Building a Library - General Discussion

[jayne lee wilson]

For me it's Talich - and who comes second?
Yes, probably Kubelik. The Malaysian PO with Claus Peter Flor is quite outstanding too and very fresh, the only performance I'm aware of that isn't based on that dark, central european tonal palette.

[AmpH]

There has been a BaL programme on ' Asrael ' - Martin Cotton in April 2010 chose Belohlavek with the Czech Philharmonic on Chandos as his first choice.

[Pabmusic]

There has been a BaL programme on ' Asrael ' - Martin Cotton in April 2010 chose Belohlavek with the Czech Philharmonic on Chandos as his first choice.

So there was! I must have looked right at it and not seen it!

[Thropplenoggin]

Are some BaLs now almost impossible?

By a very rough estimate (a Qobuz search) which may include duplicates, there are 150 different recordings available of Bach's cello suites.

This made me wonder whether this renders the typical BaL format meaningless.

Every cellist wants to climb this Everest. Some, like Wispelwey, have already done so thrice. Even a relative whipper-snapper like Ophélie Gaillard has recorded it twice. And yet some of my personal favourites (Jean-Guihen Queyras, Gavriel Lipkind) have been recorded within the last few years.

So, my question is: how could we expect anyone to survey 150 recordings and choose one, or even three (historic, HIP, modern)?

And: are there any other works that have become so recorded that they make a BaL recommendation almost impossible?

[Petrushka]

I've been saying this and similar for some time. It was the sheer impossibility of choosing the 'best' Eroica that really crystallised the notion that, for me, the BaL format has run its course. This was made even clearer with last week's Mahler 6 where there is a particular interpretation to suit every taste. All a reviewer can do is give pointers in order to allow the listener to make up his/her own mind.

Sorry, but in my view the format is as dead as a dodo and needs a rethink of some sort.

[antongould]

I've been saying this and similar for some time..........

Sorry, but in my view the format is as dead as a dodo and needs a rethink of some sort.

Are we sure? BAL is one of the few programmes that continues to get a reasonable press hereabouts and some recent outings - Walton 1 and Faure Nocturnes - have not been awash with runners and riders, although you could counter the winners were vintage entries.

I feel that usually the reviewers when faced with a large field seem to do a pretty good job in concentrating on the best of the best.

[Thropplenoggin]

I've been saying this and similar for some time. It was the sheer impossibility of choosing the 'best' Eroica that really crystallised the notion that, for me, the BaL format has run its course. This was made even clearer with last week's Mahler 6 where there is a particular interpretation to suit every taste. All a reviewer can do is give pointers in order to allow the listener to make up his/her own mind.

Sorry, but in my view the format is as dead as a dodo and needs a rethink of some sort.

Interesting points. I wasn't aware there had been an 'Eroica' recently or was this a foR3 BaL?

I have to say, it was heartening to see how active the Mahler 6 BaL thread has been: 210 posts, 5,300 views to date. Beethoven's String Quartets never fare so well!

[Alison]

I think it's fine provided listeners don't get too hung up on the winner.

Lots of worthwhile stuff has come out of the Mahler 6 survey - and subsequent thread.

[Petrushka]

Interesting points. I wasn't aware there had been an 'Eroica' recently or was this a foR3 BaL?

I have to say, it was heartening to see how active the Mahler 6 BaL thread has been: 210 posts, 5,300 views to date. Beethoven's String Quartets never fare so well!

My mistake, Throppers, it was the Pastoral Symphony from last November that I had in mind, not the Eroica.

When BaL started and for many years thereafter, there were probably just a handful of versions of even well known works from which to make a final selection. Now, with, in some cases, dozens of versions it becomes an impossibility even an absurdity. The format, as such, is excellent; it's just been rendered obsolete by the march of time.

[LeMartinPecheur]

Some of us may recall that we listened avidly 20 or 30 years ago and took a little while to realise that there's no such thing as 'the best recording' demonstrable by objective analysis. But we did learn quite a lot about key works, key performers and even key critics along the way. It's just possible that younger listeners are bright enough to follow in our august footsteps

I've said it before: our tendency to think that the programmes aren't as good and the critics are less wise may be, to a large extent, just the fact that we are older, more knowledgeable about the works under consideration, and far less likely to be 'really' looking for a first-purchase best-buy. So we get grumpier too

[JFLL]

I think you could argue that the notion of ‘building a library’ of individual great works is rather outdated now, when you can pick up all Beethoven’s symphonies for £10 or some ridiculous figure. Does anyone relatively new to classical music (presumably once the target of BAL) now say ‘Which version of the Eroica is the best?’ and then go out and spend £15 on a single symphony? In some ways the most interesting aspect of BAL is the discussion of the work itself and of possible lines of interpretation, with convenient illustrations as one goes along. So let’s have ‘Interpretations on Record’ back in a two- or three-hour slot!

[Nick Armstrong]

I think it's fine provided listeners don't get too hung up on the winner.

Lots of worthwhile stuff has come out of the Mahler 6 survey

I agree. It may become inevitably more selective in terms of a survey of everything that's 'out there' but that doesn't mean it's impossible or pointless. I still learn things from it about the music itself, and hear interpretations I'd missed; plus BAL was a backbone of my musical learning - about both the music and various interpretative approaches - in my 20s. As LMP says, I hope there are others at the outset of their musical appreciation who are gleaning insights and guidance likewise.

[teamsaint]

I agree. It may become inevitably more selective in terms of a survey of everything that's 'out there' but that doesn't mean it's impossible or pointless. I still learn things from it about the music itself, and hear interpretations I'd missed; plus BAL was a backbone of my musical learning - about both the music and various interpretative approaches - in my 20s. As LMP says, I hope there are others at the outset of their musical appreciation who are gleaning insights and guidance likewise.

I would but for me it's on at a terrible time.
I know, iplayer and everything, but still....
Anyway, Its easier just to ask on the board and check the tax dodgers best price at the same time..

[Nick Armstrong]

I would but for me it's on at a terrible time.
I know, iplayer and everything, but still....
Anyway, Its easier just to ask on the board and check the tax dodgers best price at the same time..

I agree, I almost never listen to it at the time it's broadcast. In the early days I'd lean out of bed and press 'record' onto a cassette... But it repays the 50 minutes a week, I'd say.

[teamsaint]

Anyhow, never mind all that, wish they would hurry up and do one on Liszt's Complete symphonic poems. I thought this would be a great idea as long ago as this afternoon, and I'm still waiting....

Have to try the board route.......

Recording from the radio on cassette ....happy days....kept Fluff Freeman in a job for years.