The Insider's Guide to Classical Recordings: From the Host of the Record Shelf, a Highly Opinionated, Irreverent, and Selective Guide to What's Good a

by Jim Svejda

Book Overview

For hundreds of thousands of loyal listeners throughout the United States, Jim Svejda's weekly radio program The Record Shelf is not to be missed. Now, this amusing and irreverent guide captures the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0761517111
• ISBN13: 9780761517115
• Release Date: February 1999
• Publisher: Prima Publishing
• Length: 864 Pages
• Weight: 3.28 lbs.
• Dimensions: 2.0" x 7.5" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

A hilarious romp and a labor of love

Before you read anything else, if you're one of the following, do NOT buy this book (elevated blood pressure and a desire to strangle Jim will inevitably follow): * A die-hard audiophile (preferring a superbly recorded version of a mediocre performance to a lousy recording of a great performance), * Someone who only listens to early music (something Jim infers most of us don't do), and * An afficianado of recordings by Harnoncourt, Leonhardt, von Karajan or Robert Shaw. With this caveat on the table, I'll say without reservation that this is a must-have book for any music enthusiast. Even if it were not packed with excellent recommendations for your music library, Jim's often merciless humor alone is worth the price and will supply hours of belly laughs. I find myself giggling even when Jim is lambasting one of my favorite recordings and admitting to myself that perhaps he might have a point (however small). I'm looking forward to the next edition...

Svejda is a witty, erudite, and honest critic

I'm a long-term Svejda fan, starting years before he wrote the first of these books. I've bought and loved every edition of this book, and encourage every lover of classical music to do the same. Do I agree with Jim on every point? Of course not! I don't even think he'd want that--he thinks for himself, and I believe he wants everyone else to do the same. He is, at least, honest enough to admit that a book of his opinions is highly opinionated. I have found him to be a remarkably educated and perceptive critic of classical music, and I always turn to him before I turn to any bland, confirm-the-popular-taste, ruffle-no-feathers, milk-toast of a critic. In most cases I find his opinions to be accurate; in other cases I see his point, but beg to differ. But he is always witty, erudite, and honest. You can't buy a book that will infallibly tell you which recordings you are going to like the best; any author who claims that is dishonest or delusional. But if you want an illuminating, thought-provoking guide to recordings that you should, at least, consider for your collection, this is the place to turn!

His view is always fresh.

I don't agree with everything Jim Svejda says, but I prefer a man with opinions to a guy out to please everybody. His views on Karajan, Harnoncort and the Goreki 3rd are right on target, and I've never purchased any of his recommendations with regret. I've owned every edition of this marvelous book, and he has certainly grown with the times: his acceptance of the early music movement and awakening to the Paganini violin concertos attest to that. Will he one day see the light of the Teleman Parisian Quartets or perhaps realize that Vivaldi did occasionally write a piece worth hearing? We shall see. Yet I refer to this book again and again, for second and (more often) first opinions. It's by my bedside, always fresh and entertaining.

The funniest book on music I've ever read

Jim Svejda is a comic genius; that he also knows more about classical music than most of the world put together is just a bonus. Where else can you read about the harpsichord sounding like "two skeletons copulating on a tin roof?" That he is not particularly fond of baroque music (outside of Handel) is the only major flaw in his reviewing; I too was somewhat disappointed in his slighting of Bach's cantatas, and his handling of Bach in general. Fortunately, the latest edition redresses that fact somewhat. But I happen to agree with Svjeda that Harnoncourt and Leonhardt have largely butchered the cantatas, as well as practically every other piece of music they've ever recorded. Svjeda does have his musical obsessions: besides Handel and Mozart, he is truly obsessed with Fritz Reiner and other composers who take a Romantic slant on whatever they're recording. But having bought nearly a hundred recordings based on Svejda's recommendations alone, I can honestly say that I've never been disappointed, and I've often been delighted. The book is worth every penny; I've read the last three editions from cover to cover, and I use it to keep track of my recordings. Since I have over a thousand cds, it's become increasingly hard to keep from buying a duplicate copy of something I don't listen to regularly. Long live Jim Svejda!