| I don't have first-hand experience with Penguin or any other CD guide,
but I saw a couple of postings on the usenet recently that recommend
the Stevenson (sp?) Guide. The postings follow (reprinted without
the permission of the authors):
Newsgroups: rec.music.classical,rec.audio
Path: decwrl!hplabs!hp-sdd!ncr-sd!crash!gryphon!pnet02!sbauer
Subject: Re: Choosing classical CDs
Posted: 20 Sep 87 06:55:42 GMT
Organization: People-Net [pnet02], Redondo Beach, CA
Xref: decwrl rec.music.classical:1268 rec.audio:3440
Tim Bray ([email protected]) flames the Penguin Compact Disc Guide and
writes (condensed by me for space reasons):
> Consider the J. S. Bach repertoire as a concrete example....I am sure that
> most CD and classical music literate readers would gasp, as I did. The Glenn
> Gould (not English) Goldbergs, the Neville Marriner (not dead) Musical
> Offering, and some others spring to mind. Totally omitted from the Guide is
> the wonderful unaccompanied 'cello suites by Janos Starker.
I think one of the problems here is the date of the Guide -- were the
performances above available on CD (or, available in England on CD) when the
Guide was released? One thing I noticed about the latest, CD version of the
Guide is that LOTS of stuff on lps got dropped in favor of the CD listings.
Much better than the CD Guide (in my opinion) is the "CompletePenguin Stereo
Record and Cassette Guide (now including Compact Discs)" In this earlier
version of the Guide there is far less coverage of CDs, but much better
coverage of recordings in general (the Marriner MUSICAL OFFERING is rated
number 1, for example, on pp. 31) Get this version if possible, since most of
the stuff is being released in CD versions now anyway. [And yes, you are right
about the general pro-British feel of the Guide. It is still very good,
though.]
> 3. Advice
Stevenson Compact Disc Review Guide
3330 Acacia Drive
Indianopolis, IN 46214
6 consecutive issues (1 year) for $16.00
Ever wonder what, say, reviewers in 6 or 8 different magazines had to say
about a performance? Mr. Stevenson must have, and decided to share the results
of his readings in a large (8 1/2" x 11", 192 pages) magazine, which contains
a brief listing of the various CDs available for a particular poece, a precis
of what the critical comments have been, etc. Most Useful! [Also includes Mr.
Stevenson's original reviews as well.] All Classical though (no Jazz, or Pop,
etc.), but if you are interested in Classical CDs, this is one to get.
----------
UUCP: {ihnp4!crash, hplabs!hp-sdd!crash}!gryphon!pnet02!sbauer
INET: [email protected]
----------
DISCLAIMER: I read and enjoy the Stevenson CD Review Guide.
Newsgroups: rec.music.classical,rec.audio
Path: decwrl!hplabs!sri-unix!rutgers!bellcore!faline!ulysses!allegra!alice!dsj
Subject: Re: Choosing classical CDs
Posted: 20 Sep 87 04:03:18 GMT
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories, Murray Hill NJ
Xref: decwrl rec.music.classical:1267 rec.audio:3435
In article <[email protected]>, [email protected] writes:
> My CD player is a year old now, and my classical library remains small. I
> find that its growth is severely limited by the `which to buy' issue. My
> classical tastes are mainstream, with pronounced chamber music, Bach, and
> Mahler bumps. In a good music store, there often are *many* versions of what
> I want. I suffer from neither digital nor analogue snobbery. However, I am
> not interested in buying any more vinyl.
>
> The answer, obviously, is to consult a good guide to the recorded reportoire.
> The purpose of this posting is threefold:
>
> 1. To flame the `Penguin Guide to Compact Discs'.
> 2. To mention the `Stereo Review Standard Repertoire on CD'.
> 3. To solicit advice.
One source I've found useful is the Stephenson Compact Disc Review Guide,
a now bimonthly index to classical CD-reviews (every other issue
cumulative). Reviewers rankings are evaluated on a -3 to +3 scale,
so you can tell when a disc has unanimous praise or mixed reviews.
Sometimes brief paraphrases of the reviews are included.
(If you subscribe to the various stereo magazines covered, you can also
go back and read for yourself; almost all significant British and US
magazines are covered.) The current issue is 192 pages long and concludes
with an ``Honor Roll'' of some 150 cd's with consistently fine reviews.
(Based on those that I've bought from this list, it seems fairly reliable.)
An annual subscription is $30 (or just $16 if you only want the three
cumulative issues). You should ask to start with the current issue, No. 9,
just out. The address is
Stephenson Compact Disc Review Guide
3330 Acacia Drive
Indianapolis, IN 46214
As to the Penguin Guide, I agree it's coverage is spotty. What with all
the recent mid-price reissues of old analogue material, however, I'm
finding that the earlier ``Complete Penguin Stereo Record and Cassette
Guide'' (1984) can occasionally provide insights where no others are
available.
David S. Johnson, AT&T Bell Laboratories, Murray Hill NJ
|
|
I have a copy of the Peguin Guide and though its usefulness is limited
by many omissions (perhaps because the recordings were not on CD when
the guide was published), it does review (and in my opinion quite
fairly) a large number of well-known recordings. I supplement the
Penguin guide, with a subscription to Grammaphone magazine, which
consists mainly of classical music reviews, in recent years the
number of CD reviews far outnumber the cassette and LP reviews. There
is one problem, however, with both the guide and Grammaphone, in
that they review many recordings not yet available stateside. In
particular labels like ASV and Hyperion are rarely available,
Harmonia Mundi (the main exporter of these labels) does a very poor
job of selecting releases in this country.
Hope that helps,
Sudhir
|
|
My methods are similar: I have the new Penguin, an old one from
the mid-70s (covers the budget stuff very well), and pick Grammaphone
up every moth for the new stuff. I also read a magazine called
Fanfare at the library since it provides more in-depth review with
a greater time lag than Grammaphone.
I read the Stevenson guide which the local record stores have lying
around for browsers-- I find it tough to decipher and read, and
out of date on the new releases. Best thing is to go through Schwann
looking for people you've liked in the past: in my case Pinnock
and Gardner for Bach, Handel... the Vegh, Lindsay, and Italian Quartets
for chamber music... Colin Davis, Abbado, Marriner, Guilini, Szell,
Bohm, or Previn conducting the BSO, Cleveland, Vienna, London, or
Concertgebouw, with the Berlin and Karajan as the next likely fallback.
In other words, the guides will get you started, with some clinkers.
Then what you've liked before in the same general repertoire is
the best heuristic.
John
|