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The Penguin Guide to Recorded Classical Music

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volumes were released covering bargain recordings. From 2001 classical music DVDs were incorporated, initially as an appendix, but, from the 2006 edition, in the main body of the reviews. Although these other volumes added further reviews, the authors acknowledged that attempting to cover all releases was impossible, and they focused on what they regarded as the "cream" of available recordings.
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From the outset the authors included an additional annotation – a rosette. "Unlike our general evaluations, in which we have tried to be consistent, a Rosette is a quite arbitrary compliment by a member of the reviewing team to a recorded performance which he finds shows special illumination, magic,
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Later editions included a four-star category for a select few recordings, "chosen to indicate music-making in which artists are inspired to excel even their own highest standards or which are offering something quite revelatory about the music. Usually the collector can expect matching quality from
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An indispensable bible of recorded classical music, not exhaustive (what book could be?) but more complete than any other I know. The British authors favor British orchestras and performers too much, and they sometimes omit recordings that can be bought in the United States but not in Britain. Yet
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were added for the first time. By the 1990 revision CDs had come to dominate the market so completely that LPs were omitted altogether from the guide. In some years the main guide was supplemented by yearbooks, adding the latest new recordings and recommended reissues. Several other supplementary
582:, "I owe Penguin a lot: I've discovered a lot of wonderful music through it", but, "If you want to start a flame war on a classical music newsgroup, all you have to do is bring up the allegation of British bias in Penguin (and/or 618:
commented, "It is no secret that, even in the classical field, more compact discs are made than any one person can reasonably expect to be able to listen to. What's a poor collector to do? One answer for years has been
101:. Supplements were published in 1952 and 1953; a new edition of the guide was published in 1955, and a final supplement was issued the following year. Four years later the Long Playing Record Library (LPRL) published 533:
When the guides started it was still possible to include almost all available stereo classical recordings in the coverage. Additional volumes were printed to cover cassettes, and in the 1984 Guide
1229: 599:. Widely regarded as the bible of classical recordings, it has actually been sorting the musical wheat from the chaff for 45 years, having begun life as the 612:
commented that the guide "may be faulted in detail, yet no similar publication matches its consistency and authority in the mainstream classics" In the US,
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they're fair, enthusiastic and (in my experience) trustworthy 90 percent of the time. They also distinguish among price ranges of discs, which is rare.
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the recording team or, where a recording is historical, an outstanding transfer that reveals how fine the original sound was for its period."
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Brackets round one or more of the stars indicated some reservations about its inclusion and readers were advised to refer to the text.
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Anyone who has taken a moderate interest in recordings of classical music over the last three decades is likely to owe a debt to
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containing 1114 pages and selling for £3.50. From then until 2012, March and his team wrote a succession of Penguin guides.
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joined the panel of reviewers in 1968 and Stevens left after that year's two volumes. The LPRL issued two editions of
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a spiritual quality, or even outstanding production values that place it in a very special class."
48: 103: 1576: 625: 69:, music writer and lecturer. All three were also reviewers for the UK classical music monthly 19: 1581: 659: 71: 1537: 8: 588: 841: 578: 1543: 1354: 1338: 1322: 1306: 1290: 1274: 1258: 1242: 1214: 1198: 1182: 1166: 1150: 1134: 1118: 1102: 1086: 1070: 1051: 1035: 1019: 1003: 987: 971: 955: 939: 923: 907: 891: 875: 859: 816: 808: 800: 784: 776: 746: 738: 730: 722: 714: 112: 56: 1484:
Toppman, Lawrence. " Last in a series on building a basic classical music library",
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Sackville-West, Edward; Desmond Shawe-Taylor; William Mann; Andrew Porter (1955).
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by March and his co-authors, in 1966, 1970 and 1972. In 1975 they published
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The early editions of the guides used a one to three star rating system:
734: 43:) was a widely distributed annual publication from Britain published by 1529:
March, Ivan; Edward Greenfield; Robert Layton; Paul Czajkowski (2007).
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March, Ivan; Edward Greenfield; Robert Layton; Paul Czajkowski (2005).
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Sackville-West and Shawe-Taylor were assisted in the second edition by
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March, Ivan; Edward Greenfield; Denis Stevens; Robert Layton (1968).
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The New Penguin Guide to Compact Discs and Cassettes Yearbook
550:*** "An outstanding performance and recording in every way." 87:
issued a guide to recorded classical music under the title
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that reviewed and rated currently available recordings of
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Sackville-West, Shawe-Taylor, Porter and Mann, title page
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Opera synopses researched and written by Katherine March.
556:* "A fair performance, reasonably well or well recorded." 521:
The Penguin Guide to the 1000 Finest Classical Recordings
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The Penguin Guide to Compact Discs and Cassettes Yearbook
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The Penguin Guide to Bargain Compact Discs and Cassettes
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March, Ivan; Edward Greenfield; Robert Layton (1972).
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Paul Czajkowski is credited from this edition onwards.
586:)". From a British perspective Terry Grimley wrote in 197:
The New Penguin Guide to Bargain Records and Cassettes
119:. Nine editions were published between 1960 and 1974; 233:
The Penguin Guide to Compact Discs, Cassettes and LPs
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The Complete Penguin Stereo Record and Cassette Guide
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Cerabona, Ron. "Praying that the Penguin lives on",
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The Penguin Guide to Compact Discs and DVDs Yearbook
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The Penguin Guide to Compact Discs and DVDs Yearbook
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The Penguin Guide to Compact Discs and DVDs Yearbook
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The New Penguin Guide to Compact Discs and Cassettes
623:". In a survey of guides to recorded music in 1997 1466:"Penguin guide to classical CDs better than ever" 1568: 640: 353:The Penguin Guide to Compact Discs and Cassettes 329:The Penguin Guide to Compact Discs and Cassettes 305:The Penguin Guide to Compact Discs and Cassettes 209:The New Penguin Stereo Record and Cassette Guide 1531:The Penguin Guide to Recorded Classical Music 509:The Penguin Guide to Recorded Classical Music 497:The Penguin Guide to Recorded Classical Music 485:The Penguin Guide to Recorded Classical Music 28:The Penguin Guide to Recorded Classical Music 1522:The Penguin Guide to Compact Discs and DVDs 461:The Penguin Guide to Compact Discs and DVDs 437:The Penguin Guide to Compact Discs and DVDs 401:The Penguin Guide to Compact Discs Yearbook 365:The Penguin Guide to Compact Discs Yearbook 341:The Penguin Guide to Compact Discs Yearbook 40:The Penguin Guide to Compact Discs and DVDs 377:The Penguin Guide to Bargain Compact Discs 317:The Penguin Guide to Opera on Compact Disc 135:Penguin Books published three editions of 137:The Penguin Guide to the Bargain Classics 1384: 1382: 18: 1569: 1368: 1366: 1065: 1063: 1379: 1513:The Stereo Record Guide: Volume VII 1363: 1060: 13: 1429:"Musical Penguin just gets fatter" 1232:, WorldCat. Retrieved 10 June 2020 621:The Penguin Guide to Compact Discs 413:The Penguin Guide to Compact Discs 389:The Penguin Guide to Compact Discs 269:The Penguin Guide to Compact Discs 34:The Penguin Guide to Compact Discs 14: 1608: 1555: 1504:The Stereo Record Guide: Volume V 1405:(2007) first page of Introduction 130: 766:, (1968) and (1972), title pages 1478: 1458: 1441: 1421: 1408: 1395: 1347: 1331: 1315: 1299: 1283: 1267: 1251: 1235: 1223: 1207: 1191: 1175: 1159: 1143: 1127: 1111: 1095: 1079: 1044: 1028: 1012: 996: 980: 964: 948: 932: 916: 900: 884: 678: 669: 173:The Penguin Stereo Record Guide 161:The Penguin Stereo Record Guide 141:The Penguin Stereo Record Guide 125:A Guide to the Bargain Classics 868: 852: 825: 793: 769: 756: 707: 698: 652: 576:In 2011 Ron Cerabona wrote in 83:In 1951 the British publisher 1: 1592:Classical music discographies 691: 641:Notes, references and sources 571: 78: 1230:"Ivan March – Penguin Guide" 7: 10: 1613: 1562:Review of the 2004 edition 1495: 1488:, 28 September 1997, p. 1F 541: 185:The Penguin Cassette Guide 16:British annual publication 154: 151: 148: 645: 37:and, from 2002 to 2006, 1474:(subscription required) 1437:(subscription required) 104:The Stereo Record Guide 1587:Encyclopedias of music 1486:The Charlotte Observer 1449:"Music books reviewed" 1418:, 24 April 2011, p. 22 626:The Charlotte Observer 111:and written by March, 23: 95:Edward Sackville-West 51:. It was written by 22: 127:, in 1962 and 1965. 99:Desmond Shawe-Taylor 1597:Penguin Books books 1542:. London: Collins. 1435:, 19 December 2005 1433:The Birmingham Post 601:Stereo Record Guide 589:The Birmingham Post 93:. The authors were 1533:. London: Penguin. 1524:. London: Penguin. 1515:. London: Penguin. 1506:. London: Penguin. 1416:The Canberra Times 840:(1595): 38. 1976. 832:"Books Received". 579:The Canberra Times 59:, music critic of 24: 1472:, 2 January 2001 1455:, 2 December 2005 834:The Musical Times 606:In the same year 597:the Penguin Guide 531: 530: 113:Edward Greenfield 57:Edward Greenfield 1604: 1551: 1540:The Record Guide 1534: 1525: 1516: 1507: 1489: 1482: 1476: 1475: 1462: 1456: 1445: 1439: 1438: 1427:Grimley, Terry. 1425: 1419: 1412: 1406: 1399: 1393: 1386: 1377: 1370: 1361: 1351: 1345: 1335: 1329: 1319: 1313: 1303: 1297: 1287: 1281: 1271: 1265: 1255: 1249: 1239: 1233: 1227: 1221: 1211: 1205: 1195: 1189: 1179: 1173: 1163: 1157: 1147: 1141: 1131: 1125: 1115: 1109: 1099: 1093: 1083: 1077: 1067: 1058: 1048: 1042: 1032: 1026: 1016: 1010: 1000: 994: 984: 978: 968: 962: 952: 946: 936: 930: 920: 914: 904: 898: 888: 882: 872: 866: 856: 850: 849: 829: 823: 797: 791: 773: 767: 760: 754: 711: 705: 702: 685: 682: 676: 673: 667: 656: 146: 145: 90:The Record Guide 1612: 1611: 1607: 1606: 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Index


Penguin Books
classical music
Ivan March
Edward Greenfield
The Guardian
Robert Layton
Gramophone
Collins
The Record Guide
Edward Sackville-West
Desmond Shawe-Taylor
The Stereo Record Guide
Ivan March
Edward Greenfield
Denis Stevens
Robert Layton
compact discs
The Canberra Times
The Birmingham Post
The Independent
The Denver Post
The Charlotte Observer
William Mann
Andrew Porter
OCLC
1075763959
OCLC
916676657
OCLC

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