a) I had an argument with one of our techies over which is the superior Beethoven symphony, #9 or #6. He goes for #6, I go for #9; while Ode to Joy has been tremendously overplayed, there are depths and heights of that piece which I believe are unequaled in any other piece of music. (Especially in the Ormandy/Philadelphia Orchestra recording I have.) He thinks I have an inferior recording of #6 and that it ruined my enjoyment of the piece. Listening to *his* recording, I agree: my recording was horrible.

b) When I was in college, I bought a Pierre Boulez recording of Stravinsky’s Firebird Suite that unbeknownst to me left off the Finale. (Which is like Beethoven’s 9th without Ode to Joy.) No wonder it was on sale.

I understand the argument that there is no such thing as a definitive recording — but I think we can agree there are some recordings that are definitely not worth it!

That’s one of the things I find frustrating about classical music, as well. With rock and pop, there’s often only one studio recording of The Police’s Roxanne. But especially for newbies, it’s daunting; not only does one have to choose from the different pieces, but the different recordings as well.

Cool. Thanks for sharing.

I have to tell you I am most blessed to have you in my timeline!

Thanks!

Cheers!

I have gotten most of my Classical CDs from BMG, but the selection is limited there as well. Naxos online is supposed to be pretty good, and there’s another iTunes-type site geared to Classical, but I can’t remember the name.

Another thing I hate about the American music scene is the lack of magazines for Classical music. We have “Rolling Stone” and “Spin” but there are at least 3 or 4 British magazines dedicated to Classical and Jazz. I wish there were a magazine in the US like that, because the concert listings are, of course, useless in “Gramophone” or “BBC Music”, though the articles and reviews are great.