Welcome to Building a Classical Music Collection! To those of you that have followed the recently completed series at this newsletter, The Top 50 Classical Recordings of All-Time, welcome back! If you are a new reader, thank you for stopping by and I hope you enjoy the newsletter!
Starting with the next post, Building a Classical Music Collection will now focus on specific works from classical music with the main purpose being to highlight the best recordings available for each work using a selected discography. In other words, we will be giving a brief overview of the work itself, and then will review the recordings of that work which are currently available to purchase or stream online. The top recording(s) will be identified, as well as others that are worth exploring.
Because these reviews will be from a “selected” discography, there may be recordings of a certain work which are not included. If a recording is not included, it is because the recording is either no longer easily available to purchase or stream online, may have been deleted from the catalog by the record company, or the recording itself is of such low quality it is not worth including in the reviews.
As always, my decisions about which recordings are included, as well as the respective rankings, are subjective in nature. However, in some cases there is a consensus from listeners and critics about certain recordings. I read a fair number of reviews of recordings, and I enjoy reading the perspectives of others. When applicable, I include those sources or reviews in the notes at the end of posts. Having said that, I also trust my own opinions and attempt to remain as objective as possible.
In order to build a collection, we will focus primarily on classical works that form what is termed the “standard repertoire” in the genre. The standard repertoire is a large set of musical works that have been performed on numerous occasions by many orchestras, groups or interpreters across the world over a long period of time. Over time, by general consensus or popular esteem, these works have captured the devotion of listeners and concert-goers.
There is no agreement on which classical works make up the standard repertoire, although it seems to mostly favor composers from Bach through Stravinsky. This largely leaves out many works from the past 50-75 years. But popularity does wax and wane, and the list is always in some flux. For our purposes, in order to begin a classical music collection, it is obviously important to begin with the standard repertoire since those are the works that have stood the test of time and have achieved lasting popularity.
But since there is not an agreed upon “list” of these works, I will use several other sources, along with my own judgment, to create a master list of the works to be explored here. It is not an exhaustive list of all the works you may want to hear or learn about, nor will everyone agree with my choices. However, it should be more than adequate for starting to build a collection, or to enhance your current collection. The works I will be spotlighting here are “essential”, in my view, to a well-rounded appreciation of classical music. Beginning with the next post, you will see each work is labeled “essential” signifying that at least one recording of that work should be in every collection. These works will form an Essential series of classical works.
Rather than selecting a single “top choice” recording, for most works it makes more sense to create “tiers” which may include a top tier, a middle or average tier, and a bottom tier which might include some recordings to avoid. Because many works in the standard repertoire have a long recording history, and also because performing styles, interpretations, and instruments have evolved over time, and furthermore due to the varying tastes of the listener, it seems best to recommend a handful of top recordings which all stand out in their own ways.
Finally, there is no real logic to the order in which works will be presented, other than to vary things with regard to composers and compositional period.
Okay, enough setting the stage. Stay tuned for the next post, when we will spotlight the first classical work in the Essentials series, and a huge favorite of audiences:
Antonin Dvorak’s Symphony no. 9 “From the New World”.
See you then.