Lately I've been really enjoying classical music and want to build my collection. I have a rough idea of the peices I like. Beethoven's Piano Sonatas, Hector Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique, Erik Satie's Gymnopiedes, Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier.
The problem with recorded classical music of course, is that there are hundreds of versions of a single peice available. And while I'd like to be naive enough to simply purchase whatever version I pick up first, I know enough about music to be able to know that some recordings are excellent while others are simply mediocre. Does anybody know of any websites or helpful resources that might help me when it comes to buying classical music on CD?
A question about classical music
A question about classical music
This morning you've got time for a hot, home-cooked breakfast! Delicious and piping hot in only 3 microwave minutes.
-
laughingcrow
- Posts: 2476
- Joined: Tue Jul 29, 2003 8:35 am
I think you'd like Prokofiev Blue...I reccomend Romeo and Juliet and The Love for Three Oranges, both have powerful and moving moments. Also Peter and the Wolf is brilliant (but everyone likes this don't they)!!! You also might like Handel's Sarabande in D minor and will definitely like Faure's Pavane.
I like the classics..but most of my knowledge comes from borrowing university library records when I was at uni. I spoke to blokes in the sealed off classical sections in music stores, the rule of thumb I used was that if they were over 50 they probably were experts. Tell them what you like and they reccomend...and you can listen in store too, so when they say ''oh I reccomend the hundred dollar CD here'' and their commission-fueled eyes light up like lanterns, you can listen to it pre-purchase.
I like the classics..but most of my knowledge comes from borrowing university library records when I was at uni. I spoke to blokes in the sealed off classical sections in music stores, the rule of thumb I used was that if they were over 50 they probably were experts. Tell them what you like and they reccomend...and you can listen in store too, so when they say ''oh I reccomend the hundred dollar CD here'' and their commission-fueled eyes light up like lanterns, you can listen to it pre-purchase.
-
noiseradio
- Posts: 2295
- Joined: Tue Jun 03, 2003 12:04 pm
- Location: Dallas, TX
- Contact:
laughingcrow, thanks for your suggestions.
It's not so much the particular peices that make CD buying hard for me. It's more knowing which version of Vivaldi's The Four Seasons is the best... the Berlin String Quartet's recording from 1975, or the Paris String Quartet's recording from 2003. Know what I mean?
It's not so much the particular peices that make CD buying hard for me. It's more knowing which version of Vivaldi's The Four Seasons is the best... the Berlin String Quartet's recording from 1975, or the Paris String Quartet's recording from 2003. Know what I mean?
This morning you've got time for a hot, home-cooked breakfast! Delicious and piping hot in only 3 microwave minutes.
Blue Chair,
I was in your exact predicament a couple of years ago.
"The Record Shelf Guide to Classical CD's and Audiocassettes" by Jim Svedja and "The NPR Guide to Building a Classical CD Collection" are both wonderful guides.
The NPR book does a great job all-around and even has some biographical info along the way about some of the composers. But they don't cover many 20th Century composers at all. It's stuffy, but not as stuffy as you'd expect.
I enjoy the Record Shelf book more. Svedja is stuffy too. But he does cover some 20th Century composers. Like most "academic" music folks, it's pretty clear Svedja discounts most of the music composed in the 20th Century. He even disses rock musicians a couple of times. However, that doesn't take away his knowledge of the Romantic period and earlier.
Another great all-around book I would recommend is Aaron Copland's "What to Listen for in Music." Copland was arguably America's greatest composer, and this book gives more of a creator's point of view. He also references specific recordings at the end of each chapter.
Hope this helps.....
I was in your exact predicament a couple of years ago.
"The Record Shelf Guide to Classical CD's and Audiocassettes" by Jim Svedja and "The NPR Guide to Building a Classical CD Collection" are both wonderful guides.
The NPR book does a great job all-around and even has some biographical info along the way about some of the composers. But they don't cover many 20th Century composers at all. It's stuffy, but not as stuffy as you'd expect.
I enjoy the Record Shelf book more. Svedja is stuffy too. But he does cover some 20th Century composers. Like most "academic" music folks, it's pretty clear Svedja discounts most of the music composed in the 20th Century. He even disses rock musicians a couple of times. However, that doesn't take away his knowledge of the Romantic period and earlier.
Another great all-around book I would recommend is Aaron Copland's "What to Listen for in Music." Copland was arguably America's greatest composer, and this book gives more of a creator's point of view. He also references specific recordings at the end of each chapter.
Hope this helps.....
Sifting out the rubble
Watch out for the highly marketable compilations: "Dinner at 8" etc. These are sometimes pleasant recordings, but usually they will only have one movement of a piece or even a simplified version.
I usually like symphony recordings from the philharmonic orchestras in cities like Vienna, Moscow, New York, Paris, sometimes Chicago. If its a major cultural center, they're likely to have a good 'band.'
I usually like symphony recordings from the philharmonic orchestras in cities like Vienna, Moscow, New York, Paris, sometimes Chicago. If its a major cultural center, they're likely to have a good 'band.'
Don't bury me 'cause I'm not dead yet.
-
Who Shot Sam?
- Posts: 7097
- Joined: Tue Jun 03, 2003 5:05 pm
- Location: Somewhere in the distance
- Contact:
Blue Chair:
I think the Penguin Guide to Classical CDs is pretty useful. Don't know if that's the exact title, but they do a pretty fair job of rating the various recordings that are currently in print. If you want specific suggestions, please let me know.
Here are a few things you can't go wrong with - some of my faves:
-Any of Artur Rubenstein's Chopin recordings on RCA
-Bernstein's Mahler symphony recordings
-The Brodskys' Shostakovich string quartets
-Wilhelm Kempff's Beethoven piano sonatas (should be cheap too, on Deutsche Grammophon's bargain label)
I think the Penguin Guide to Classical CDs is pretty useful. Don't know if that's the exact title, but they do a pretty fair job of rating the various recordings that are currently in print. If you want specific suggestions, please let me know.
Here are a few things you can't go wrong with - some of my faves:
-Any of Artur Rubenstein's Chopin recordings on RCA
-Bernstein's Mahler symphony recordings
-The Brodskys' Shostakovich string quartets
-Wilhelm Kempff's Beethoven piano sonatas (should be cheap too, on Deutsche Grammophon's bargain label)
Mother, Moose-Hunter, Maverick