Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

The NPR Guide to Building a Classical CD Collection is a good start but, it has its limitations. Ted Libbey gave himself a daunting task in putting this guide together. He did an excellent job on the two chapters on orchestral works and concertos, which comprise about half the book. These chapters alone make this book worth the money. His commentary is concise without losing important detail. The reasons that he selected the recommended recordings are clearly laid out. He gives the audiophile a genuine opportunity to understand what is good in a specific recording and what is missing. In many cases he provides more than one choice and explains the differences between the recordings. Based on his commentary, I am obsessively trying to find the Elan recording of Santiago Rodriguez playing Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 3. As the guide progresses, however, the author seems to lose interest. His chapter on chamber music is adequate. Then, he zips through solo keyboard works and sacred music. By the time he gets to the last chapter on Opera he has given up. It is ridiculously short. The entire subject is covered in 60 pages! It is not well edited. At one point he states that Leontyne Price is the “great Aida of our time”; then he does not mention her recording of this Verdi masterpiece. His recommendation of Mirella Freni’s Aida is a surprise. It is in this chapter that the author has decided not to give any reasons for his recommendations. And so, we are left puzzled. What is wrong with Leontyne Price’s Aida? All of Marilyn Horne’s opera recordings are overlooked. He correctly lists the brilliant Victoria de los Angeles and Jussi Bjorling recording of La Boheme, but fails to note that this is a mono recording. Perhaps Ted Libbey should have co authored this book with someone interested in vocal music, or represented this as the essential guide to orchestral works and concertos. It is certainly worth having. But the true classical CD collector will need other guides for help in finding those special vocal and solo instrument recordings. I recommend this with some reservation.