The New York Times Essential Library: Classical Music: A Critic's Guide to the 100 Most Important Recordings
by Allan Kozinn
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Book Summary Information
Author: Allan KozinnEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2004-08-02
ISBN: 0805070702
Number of pages: 384
Publisher: Times Books
Book Reviews of The New York Times Essential Library: Classical Music: A Critic's Guide to the 100 Most Important Recordings
Book Review: STAY AWAY!!!
Summary: 2 Stars
This guide is much more a "pinhead's guide" to classical music than something that defines the "essential" library. I am not a classical music expert but have built a decent collection with solid representation from Baroque, Classical, Romantic, and Modern composers also balancing symphonies and full orchestal works, concertos, sonatas, and chamber music -- NO OPERA.
I looked to this guide for an informed opinion of if someone were starting from scratch, what albums would give a listener a satisfying balanaced collection of classical music for all occasions. I hoped it would help me assess the quality of my collection so far and give me some interesting ideas of where to go next.
It failed miserably. There is way too much emphasis on obscure composers and lesser known performers. Regardless of hobby collections, there are always some obscurists and elitists, but such hobbyists hardly do justice to the quest to define "essential."
In evaluating classical music, obviously there is no absolute best performance of Beethoven's "Piano Concerto #5" for instance. There are plenty of great choices. There are some that by virtue of record company hype or the reputation of a marquee performer, conductor, or orchestra get a lot of attention despite missing the quest for excellence completely.
I'm a listener who loves piano sonatas. Haydn and Schubert have scored many. Cut to the chase. Which are the best? Who's the best pianist? Look at all those symphonies Mozart and Haydn penned. I can't buy all of them. Which ones count? I love romantic piano concertos, aside from the big names, are there some others? I found Saint Saens, for instance, very satisfying.
I would love to see a critic be able to first identify the essential works by composer and then recommend top performances based on the collector's needs and desires. Some listeners must have superb, realstic, state-of-the-art sound quality. As such, this listener would never be interested in old monophonic recordings no matter how great a Toscanini or Furtwangler Beethoven performance could be. Some want descent sound, but the best performance is primary. Some are guided by budget concerns.
That gives a casual fan a lot to sort through to find satisfying results. A good reviewer then should be able to guide the listener through the world of options to find satisfactory results.
Price, and "latest and greatest" thinking does not mean success. Expensive CD's are those by the big name stars, big world-class city orchestras, and a big hype machine. There are plenty of lesser known high quality recordings, but finding them is not so easy. Naxos is a relatively new label that hit the jackpot by opening shop soon after the fall of the Iron Curtain and having plenty of available talent not well-known but incredibly talented kept from the world stage by their communist governments. All Naxos single CD's are less than $10.00. Deutche Grammophon offers its "Originals" series. These are incredible performances from their pre-digital days.
Anyone new to classical music, the casual listener, or the classical music fan who had a great vinyl collection now looking to upgrade to digital will find none of the advice given above. I picture myself visiting a friend who'd show me these albums as the classical albums on his shelf, I'd ask, "Hey dude, you got some really rare stuff here. Cut to the chase, for a guy who likes pretty much all the normal stuff, what are three or four of these albums a regular guy like me would like?"
Sadly, The New York Times is an exercise of ivory tower pinheads writing for ivory tower pinheads. Having looked through the book, I found nothing that said, "Wow, I want to check that one out!" I did not find any reviews of works I already have that might make me want to hear a fresh approach to that beloved work, a different version with something new to offer. (I'm a fellow with six versions of Beethoven's 9th, each has its own appeal!)
For that purpose, The NPR Guide to Building a Classical CD Collection : The 350 Essential Works is far superior. There's something for everyone there with good solid advice for the nervous novice.
The great thing about shopping for classical music today is vendors like Amazon provide the ability for you to sample works before you buy. Many times, a little clip of a composition gives the listener just enough to decide if the selection is worthwhile.
Maybe someday I write my own guide. "A Casual Listener's Guide..." It looks like my comments above reviewing someone else's work is a halfway decent start!
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