Excellent work!
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This work has been and remains an invaluable tool to consult when choosing which 'version' to purchase. It is written by a reliable and very able team. Obviously not everything is to be agreedwith when it comesto interpretation- but I have found this resource to be most helpful- it sifts out poor recordings and weak performances. The new starring system is a little confusing as is the box around recommended performances- a DVD section is also helpful but there are some weaknesses.
Because of size and scope there are a number of recordings missing- as other reviewers of the Guide point out-
Also in previous Guides if a version is reommended then it is alluded to in the review even if it is outside of the period of the Guide-
There is also a penchant for older reissued recordings in mono- maybe there should be a section for Historic recordings!
It is a pity that some reviewers of the guide have decided to single out recordings by Karajan- he was a conductor who had faults and yet also great ability- the performances that are recommended by the Guide are, I have found to be all that the Guide claims- when the Guide states the merits of a piece of music it is generally assessed according to its merits- it is a shame that those that criticise one conductor do so not on his merits but on personal views! If you don't like a conductor don't buy him- and if we started sifting through recordings and removing conductors we didnt like due to personal likings about what they did or didnt stand for, who would remain. Come to that many composers wouldnt be played at all- Chopin because of his suicide, Wagner for his adultery, Mahler for changing religions to gain employment, to name but a few!
The Guide is an excellent source of information and help- and the rosette awards are truly worth it!
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Awful disappointment
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I agree completely with reviewer "JSH". I too have been buying this guide regularly for decades, and look forward to each new issue avidly, despite the ever-lengthening trail of nonsensical statements that have survived cut-and-paste editing as recordings are added or (especially) deleted from the list. I can kind of forgive this particular widespread mess, as the business of editing such a huge volume with less than an army of editorial staff is a truly daunting task. But the latest issue fails on every count. For the first time there are fewer entries rather than more since the last full edition, and the ax has been wielded completely to several composers. Adios, Alberto Gerhard! The Guide has always been good about covering new recordings very promptly, but this time there are many, many important new issues that have not been included. The bulk is just as great as before, but that is because the space is used up with larger typeface and the introduction of superfluous boxes around chosen recordings. Indeed the plethora of distinguishing marks given to different recordings is almost impossible to parse and borders on the comical. Three stars for a fully recommended recording, three stars with a key for "key recordings", now FOUR stars for fully fully fully fully recommended recordings, and four stars with a rosette for, well, gosh, if everything else is so fully extra-special wonderful, these must be guaranteed to change your life. The evaluation process has degenerated into a form of hype. Since almost all recordings that previously received a less-than-three-star rating have been dropped, this leaves this as pretty much a Guide to Recommended Recordings. You might think it is not much of a loss to drop listings of less-recommended recordings, but it was always possible to account for the well-marked biases and limitations of the three editors by seeing which kinds of interpretations they tended to give lower ratings, and therefore to compensate for the basic dullness and correctness of their very British critical bias. This strategy is no longer available for readers.
So, after many, many years of buying this Guide with great excitement, I will probably not be buying the Penguin Guides to Classical Music any more. (The sad demise of one of the two editors of the Penguin Guide to Jazz probably puts an end to that wonderful publication as well.)
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Surprising errors and omissions
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I agree with other reviewers that this is a book well worth having but, even in my limited experience, there are some surprising errors and omissions. For example, I have the Naxos disc of Brahms String Quartets by the Ludwig Quartet. Unusually for this label, the sound quality is truly awful, but the Penguin Guide describes the recording as having "good presence and is well balanced". An extraordinary conclusion! Secondly the Guide completely ignores the superb 2005 Capriccio compilation of Haydn's keyboard sonatas on original instruments by Christine Schornsheim; perhaps the best CD set I have ever purchased!
Neverless, the book is useful and good value for money.
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Maybe imperfect but still an essential and valuable guide
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I was surprised to see how critical other reviewers had been. I've been buying these Penguin Guides for many many years and despite some failings in this newest edition I still think it's an invaluable book and a very reliable overall guide to classical recordings.
True, there are some editing mistakes, but it's a huge book and I for one am willing to forgive a few foibles, given the volume's wide scope.
I'm not sure whether expanding the "star" ratings to 4 stars actually adds to the value of the ratings. Personally I've never had a problem with the ***/**/* system, especially as "half-way" ratings can be achieved by bracketing a star. The use of the Rosettes to single out recordings that really stand out or offer unique performances has always been very useful, and remains so. Inevitably, the ratings are subjective, but the pedigree of the 3 original reviewers is unparalleled in this field.
The inclusion of music DVDs in the guides in recent years has been a distinct plus, in my view. I've used the guide to start a fairly small collection of DVDs and have been delighted with the results - even played through a modest DVD player and a standard stereo TV. Events like the annual New Year's Concert in Vienna are ideal DVD candidates as you capture more of the atmosphere of the occasion than on CD. The documentaries on Sviatoslav Richter and Hildegard of Bingen are worth every penny too.
Are there "important" omissions? Yes, inevitably there are some, but we must concentrate on the wood rather than a few individual trees. Taken overall, this remains an excellent guide to relative value across a staggering range of mainly classical recordings. I for one wouldn't be without it!
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Good, but has many faults
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I agree with all the earlier reviewers. This book is valuable and on the whole fairly reliable, but badly skewed. Its preference for many of Karajan's dreadful recordings is one of its worst faults. It has been updated piecemeal again and again to the point where it is often badly out of date and needs a thorough rewrite, preferably by some new fresh-eared authors who are more up to date with the many superb modern recordings available. Despite my complaints, if you're new to classical music and this book is your only guide, you won't make many mistakes, especially if you filter out Karajan's recordings from the recommendations.
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