I'm sure a lot of people have had a message from the Gramophone touting its "Guide to Essentials" (or "Basic Library" depending on where you look). It's divided up into genres. Here's "Orchestral" to give a flavour of the whole thing:
I've been chuckling over this for a few minutes, and speculating that the members of this board could collectively come up with something a lot more credible in a matter of hours (or less). The omissions are sometimes perverse and some of the choices are distinctly odd too. Others are more sensible even if they wouldn't necessarily be my own "basic" choices. (In less than a handful of cases I'd probably choose the same discs as the Gram suggests here.) Oh well - I suppose it's just a bit of fun.
Just a few quick observations.
A version of the Bach Orchestral Suites that is very good but of very specialist interest - since Huggett uses the earlier versions (without trumpets etc.). Emphatically not a "basic" library disc, despite being a very good record.
Ozawa's Miraculous Mandarin? No comment, but will someone wake me up when it's over.
Harnoncourt's Beethoven cycle. It has its fervent supporters, but seems an odd choice as *the* "basic" version. Whatever its qualities, I'd say it's quite controversial. Why not something like Haitink/LSO Live, Mackerras/EMI or Hyperion, Zinman/Zurich? All excellent and a lot less contentious.
Harnoncourt's Brahms cycle. Ditto. Only I'm not sure it has *any* fervent supporters.
Andrew Davis for the Elgar Symphonies. Given what else is out there, this strikes me as a curious choice.
No Janáček - not even the Sinfonietta... No Kodály - not even Háry János.
Only Barbirolli's Mahler 5 and Karajan's Mahler 9 (no Mahler 1?!). Still, at least JB's Mahler 5 is a very personal and loving performance even though it would not be my own "basic" choice.
No Nielsen. But Pärt. Hmm.
Gergiev's Rachmaninov Second (the LSO Live one). Really? And Gergiev's Rite of Spring. And a lot of Gergiev Prokofiev too...
Hickox's VW London Symphony. Of course this is a terrific record, but a similar issue as for the Bach Suites - shouldn't a "basic" recommendation be of the piece as RVW wanted us to know it? No VW 4 or 6 in the Gram's "basic" library.
No Walton Symphonies either, but the Viola Concerto. Strange.
I've been chuckling over this for a few minutes, and speculating that the members of this board could collectively come up with something a lot more credible in a matter of hours (or less). The omissions are sometimes perverse and some of the choices are distinctly odd too. Others are more sensible even if they wouldn't necessarily be my own "basic" choices. (In less than a handful of cases I'd probably choose the same discs as the Gram suggests here.) Oh well - I suppose it's just a bit of fun.
Just a few quick observations.
A version of the Bach Orchestral Suites that is very good but of very specialist interest - since Huggett uses the earlier versions (without trumpets etc.). Emphatically not a "basic" library disc, despite being a very good record.
Ozawa's Miraculous Mandarin? No comment, but will someone wake me up when it's over.
Harnoncourt's Beethoven cycle. It has its fervent supporters, but seems an odd choice as *the* "basic" version. Whatever its qualities, I'd say it's quite controversial. Why not something like Haitink/LSO Live, Mackerras/EMI or Hyperion, Zinman/Zurich? All excellent and a lot less contentious.
Harnoncourt's Brahms cycle. Ditto. Only I'm not sure it has *any* fervent supporters.
Andrew Davis for the Elgar Symphonies. Given what else is out there, this strikes me as a curious choice.
No Janáček - not even the Sinfonietta... No Kodály - not even Háry János.
Only Barbirolli's Mahler 5 and Karajan's Mahler 9 (no Mahler 1?!). Still, at least JB's Mahler 5 is a very personal and loving performance even though it would not be my own "basic" choice.
No Nielsen. But Pärt. Hmm.
Gergiev's Rachmaninov Second (the LSO Live one). Really? And Gergiev's Rite of Spring. And a lot of Gergiev Prokofiev too...
Hickox's VW London Symphony. Of course this is a terrific record, but a similar issue as for the Bach Suites - shouldn't a "basic" recommendation be of the piece as RVW wanted us to know it? No VW 4 or 6 in the Gram's "basic" library.
No Walton Symphonies either, but the Viola Concerto. Strange.