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From: scott@cornell.UUCP (Scott Smith)
Newsgroups: net.music.classical
Subject: Re: Philadelphia Orchestra recordings
Message-ID: <320@cornell.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 5-Sep-85 14:09:08 EDT
Article-I.D.: cornell.320
Posted: Thu Sep  5 14:09:08 1985
Date-Received: Sun, 8-Sep-85 16:26:25 EDT
References: <830@whuxlm.UUCP>
Reply-To: scott@cornell.UUCP (Scott Smith)
Distribution: net
Organization: Cornell Univ. CS Dept.
Lines: 32
Summary: 

There is no 'best' orchestra; if you only buy recordings of the 
Philadelphia Orchestra, you will be getting inferior recordings
of many pieces.  Every orchestra and conductor has off days in the
studio, and many records are in fact lemons, or at best bland.

Instead, ask for advice from the clerks in your favorite store; if the
store has a decent selection, they will frequently have clerks
that know a great deal.   Failing this, get a hold of a book such
as the Penguin guide (a new edition has recently been put out).
This book gives recommendations for practically anything you would
want to get a recording of.  You do not have to get the one they list as
best (I often find myself in sharp disagreement with their judgements),
but if they say the recording is good, you are at least not buying a lemon.

Many people have preferences about what kind of sound and what kind of
conducting they like; use such information when making a choice between
a number of acceptable recordings (but try to find somewhere or someone
who says it is acceptable!)  The situation is also complicated by the
fact that a good Beethoven conductor/orchestra does not make a good Stravinsky
conductor/orchestra.  For example, I will list some of my favorite conductors
and orchestras for a few composers:
Beethoven:  Karajan or Bernstein;  Berlin or Vienna Philharmonic
Stravinsky: Stravinsky and nobody else (any orchestra)
Schubert: Karl Boehm, Vienna Philharmonic
Dvorak: Kubelik, Berlin Philharmonic
Mozart: Hogwood and Academy, Boehm and Berlin or Vienna
Debussy: Boulez
Ravel: Boulez, NY Philharmonic (Karajan's Ravel is horrible)

The more informed your decisions are, the better.
scott
scott@cornell, ..!cornell!scott