I find Peggy's 'starter' list of 20th century works interesting as it
made me think of how I got started.  My initial loves were Berg, Webern,
Shostakovich, Vaughan Williams, Diamond, Schoenberg, etc.  That seems like
ancient times, because I eventually landed on Bach; I just kept going
backwards in time.  These days, all music for me flows through Bach, and I
don't regret it at all.  Actually, I'm enjoying music more now than ever.

I believe it takes a long time to find one's musical niche, assuming a
decided lack of eclecticism which I totally lack.  Some list members have
expressed surprise and a little criticism at the notion of starting up with
the more recent composers.  I don't see anything skewed about it at all.

My advice to Peggy is to go with the music that she feels the greatest
affinty to and realize that the preferences will likely change many
times in the future.  As for particular recordings, I'd use reviews as a
foundation to be aware of the various recordings of specific works, not as
a barometer of the recordings which *should* be liked the most.  A review
is only one person's opinion.

And I have to put in a plug for Mr. Bach.  Since Peggy feels an affinity
for relatively modern works possessing some complexity, I'd recommend she
sample Bach's Art of Fugue from Savall on Astree, Gilbert on Archiv,
Nikolayeva on Hyperion, Alessandrini on Opus 111, or Moroney on Harmonia
Mundi.  This is some of Bach's most challenging and rewarding music.

I don't particularly recommend music from the radio since we often
only get bits and pieces of total work; also the programming tends to be
adulterated.  Also, the radio can only sound so good, much less rewarding
than a fine audio system.  So, it's read the reviews, stay flexible and
attuned to changing preferences, and expect to spend a lot of money.  I've
bought over 10,000 cd's which is only scratching the surface of total
classical cd's.  Go the 'used' route as often as possible.

Don Satz
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