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MartinT
06-07-2011, 21:54
For me the most essential series of books for looking up classical recordings has been the Penguin Guide series. My first one, from 1984, is titled The Complete Penguin Stereo Record and Cassette Guide, it then transitioned to The Penguin Guide to Compact Discs and is nowadays more simply called The Penguin Guide to Recorded Classical Music. It is worth finding some of the older ones as well as a brand new 2010 edition because recordings are often deleted and the old guides provide a valuable reference to them. I now have six of them, collected over the years.

They have all been compiled by Edward Greenfield, Robert Layton and Ivan March and are fantastic tomes for dipping into or referencing whenever you fancy buying a new recording of a classical piece. Written in a style understandable by all, they describe the performances and recording quality in a way that gives you a decent insight into them and use a simple star and rosette system to classify them by quality.

http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/P/0141041625.01._SX220_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Penguin-Guide-Classical-Music-Recordings/dp/0141041625/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1310017025&sr=1-1-spell

Tim
06-07-2011, 22:04
I buy the Penguin Guide one year and the Gramophone Guide the next year :)

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/515fSlefJvL._SL500_AA300_.jpg

I have to admit that the Penguin is my preferred guide however, but it's interesting to compare the two.

keiths
06-07-2011, 23:35
I've a couple of 'pengiuns' and a 'rough guide to...' which is also very good.

MartinT
07-07-2011, 05:26
I have to admit that the Penguin is my preferred guide however, but it's interesting to compare the two.

I have both and also prefer the Penguin, but it's good to have more than one reference when doing some research.

MartinT
07-07-2011, 05:36
This book offers an alternative to the above guides and provides just one 'best' recording per piece of music. However, what it does do very well is give you all the music that should form the bedrock of your collection as well as an easy guide for those starting out. Needless to say, I have probably only half the music listed so there is plenty more scope for additional purchases. It's also a plain entertaining read.

It will have you shouting with agreement or disagreement at times. For instance, it lists the best Beethoven 5th Symphony as the Kleiber - tick! It also lists the best Vivaldi Four Seasons as the Concerto Italiano - say what? We all know it's the Drottningholm Baroque Ensemble! And so it goes. You need to use it with the Penguin as accompaniment and they work remarkably well together in a complimentary manner.

http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2007/Nov07/1001.jpg

http://www.amazon.co.uk/1001-Classical-Recordings-Must-Before/dp/1844035794/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1310016450&sr=8-1

BTH K10A
07-07-2011, 05:38
I use a number of books to assist me. The penguin guides are very informative, particuarly the bargain record one and the Gramophone yearly catalogues are a good reference for the less common labels.

I also have quite a few manufacturers catologues which are a also a good reference source.

I've not bothered with any recent penguin guides as I feel the web serves me well for info on digital formats.

http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f120/emttsd15/IMG_0995.jpg

http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f120/emttsd15/IMG_0996.jpg

Andy

MartinT
07-07-2011, 05:49
Andy, what's the book in the lower photo? Is it affiliated to any magazine? I've never seen it before.

BTH K10A
07-07-2011, 06:17
Martin, as far as I am aware there is no magazine connection. "The Record Year" was first published in 1951 and was the first complete list of LP records. My copy dates from 1953 but I cannot say how many years it remained in print. The book was published as a supplement to "The Record Guide" which was similar in format to the Penguin guides. I like it as it includes the early microgrove LP's from Capitol & Brunswick of which there is little info on the web.

Andy

Tim
07-07-2011, 08:10
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2007/Nov07/1001.jpg
Nice one Martin, I have the 1001 albums book, but didn't know about this one, so will have to buy it - thanks.

MartinT
07-07-2011, 08:14
Kerching! Gotcha in a different thread ;)

Tim
07-07-2011, 08:22
Indeed you have, it's on the way :doh:

Barry
08-07-2011, 01:15
I too use the Penguin Guide - but only as a guide. I am as likely to be guided by the classical music reviews in say HFN (I greatly respect Christopher Breunig's reviews), The Gramophone, or the BBC Music Magazine.

But there again, much of my classical music purchases are from charity shops, where I rely on a 'sixth sense' and a certain amount of 'serendipity'.

jandl100
08-07-2011, 07:02
It will have you shouting with agreement or disagreement at times.

Well, they all do, really, don't they! :)

I guess the Penguin series is my main guide - I keep up to date, but time-slipped by a couple of years. I wait for them to come up cheap on Amazon Market Place! :eyebrows:

I re-started a subscription to Gramophone magazine about 6 months ago - but I recently cancelled it as it was irritating me.

I have a long-standing sub for the American "Fanfare" magazine ... the magazine for serious collectors. Or so it says on the front cover! That's much more to my taste.
Bi-monthly - and nice & hefty - way more reviews than Gramophone does in the same period. It typically has getting on for 600 pages in a A5 size format, the majority of which are half-page-ish reviews.

Gramophone tends to focus on the latest (and 295th) recording of Beethoven's 9th - OK, that's a bit of an exaggeration ;), but not much, imho. While Fanfare has the space to dig deeper and broader, as well as covering the latest pre-pubescent whizzkid that the wallowing Big Name Companies are trying to foist on us ... which suits my preference for exploring new music. Also the Fanfare reviews are often of recordings that have been around for a while ... and can be had for a nice price on the used market. :)
I restrict my music buyings to a monthly nett budget (after ebay sales of unwanted CDs) of £75 ... otherwise I'd be penniless and deeply in debt!! - so the more I can get for my money the better!

JJack
20-12-2011, 16:58
Good thread that should be at the top of the page.

I learn toward the Gramophone guide more than Penguin, but to my surprise the last one I bought was 2004! So clearly time for a Christmas present for myself.

For pure beginners I'd recommend the NPR (US National Public Radio) guide.

MartinT
20-12-2011, 19:13
Thanks, Jack. I've made it a sticky. I too like the NPR guide.

JJack
04-01-2012, 20:19
Well, I bought the 2012 Gramophone guide.

Have to say that I'm a bit underwhelmed. I've done some spot-checking and they've removed many/most of the reissue recommendations they used to put for well-known works (e.g., Beethoven 5). Instead of the special highlight area where they used to list many recordings, most works now only have one or two "also recommendeds" at the most.

I use my guide when I'm record-hunting in stores, so I really need lots of reviews of the reissues, however perfunctory. My advice would be to purchase a 2011 guide if you use your guide in the same way.

The 2012 guide is still a great resource, but it's now necessary for me to carry two books to the record store.

Also, the Guide continues its strong preference for composers with British roots. Handel gets 42 pages of reviews (!) while Brahms gets 25.

Worse yet, they often fail to list the recording year; surely it wouldn't be too much bother to have this valuable information in the summary. They seem to include it less than half the time, and far less frequently than in the past, IIRC.

Having said all that, it's still an important book to purchase from time to time.

To newcomers, please note that the book doesn't vary that much year-to-year, so it's fine to skip 2-4 years between purchases to avoid duplication.

tannoyman
15-11-2012, 16:20
Hi Martin

This is a book I came across in a car boot sale this year. It is an absolute stunner. It is the World of Music - Listeners Companion. It was published by Waverley in 1954 and consists of 3000 pages of pure delight. It is quarter leather bound with a hardwood cover. Probably the most beautiful book I have ever owned and probably the heaviest. It cost me £1.50 but I would happily pay £50-£100 for it. Just beautiful

It is literally a miscellany. Think of a musical term and look it up alphabetically. i.e what is a cantata. It covers both classical and popular music and treats them equally which is great so you can find Billy Cotton on one page and Cosi fan Tutte on the next. It also gives expalnantions of musical terms, compoers dates and their contempories - a never ending source of interesting facts


http://i1323.photobucket.com/albums/u583/tannoyman2/WorldofMusic-ListenersCompanion001.jpg


http://i1323.photobucket.com/albums/u583/tannoyman2/WorldofMusic-ListenersCompanion002.jpg


http://i1323.photobucket.com/albums/u583/tannoyman2/WorldofMusic-ListenersCompanion004.jpg


Tell me what you think

David :):):cool:

MartinT
15-11-2012, 20:24
Wow, David, that looks like quite a find. Since there is little after 1954 that I would miss (Shostakovich, Ligeti, Glass come to mind), it's probably still relevant today.

Nice one :)

tannoyman
15-11-2012, 20:36
Wow, David, that looks like quite a find. Since there is little after 1954 that I would miss (Shostakovich, Ligeti, Glass come to mind), it's probably still relevant today.

Nice one :)

Hi Martin

You are right of course about recent stuff. But it needs to be valued for what is has rather than what it does not have. As far as I am aware there is nothing else like it out there. If there is I have never seen it - a genuine labour of love. It even discusses in some depth music theory down to key signatures

David :):)

BTH K10A
19-01-2013, 21:07
Not a book but I find this site a good reference for some of the more historic recordings

http://www.classicalnotes.net/contents.html

MartinT
20-01-2013, 22:24
Thanks, Andy. Some great reading there. I shall peruse some more in the coming days.