Hello.  I'm new to this list so I don't know what has been discussed in
the past.  Has Norman Lebrecht's work been discussed at all? I wrote a
long review of his latest book which was published in an obscure British
magazine.  I can post it if anyone is interested, though it has heavy
left-wing political commentary.  I have lots of questions mostly related to
which records to buy.  Are the pre-WWII Toscanini recordings (I'm thinking
of Beethoven) preferable to his RCA/NBC cycle he did in the 50's? How is
the sound quality on the Naxos Historical Toscanini series? What is the
best cycle of Beethoven and Mozart violin sonatas to pick up? I'm strongly
favored to the Haskil/Grumiaux set but am biased in favor of historical
recordings.I have the Naxos series of B's violin sonatas as well as the
Askenazy/Perlman and quite enjoy them.  Naxos has been a pleasant surprise,
most of the recordings I've heard are good quality...Lebrecht gives a
good account of its genesis...  Also what do list members think of
Koussevitsky's BSO recording of the Beethoven 3 Tch.  5? I picked up mint
LP's for $2 each the other day and think they are the best I've heard
though I've never heard Furtwangler's Tch.  Has the work of Maynard Solomon
been discussed? I don't want to bore list members with topics that have
been discussed in the past.  Is the list mostly dedicated to discussing the
music itself or is socio-political-historical context discussed too? Pardon
the name dropping but, presumably, everyone knows what I am talking about.
Thanks,

Sam Pawlett