Penguin Guides

[Constantbee]

Enjoyed this programme It was pitched at just about the right level, although to understand some of the nuances, like the differential sound quality on the recording of each instrument in the quartet, you really do have to be listening on better quality equipment, not the DAB-in-the-kitchen. It was enough to know that these pieces were written when Haydn and his colleagues were living in a marshy swamp, swept by northerly winds. Now, that I can identify with

Borrowed the Penguin Guide to Recorded Classical Music 2010 from the local library recently, which is now a constant companion, especially for programmes like these Had to reserve it, mind you (cost £1), and I won't be able to renew it because somebody wants it back now. If it's you, Esteemed Fellow Forumite, don't worry, you wish will be granted You'd think they'd put it in the reference section of the library, wouldn't you. There's Kobbe's Opera, but that's all. So, why have Penguin stopped publishing it, then? For a book that cost £40 when it was first published 8 years ago, it's holding its value well. There's nothing second hand for less than that, and most sellers are in the US, so postage costs will be high for a big book like this. Something to do with the growth of streaming services?

[Barbirollians]

Enjoyed this programme It was pitched at just about the right level, although to understand some of the nuances, like the differential sound quality on the recording of each instrument in the quartet, you really do have to be listening on better quality equipment, not the DAB-in-the-kitchen. It was enough to know that these pieces were written when Haydn and his colleagues were living in a marshy swamp, swept by northerly winds. Now, that I can identify with :sadface

Borrowed the Penguin Guide to Recorded Classical Music 2010 from the local library recently, which is now a constant companion, especially for programmes like these Had to reserve it, mind you (cost £1), and I won't be able to renew it because somebody wants it back now. If it's you, Esteemed Fellow Forumite, don't worry, you wish will be granted You'd think they'd put it in the reference section of the library, wouldn't you. There's Kobbe's Opera, but that's all. So, why have Penguin stopped publishing it, then? For a book that cost £40 when it was first published 8 years ago, it's holding its value well. There's nothing second hand for less than that, and most sellers are in the US, so postage costs will be high for a big book like this. Something to do with the growth of streaming services?

Or the age of the remaining editors and the death of Ted Greenfield?

[mikealdren]

Penguin Guide: We should probably start a separate thread on this although IIRC correctly we did it to death to the time.

Accepting the inevitable style/bias etc of the contributors, the Penguin Guide was excellent for years. Sadly, toward the end, it rather lost its way, it didn't really keep up with the new releases and they lost track of absolute values a bit so comparing old with new 3/4 star recordings became a bit of a lottery, especially with much recorded works.

My personal view is that the 2010 edition was a bit of a disaster with lots of important recordings dropped, odd summaries mixed in with new reviews and poor editing (try looking up cross referencing of couplings etc).

[Alison]

They later tried the 1000 best recordings format which marked the end.

[LeMartinPecheur]

Penguin Guide: We should probably start a separate thread on this although IIRC correctly we did it to death to the time.

Accepting the inevitable style/bias etc of the contributors, the Penguin Guide was excellent for years. Sadly, toward the end, it rather lost its way, it didn't really keep up with the new releases and they lost track of absolute values a bit so comparing old with new 3/4 star recordings became a bit of a lottery, especially with much recorded works.

My personal view is that the 2010 edition was a bit of a disaster with lots of important recordings dropped, odd summaries mixed in with new reviews and poor editing (try looking up cross referencing of couplings etc).

Last time I looked on Amazon the 2010 edition commanded silly prices. I didn't snap it up when it came out and now it's the only one missing from my shelves Possibly no very great loss according to comments here and Amazon reviews but still annoying.

Strange that it seems to be so sought after if it's a bit cr*p!

[Beef Oven!]

I gave up on the guides in about 1998. They were going down hill. I did actually buy the 2010 edition later on because I thought I was missing out, but I wasn't - it's rubbish.

I gave all my editions, including those annual updates, to the cancer research shop in about 2013. Can't say I miss them.

[Bryn]

I gave up on the guides in about 1998. They were going down hill. I did actually buy the 2010 edition later on because I thought I was missing out, but I wasn't - it's rubbish.

I gave all my editions, including those annual updates, to the cancer research shop in about 2013. Can't say I miss them.

You remained loyal long after I did. I did pick up a remaindered copy of a late edition for £1 but that went for recycling a couple of year ago. I did not think it fair to inflict it upon some innocent neophyte wandering into a local charity shop.

[pastoralguy]

At one point I had all the Guide to Penguins neatly arranged on my bookshelf in chronological order. However, Mrs. PG and I needed some space and I found I wasn't using them so they ended up in a charity shop. A real shame since I learnt so much from them but with the rise in easy access of to up to the minute reviews online they tended to date very quickly.
I think I've now reached a stage in my listening/buying/collecting where I trust my own ears rather than a third party.

[cloughie]

Back in the mid to late 60s reasons to be cheerful parts 1 2 and 3 were The Penguin Guides to Bargain Records. All the Aces and Music bringing Pleasure and the occasional prayer that a Wing would be OK, but now that's a Saga from the past and of course you could join the World Record Club - many an Everest hiding there!

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Back in the mid to late 60s reasons to be cheerful parts 1 2 and 3 were The Penguin Guides to Bargain Records. All the Aces and Music bringing Pleasure and the occasional prayer that a Wing would be OK, but now that's a Saga from the past and of course you could join the World Record Club - many an Everest hiding there!

Turnabout and you'll find some real Fidelity.

[Conchis]

Does anyone find that they can still quote some of those reviews virtually verbatim?

I thought it was pretty invaluable when I first started listening - the fact that i didn't entirely understand it probably helped me in my quest to understand more (the same went for the R3 of the time, with its somewhat sombre and definitely not gladhanding presenters - Richard Osborne, for example).

I can remember being very impressed with Jess Thomas in the Karajan Siegfried, only to find that the Guide slammed his performance. In retrospect, they were being harsh but (probably) fair.

[cloughie]

Turnabout and you'll find some real Fidelity.

...and some Concert Classics!

[Alison]

Some collectors absolutely swore by it of course. Someone I knew wouldn’t buy a new release before awaiting its position in the next Guide’s listing.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Does anyone find that they can still quote some of those reviews virtually verbatim?

I thought it was pretty invaluable when I first started listening - the fact that i didn't entirely understand it probably helped me in my quest to understand more (the same went for the R3 of the time, with its somewhat sombre and definitely not gladhanding presenters - Richard Osborne, for example).

I can remember being very impressed with Jess Thomas in the Karajan Siegfried, only to find that the Guide slammed his performance. In retrospect, they were being harsh but (probably) fair.

Coincidentally enough, "When Siegfried is outsung by Mime, the time has come to object" (?or "complain") is one quotation that sticks in my mind - not least because that is the case in most of the recordings they reviewed, not least the Rosetted Solti set.

They were great fun to read in the '70s and '80s, but were flawed even then of course - and by the late nineties, the elderly gentlemen just couldn't keep up with the number of releases and deletions each year - and then when downloads came along ... In the internet era, online reviews and comments are far more reliable than the Guides ever were.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Some collectors absolutely swore by it of course. Someone I knew wouldn’t buy a new release before awaiting its position in the next Guide’s listing.

Yes - and in that sense they were dangerous - three blokes couldn't possibly give definite opinions on every aspect of the various repertoires. It was the collectors' fault on these occasions: a "guide" is just that - treating it as "holy writ" imposed an authority on the tome that was probably never intended by the writers (even if encouraged by the publishers).