April Classical CD Purchases
On Monday I discussed my (once again) renewed interest in classical music, and the six CDs I purchased shortly before departing Kuwait. I have been enjoying these discs immensely over the past several weeks, finally putting the built-in CD holder in my car's armrest to good use. Sitting in a few minutes of Atlanta traffic is made substantially more serene when accompanied by Yo-Yo Ma playing Bach's Cello Suites.
In keeping with my desire for a gradual reimmersion into the classical music realm, my plan is was to place one order for new CDs every couple weeks or so, with a budget of $25. This is sufficient for roughly 2-3 titles, with the occasional splurge for a boxed set. I placed the first such order ten days ago:
There is a sizable contingent that thinks Glenn Gould owns the Goldberg Variations. After all, his 1955 recording, which Gould himself came to dislike, launched his much lauded career. Whatever his merits as a pianist, Gould drives me to distraction as a recording musician. The man audibly hummed while he played, sound engineers were unable to find a way to isolate this from their microphones, and so the humming is prominently displayed on all of Gould's albums. In any event, Murray Perahia's interpretation, which introduced me to the work, is a gorgeously-recorded revelation that easily rivals Gould, humming or not.
My affection for Grumiaux's recording of Bach's Sonatas and Partitas quickly led me to his performance of the composer's concertos. The Belgian virtuoso was Philips' go-to violinist for many years, and we continue to reap the rewards of that recording relationship. I have also admired Nathan Milstein's reading of Bach's Sonatas and Partitas, so when I saw his version of the Brahms and Tchaikovsky violin concertos available for under $4, it seemed a worthwhile bet.
You may have noticed the strikethrough above regarding what the plan "is." Borders threw a wrench in the "gradual" aspect of my reimmersion last week with a 40%-off sale on selected CDs. I had actually stopped by just to return a book, but then wandered over to the classical music area to browse for a moment. Lo and behold, many of the discs had a little orange sticker which signified a 40% discount. What with Amazon's prices fluctuating on a daily basis, and some discs (especially mid-price) having no online discount at all, it seemed worthwhile to at least take a look. That look turned into three trips to two different Borders, and quite a bevy of titles for my nascent collection:
Not so gradual a beginning as I had planned, but it is hard to feel bad considering I snagged these fifteen albums for about $100. The bad news is that this sale may be a harbinger of Borders' demise; at least I can say I did my part to boost the company's cash flow.
