The Penguin Guide to Compact Discs

by Robert Layton, Edward Greenfield, Ivan March

Book Overview

This latest edition of the best-selling guide to classical CDs is now being published in a new, larger format, and contains more entries than ever before. Ranging from long-established recordings to... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 014051497X
• Release Date: January 2002
• Publisher: Penguin Books
• Length: 1728 Pages
• Weight: 3.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.1" x 2.4" x 6.9"

Customer Reviews

The Rolls Royce of Classical CD Guides

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!

A must for the serious collector

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.

Indispensable guide for classical music collectors.

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.

Head and shoulders above the rest

The magnum opus of review guides. The astonishing thing is that the authors score about 85% on spotting little recording nuances - even down to the subjective things like emotional impact. It is very rare indeed that you will buy a *** CD and be disappointed (it has happened to me maybe once or twice). Surprisingly, this guide actually makes good light reading. Of course, with the thousands of reviews, one tends to encounter repetitive adjectives and phrases... but the English language is limited after all! For the cost of only one CD, this book will become your lifeline to the music store and save you the grief of a CD collection weighed down by poor recordings.

Spare your time and money !

It is a great book, nice to use just as a reference or to read in detail. It will save You a lot of trips to CD shops and wondering about... Just choose the classic work You want to buy and go out with a list of the best (or the cheapest) available.