unfortunately, it’s currently available only on a select few works.
(Credit: Idagio/PCMag)
Idagio’s search field is always available at the top, but more importantly, it organizes results into sections for (in order) Top Results, Artists, Recordings, Works, and Albums. I’d like to be able to search by label, as well, something that Qobuz offers. If you search for “Four Last Songs,” Idagio identifies the work by Richard Strauss and others, letting you find recordings for any of them. Alternatively, you can click the image of Strauss’s head to see all his works.
(Credit: Idagio/PCMag)
When you land on a work’s search result page, the Filter button lets you choose a conductor, ensemble, and soloist. You can sort results by date, date added to the library, or popularity.
