Conference cookie::notes$archive:cd_v1

	 I'll have  to  agree with the previous - the ``1812'' ouverture may
	 be spectacular sound-wise, but it's pretty boring music.

	 I have the Scriabin 2nd Symphony on Chandos as well. This is a very
	 interesting  label - lots of good stuff. I'll take this opportunity
	 to  recommend  their  recording of Dvor�k's 7th Symphony, also with
	 the Scottish National Orchestra under Neeme J�rvi (Chan 8501).

	 The BIS recordings if Stenhammar's symphonies are all good. 

	 --- POL

    I've come to realize that in most cases the biggest bang for the
    buck where CDs are concerned is in the classical genre.  This
    being the case the majority of my purchases will classical in
    nature an I will read this topic with much interest.
    
    Three recordings that I would reccomend would be:
    
    	- Strinvinsky: Symphony of Psalms
    	- Poulenc:     Gloria for Soprano Solo, Chorus & Orchestra
    
    		Robert Shaw, Atlanta Symphony & Chorus
    		Telarc CD-80105  DDD
    
    	Nice performance.  I'm really quite happy to see Choral
    	Music showing up on CD.
    
    	- John Williams, Academy of St Martins-In-The_Fields
    		Guitar Transcriptions of Bach, Handel &
    			 Marcello Concertos.   
    
    		CBS Masterworks MK 39560   DDD
    
    	Excelant transcriptions and performance. 
    
    	- Parkening Plays Bach
    
    		Angel CDC 7 47191 2   Add
    
    	50 minutes of solo Parkening.  The last 6 sellections of the
    	16 are by Handel, Visee, Weiss, Couperin and Scarlatti.  Even
    	though the original session was recorded using analog equipment
    	any hiss is at a minimum or eliminated in the digital mastering.
    	Superb performance.  I reccomend this one, especially, to anyone
    	that likes the sound of the guitar.

    =ken

Yeah, but where can you GET the Excelsior overture?  The Coop didn't have 
it, although they had the other (newer) Stenhammer CD.  (Which sounded to 
me a whole lot like the Saint-Saens organ symphony minus the organ.)

    RE: .3
    
    The Excelsior Overture is on the same disk as the 2nd Symphony.
    
    If you want to find it and/or anything else the best place to go
    is The downtown (NY) Tower Records.  They have literaly everything.
    There are no bins labeled "Classical Q-Z".  There is a separate
    section for each composer.  If a disk contains works by several
    composers, copies are placed in the sections for each composer on the
    disk.
    
    The Lincoln Center Tower Records is also good but the classical
    section is not nearly as large.  Another good place is J&R across
    from City Hall.  Their prices are usually better than Tower's.
                          
    By the way, does anybody know how much record stores pay for CDs?
    I saw in Keynote magazine that the list price for the Scriabin/Jarvi
    disk in .0 has a list price of 13.99.  The price in my local (Short
    Hills NJ) record store is 19.99.  The regular price for most CDs
    is 17.99, but usually at least one brand is on sale for 13.99.
    

The wholesale price is somewhere around 50% of the retail price.  The
difference goes to pay for store rental, insurance, salaries, taxes,
advertising, etc. 

    Two more ideas:
    
    Hanson Symphony #2 St. Louis, Slatkin, Angel
       This work was played in the move ALIEN.
    
    Rachmaninov Symphony #2, Ashkenazy, London
       Beware, there are two versions of this symphony out by Andre Previn 
       ( Angel and TELARC ) and both are terrible.  I have not heard
       recordings by Maazel (DG) and Rattle (Angel).
    
    More on Previn - 
    
    I think that Previn has many embarassingly bad records out.  I have
    his "Rhapsody in Blue, Concerto in F, American in Paris" on Angel.  In this
    Disc a third of "Rhapsody in Blue" is cut out and there are times when 
    the orchestra fails to make entrances during the piano parts.  I'm
    not sure if the recording was editing incorrectly or if Andre can't
    tell the difference.
    
    I have also heard his Gershwin "Cuban Overture-Second Rhapsody" disc and
    it is even worse.  The orchestra is rarely playing in tune and it
    is often playing the wrong notes.
                                     
    So if you see a recording by Andre Previn, I recommend that you
    don't buy it.
    
    

    Re/ .4,.5:
    
    I've seen wholesale distributor catalogs which list CDs for around
    $10.99, so I don't think the typical mark-up is that big, at least
    not for smaller dealers.  Places like Lechmere may get huge quantity
    discounts or something.
    
    -pd

    The performance of
        
    Tchaikovsky Symphony #2 "Little Russian" and
    Rimsky-Korsakov Symphony #2 "Antar"      with
    
    Maazel, Pittsburg Symphony, Telarc
    
    is excelent.  Of course you may have to be a fancier of Russian music
    to appreciate it.  Ovation gave it a good review.
    
    As with all Telarc disks, the recording is near perfect.