Customer Reviews

The Penguin Guide to Compact Discs

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Absolutely the best, most helpful guide to recorded classical music there is. Indispensible when trying to buy unfamiliar music. I've used prior editions of this guide over and over to choose cd's of music I don't know well. Every time the guide has given a cd 3 stars, it has been terrific. One caveat: the reviewers do like performances on period-instruments, and they like old (sometimes mono!) recordings, and they like complete operas. So they will often give a cd a very high rating when the average listener would not necessarily enjoy it that much. But they always provide that information in the text, so you can watch out for it. I find these reviews consistently more reliable than reviews in other guides, eg Gramophone, etc. Also a pleasant book to just read.

The Penguin Guide to Compact Discs has been hailed as "...a CD collectors Bible," and is the easiest and most comprehensive one-volume survey of classical music available today. Authors Ivan March, Edward Greenfield and Robert Layton provide short but authoritative reviews of what they consider the most outstanding, the average, and worst in recorded classical music, from the standpoint of performance, CD sound quality, and value for money to the consumer. The 1999 version of the Penguin Guide is a thorough update to the 1996 main edition and 1997 yearbook, adding many new works while retaining its manageable size.

I've used the Penguin Guide since 1994, and I have found their evaluations to be fair, objective (with an admitted slight bias in favor of European composers and performers), and accurate, but also entertaining and very easy to read and understand.

I rely extensively on Penguin Guide recommendations to build my classical music library, and have never been disappointed in the quality or value of those recommended CDs which I've purchased. I highly recommend The Penguin Guide to Compact Discs for all classical music collectors.

Clearly the best reference guide. Its main competition the Gramophone Yearbook includes too few reviews of major works. It makes it very difficult to use as a shopping guide, since most masterpieces have at least four or five equally good recordings, and many stores don't always have the exact recomendation in the book. The NPR guide is too idiosyncratic and somewhat unreliable, as well as too biased towards american composers and recordings. The Rough Guide is very good but far too devoted to modern music to be completely useful. It also has a few idiosyncratic choices and it is in need of an update. The Penguim guide and its companions (Bargain Guide and Yearbook) include detailed reviews of almost any (good) available record. You may not always agree with them (and I certainly don't) but it is always useful information. It is certaily too heavy in the british repertoire, but since it is originated in the UK that is expected. It also gives too much deference to british artists. Nevertheless once one is aware of that it is rather easy to discount all those factors and still obtain an enormpous wealth of information unavailable anywhere else we can just ignore some of those pages.

I won't rehash the accolades this guide has received, nor will I question its usefulness. I have spent many hours poring over its contents, and my CD collection is better for it. Having said that, this guide carries the strong British bias of the three authors, and it's not hard to find it. For example, Britten and Elgar both merit extensive entries, with a liberal sprinkling (20+) of rosettes between them. Bartók gets a far smaller entry, with one measly rosette, and not even the Stravinsky Edition merits the coveted prize. There's little Copland and Ives (especially where chamber music is concerned--some important recordings missing here), less Carter, and *no* Cage or Feldman. Perhaps even more telling is that when the authors see fit to award a rosette to the likes of Berlin (Annie get your gun), Gershwin (Porgy & Bess) or Kern (Showboat), it's for recordings by the LPO or London Sinfonietta! Now, really. There are *many* more examples I could cite, but you get the idea. Anyway, buy and use this book, but you'll need to supplement it to get more balanced coverage (like, for starters, with Ted Libbey's excellent and newly-revised guide).

When it comes to choosing a classical CD you will be hard pressed to find a guide that is more comprehensive, complete or convincing. The ambition of the editors is listen to almost everything in the catalogue and with each new edition of this book they seem to do just that. Their judgements are so sound that the odd disagreement one has here or there proves merely to be the exception to the rule. I have been using the Penguin Guide for nearly a decade, and in my opinion, if you can buy only one guide then this is the one to get. Of course, if your budget can stand it then the Gramophone Good CD Guide is a worthy second. But be careful: I have spent far too many hours comparing their rival impressions of various recordings - it's an addictive pastime!

I have been an avid collector of these books since starting a classical music library over 20 years ago. The most recent edition maintains the high standard as prior issues. For the record, the "N" is used to designate a new release/recording that has not been reviewed in a prior edition. While the editors' opinions are as a rule highly reliable, they do not guarantee that what they consider to be an outstanding recording will automatically become a favourite for the potential buyer. So this book is truly a guide and no more than that. Oddly enough there are more proofreading errors in this issue than prior editions - particularly with cross-referencing - but that should not deter anybody. Considering the vast amount of material it covers, it remains very competitively priced. The use of two columns per page - which one hardly ever sees outside of the Bible (!) - adds to the depth and concentration of the book. The editors have gone to the trouble of adding expository material when evaluating recordings of obscure works, which gives the reader added motivation to try them out. The book is very strong in the area of Scandinavian music, mainstream and otherwise. These books are also quite sturdy and can take some abuse without literally coming apart. All foreign accents are used where required. Still a very fine reference. Highly recommended.

Whenever a new one appears, I obtain my copy of <The Penguin Guide to Compact Discs: the Guide to Excellence in Recorded Classical Music>, check out new recordings of my favorite composers, and keep it on my shelf with all the old ones that contain reviews of CDs no longer in print and therefore deleted from the latest edition. From its modest beginnings when there were only LPs and not many of those, this Guide has had to grow almost unreasonably large to accommodate what is available on CDs, so that a yearbook and a companion Guide had to be issued to update things.

The latest edition has 1639 pages, and even with that the editors have had to drop the end-section that used to contain reviews of CDs with programs by many composers, leaving only recordings of piano recitals in this edition. Some have found that the reviews favor British productions perhaps a bit more than they deserve, but that is a matter of opinion. An editor's note informs us that "we still only have space to consider the very finest, irrespective of price"; and we are referred to "The Penguin Guide to Bargain Compact Discs" for further listings.

The arrangement of pieces by a composer like Mozart or Beethoven is well done by listing, in order something like this, his miscellaneous orchestral works, concerti, symphonies, chamber works, solo works, vocal non-operatic, operas, collections. Thus it is fairly easy to find what you are looking for. At any rate, despite some flaws--and they are well documented by the other reviewers on this page--this Guide has kept me many a time from wasting my money on inferior recordings; and for that alone I give it a 5-star rating.

Be sure you know what you are getting here: this is a SUPPLEMENT (736 pages) to the 2003/4 COMPLETE Penguin Guide (1616 pages). The main Penguin Guide lists the TOP-RATED CD RECOMMENDATIONS. This supplement lists additional recommendations (less important and new since last book) and some lesser-rated CD's. Additionally, the "Yearbook" supplement here lists some unique recordings: (1) their favorite COLLECTION/COMPLIATION CD's, (2) the best period performances and (3) extensive DVD offerings/reviews. The next main guide is due out Dec. 2005 (the new 2005/6 edition). Note that some of the old reviews below pertain to previous editions of the Penguin and not this 2005 supplement so keep that in mind as you read them.

Regarding the Penguin Guide in general: There are around three MAJOR classical review guides (having more than one or two "pet" recommendations): The Penguin Guide, Third Ear, and the Gramophone "Good CD Guide." The other ones like the NPR Guide, Rough Guide, Jim Svejda's Guide, All-Music-Guide, and the Omnibus Guide all are quite good in historical information, but list only one or two of their top recommendations and sometimes do not compare those. By far and bar none, the Penguin Guide is the most comprehensive - listing the most and the best available recordings for a given composer and composition. Its reviews are in-depth and fair (but often a bit too polite and non-critical for some readers). Overall then, it very useful and reliable for narrowing the field. It has few gaps in the entire repertoire listings (unlike the others, most notably "Third Ear Guide") and gives detailed and interesting summaries as well as their top picks for building a classical library. But, if you don't really need or want to research so many choices but still want at least the top 2-5 choices, then Gramophone is probably the finest guide and easiest to read with a similar rating system and top-award citings.

If you are a committed classical fan and buy at least 15 CD's a year, then the Penguin Guide is indespensibile. I have around ten different guides I use weekly, and more often then not, it is the Penguin that will help me make the final decision. But, I sure like and enjoy having the other opinions as one guide (and group of opinion) will always be limited in some way. And Penguin doesn't and cannot list EVERY possible recording as many go in and out of print. Also, don't hesitate to buy the 2003 edition USED at a great discount as it will still be fairly useful for a few more years. You can look up what is missing at the latest edition at the library or bookstore then! So, if you do not have any Penguin Guide, it is recommended to wait and get the latest, most complete 2005/6 guide due out by year end (2005). Still confused? Penguin could use a better marketing approach here ...

Admittedly I am occasionally infuriated by some of the reviews in the Penguin Guide to Classical CDs; there's an unfortunate tendency to emphasize recordings by great British and European conductors, soloists and ensembles over equally memorable ones by their American counterparts (For example, why isn't Solti or Bernstein mentioned as frequently as Karajan?). Yet it remains the indisputable guide to the latest available great recordings of classical music. While Grammophon has made the dubious decision to list only its preferred recordings, Penguin's latest edition offers a wide variety of choices for the discriminating classical CD collector. Admittedly there may be too many choices for popular works such as the entire Beethoven symphony cycles, yet I greatly appreciate such generosity with respect to choices. This is easily the largest edition of the Penguin Guide I've come across, but one still worth its weight in gold. Without question this is my reference "Bible" when it comes to finding the best classical recordings currently available.

As the Gramophone Guide continues to look for its voice, the Penguin Guide remains as reliable as ever in its new, easy to read, clean format. Most readers know what Penguin offers - over 1,000 pages of concise disc reviews. Now, Penguin is up against a wall as it has reached its maximum size and editors are soliciting ideas for the next ed. in two years - only including top choices, having two volumes, or relegating minor composers to the off year "year book."

Any choice Penguin makes will be fine so long as it does NOT opt for the choice Gramophone made - only rating and reviewing top selections while leaving other excellent recordings out. This decision has rendered Gramophone's guide a distinct second place finisher to the Penguin Guide.

The Penguin Guide could only be improved with a comprehensive index of composers and artists. Still, it's the best out there at the moment.