Essential Books

[BTH K10A]

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

[MartinT]

Kerching! Gotcha in a different thread

[Tim]

Indeed you have, it's on the way

[Barry]

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'.

[MartinT]

Thanks, Jack. I've made it a sticky. I too like the NPR guide.

[JJack]

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]

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











Tell me what you think

David

[MartinT]

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]

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]

Not a book but I find this site a good reference for some of the more historic recordings

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