Re: GG: Catching up

[Alun Severn <alun@ukiah.demon.co.uk>]

Arin (welcome back) said:

>Rumour has it the Penguin
>Guide is enamoured of Naxos; I wouldn't know.

The Penguin Guide is -- how might one describe it -- cautiously
enthusiastic about Naxos records (Naxii??) and does often recommend them
irrespective of their super-budget price. I buy a lot of them too,
especially if something attracts my attention and I don't want to spend
L15.00 on a version. What I do like about Naxos is that they do things that
no one else bothers with. Masses of Haydn string quartets, for example, and
they're superb. I've got heaps of them. Occasionally I have bought Haydn
string quartets on other labels -- mainly for a change in cover design --
but can honestly say that I have stuck with the Naxos for preference.
Mozart string quartets too, though the Guide isn't too keen on those. Early
choral music -- superb collections of Gibbons, for example. A beautiful one
disc selection of Scarlatti which I've played a lot recently.

I commend them to anyone on the LList who has ever looked at their cheap
(OK, let's be honest: often boring) packaging and thought, No -- they can't
be any good. Pick up a catalogue and check how many have been awarded
Editor's Choice awards or rosettes in the Penguin Guide. You'll be amazed.

(I don't, however, recommend the Bach piano performances on Naxos.
Unfortunately.)

The reason they're cheap, of course, is that they don't pay stars' wages,
they use indigenous engineers and artists, they don't spend a fortune on PR
or futile 'glamourising' of classical music. In fact, the more I think
about it, the more I think that Naxos is a wholly laudable venture and
should be supported.

Regards,  Alun

_________________________________________________________________________
The  P H O E N I X  P A R T N E R S H I P
public and voluntary sector research, development and project management
_________________________________________________________________________
Alun Severn & Terry Potter                                    ALUN SEVERN
                                        1 Chestnut Road  Oldbury  B68 0AX
                                                   Tel/Fax: 0121 421 5852
                                            email: alun@ukiah.demon.co.uk
_________________________________________________________________________
An age is always a farrago of different ages.  Whole parts of it are
unleavened and undercooked; it contains the husks of old forces, and
the seeds of new ones.                              - Alfred Doblin, 1924
_________________________________________________________________________