Introduction to classical music # 3: Versions, Opus 2.

The last time, I told you that the great number of versions in classical music raises the following question: how does one knows which is the best version for a classical music composition? Well, I will present here several ways of doing it, but there is a method which is, in my opinion, the best way to go.

First, there are many versions which are considered by critics and specialists as ultimate versions. These are these versions that you will find in lists like the ideal classical discotheque. Of course, these recordings are reliable, but I would like here to add some comments.

For starters, I don’t really like these famous lists of the best recordings of all times; the problem with lists, is that you should always carry them with yourself, and, when one wants to consult them, it is always at that precise moment when one forgot the list at home...

Secondly, it often happens that these ultimate and historical versions were recorded several decades ago, which means that the technical quality of the recording can be disturbing to some.

We can see here a historical recording where Rachmaninov plays his own works, recorded between 1919 and 1929. Stay away from this if you don’t like the scratching sound of old recordings.

Furthermore, I don’t know for you, but I’ve always had problems trusting critics and specialists; their criterias of evaluation are often obscure, and have nothing to do with the simple pleasure of listening to music...

A second way of determining the quality of a version, is to refer to guides, like the Penguin Guide, which is one of the most popular. The advantage of such guides it is that they compare several versions of a same composition, which gives the consumer, I believe, more choice and latitude. Moreover, the majority of record stores have at hand this kind of guide, if you really can’t decide (you can always trust a salesman, but I will talk about this later on).

Pay attention, however, to the country of origin of those guides: for example, a guide made in France will talk about recordings that could be rather difficult to find on the American market.

So, these few methods in order to find the ultimate version of a classical music composition are very popular; of course, we assume here that you already know the music you’re looking for. That brings me directly to what is, I believe, the best way to find the ultimate version for any classical composition…

I’ll talk about it in my next post. Until then, keep your ears opened!