Roger Norrington’s Stupid Mahler Ninth
There will surely be enthusiasts for abominable performances such as this one, because novelty for its own sake always has its attractions. The problem, though, is that gratuitous
Will There Always Be An England?
Recent articles and editorials about the so-called “decline” of the classical recording industry have generally focused on the reduction in new productions owing to the
Editorial: Panorama and the Myth of the Beginner
Reissuing back catalog material (what the major labels poetically call “secondary exploitations”) has gradually assumed greater importance than producing new recordings, at least among the
Music, Like Politics, is Still Local
I doubt that Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos would make anyone’s short list of the greatest conductors of the 20th century, and it’s not my intention
Are The Classics Wearing Out?
Classical music consumers continue to benefit from a simple fact: there has never been more stuff of such high quality available at such low prices,
The Wand Syndrome
I have before me a disc issued on Japanese RCA Red Seal containing live performances of Schubert’s “Unfinished” and Bruckner’s Ninth Symphonies taken from Tokyo
The Crossover Mentality
In a recent article Norman Lebrecht (today’s Cassandra of classical music; there have been others at various times) once again took aim at the major
Benjamin Zander—Talking about Mahler for Fun and Profit
This will be a long article, necessitated by the number of points that need making and my desire to explore them seriously, in some detail,
Historical Recordings And The Business of Selling Garbage
Recently I had a rather sharp exchange with a manager of a label specializing in “historical” recordings. The gentleman took exception to one of our
SEVEN PHASES IN THE LIFE OF A HARD-CORE COLLECTOR
Do You Recognize Yourself Here? I’m sure that some of you have seen that famous little poster called “The Six Phases of a Project?” In