greg@olivej.UUCP (Greg Paley) (05/03/84)
This is in response to the recent request for a list of 10 or
so basic records for someone being introduced to classical
music.
This is more difficult than it seems, because although a list
of 10 "warhorses" in good performances is easy to come up with,
even a new listener may find nine of them boring and vastly
prefer something that would seem on the surface esoteric.
When I first saw Oscar's posted list, I thought the choices
rather far-out for a new listener. However, when I thought about
it, at the time I was first listening I would have been much
more interested in Debussy's "Martyrdom de Saint Sebastien"
than in Beethoven's fifth symphony.
My own recommendation, which can be easier said than done,
("I would rather teach twenty than be one of the twenty to
follow mine own teaching" - Merchant of Venice) would be to
go to as many live performances of as wide a variety of types
of music as possible. Even if the performances are not of
major artists (most colleges and universities have music
departments that sponser student recitals), the experience
can be a valuable one and give a more immediate impression
of the music involved.
Having done this, you can know which works or composers
appeal to you, and then buy a recording. Your perception
of the performance on the recording will be much enhanced
by having heard the music live. Live performance of opera,
in particular, provides far more power and continuity than
a recording can on its own. Once you've perceived these
aspects from the performance, you'll be able to enjoy them
subsequently on a recording (if it's good).
If then, knowing which works you like, you find you're
stumped for a recording, you can always query the net.
There seems to be no shortage of opinions as to whose
performance is good (or stinks) of a particular work.
I personally find little reliable information in the
reviews of Stereo Review, High Fidelity or the like.
Those in Fanfare and Gramophone are a little better.
Absolute Sound can generally be trusted for comments on
the recording quality, but I find that their performance
evaluations often disagree greatly with my own. One
critic I do find trustworthy, although he must be in
his 80's by now, is B.H. Haggin. His "Listeners Guide
to Music and Recordings" is recommendable for general
reading and ideas about performances, but as the last
edition came out in 1978 many newer recordings are not
mentioned. One thing I enjoy about Haggin is that
where other young critics are quite free about saying,
for example, that a particular singer sounds like Caruso
(or some other contemporary of his) he is one of the few
who can claim to have actually heard Caruso and other
"golden age" performers.
- Greg Paley