Building a Library - General Discussion

[Ariosto]

The French critics don't seem to mind taking the risk of egg on face. If you'd praised something the previous day and slated it the next, you could be considered a little eccentric, but, frankly, having a different opinion years later shows that you're a normal member of the human race. I really do hope Rob Cowan manages to find another three music critics out of the many who write and broadcast in Britain willing to carry this through. How much courage does it take?

Probably more courage than you would find in the whole of the BBC. Unfortunately there, and on this site, people are not allowed to change their minds, and if they do, people with nothing better to do, spend hours dredging up the past and then try to look good by attempting to discredit them.

Sad but true.

[martin_opera]

Link to BAL Recommendations by Composer

Found this on line and it strikes me as more useful than the BBCs own resources. Interesting omissions including Rossini's La Cenerentola and Bellini's La Sonnambula. It's also been 13 years since the last survey of Verdi Requiem's - due for a new survey surely.

[VodkaDilc]

Found this on line and it strikes me as more useful than the BBCs own resources. Interesting omissions including Rossini's La Cenerentola and Bellini's La Sonnambula. It's also been 13 years since the last survey of Verdi Requiem's - due for a new survey surely.

Easy: Pappano if you want good sonics; Toscanini if you don't! Who need BAL?

[Thropplenoggin]

Brilliant resource - many thanks!

I was reduced to using PrestoClassical searches and that terrible PDF on the BBC site to locate what always seemed to be a smattering of BALs, irksomely incomplete.

I wish Radio 3 would make past BALs available online, as they have done with many former shows of Desert Island Discs. I even wrote to CD Review to suggest as much. Reply came there none.

[Parry1912]

Very interesting, thanks.

Isn't it about time we had a survey of Schmidt's Das Buch mit sieben Siegeln?

[BBMmk2]

Abbado's recording (his last one), is pretty good to!

[Hitch]

Brilliant resource - many thanks!

I was reduced to using PrestoClassical searches and that terrible PDF on the BBC site to locate what always seemed to be a smattering of BALs, irksomely incomplete.

I wish Radio 3 would make past BALs available online, as they have done with many former shows of Desert Island Discs. I even wrote to CD Review to suggest as much. Reply came there none.

There are 78 episodes of BAL here, albeit somewhat shortened.

[Thropplenoggin]

There are 78 episodes of BAL here, albeit somewhat shortened.

Thanks, Hitch. Alas, I'm in France and so am greeted with a 'This podcast is not available outside the UK' message. Zut alors!

[Thropplenoggin]

Beethoven: Bagatelles, though I wonder how this would be done, since op.33, op.119 and op.126 are so different, but often appear together on one disc.

Beethoven: Diabelli Variations. A good companion BaL for the excellent Goldberg Variations from earlier this year.

Buxtehude: Sonatas op.1. Perhaps not enough versions available to warrant a BaL. This Naxos version ft. John Holloway and Jaap ter Linden is a potential winner in a very small field.

[DracoM]

Franz Schmidt

[jayne lee wilson]

A 2-hour special on the Roussel symphonies...

[Nick Armstrong]

A 2-hour special on the Roussel symphonies...

Fighting talk Jayne!!

[Pabmusic]

A BAL on the orchestral music of Suk. There might even be enough recordings to do a comparison of Asrael - there's been about 12.

[jayne lee wilson]

A BAL on the orchestral music of Suk. There might even be enough recordings to do a comparison of Asrael - there's been about 12.

Great idea! Shame we Asraelites already know who'd win...

[Pabmusic]

Great idea! Shame we Asraelites already know who'd win...

Hmm... I'd not want to be without Talich/Czech PO, Kubelik/Bavarian RSO, Ashkenazy/Helsinki PO, Mackerras/Czech PO, or one of Bělohlávek's (the BBC SO recording is very good). I think I listen to Kubelik most often.

There's a mono radio broadcast of Ancerl conducting the Cleveland Orchestra here: http://metrognomemusic.blogspot.co.uk