Gramophone Classical Good CD Guide 2004, 17th Edition (Gramophone Classical Music Guide)

The Gramophone Classical Good CD Guide contains over 3,500 reviews of classical CDs and DVDs written by the critics of Gramophone, the world's most authoritative classical music magazine. Includes a... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0860249972
• ISBN13: 9780860249979
• Release Date: September 2003
• Publisher: Gramophone Publications
• Length: 1424 Pages
• Weight: 3.00 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.4" x 2.6" x 5.6"

Customer Reviews

Confusing for the beginner; good guidance nonetheless

I would first like to thank "sky" whose reviews here are really a fountain of knowledge for neophytes to classical music like myself. Don't let the fact that Bose, hucksters of the most overpriced and poorly designed audio equipment foisted on a naive public, are sponsors of the Gramophone guide. Thankfully Gramophone reviewers are more competant at reviewing classical music than finding quality audio sponsors! The Grammophone Classical Good CD Guide is a good read but difficult for beginners to use. If you're a beginner like myself, already have classical cds and you are interested in finding out whether it is referenced in the guide it is a bit of a chore if you don't know what kind of sub-genre your dealing with [choral, orchestral, instrumental, chamber etc; being a beginner I have some difficulty with classificaitons]. I spent the better part of an hour trying to find whether some cds I owned were a part of the guide. Terrible indexing. What is needed in the index is a list of players/artists with their cds. Much better to use it as a guide to procure cds rather than read up on what you already own, which is it's real benefit. All in all it's an interesting read and I wish I'd have purchased it before any collections of classical cds.

the rumors are true

It's true what many classical music fans have said about Gramophone's "British bias." They do tend to lean toward British performers and labels, and they often lavish praise on artists who don't quite measure up to the hype (Gramophone Magazine's recent article on Kathleen Ferrier comes to mind.) Also, their reviews tend to be very short, and the Guide, or at least the 2002 edition that I have, does not tell you who the reviewers are, leaving you unsure whose taste you agree with and whose you don't. However, with these caveats in mind, I have found a lot of great recordings by browsing through this book. Their ratings (zero, one, two or three stars) are consistent and they also tell you what price range the CD is in. Some recordings that they list (for example, Veronique Gens's CD of Handel cantatas) are difficult to find in the U.S.In addition to this guide, I recommend checking out ClassicsToday.com and browsing through Fanfare magazine (longer reviews, more detail, less slick and gossipy than Gramophone).[also, I agree with the reviewer below from Colorado - thumbs down on the Lindsay Quartet. All the British CD guides seem to love them, though.]