Bob K. writes:

>I'm wondering, from experience, if people who might be interested in
>"getting into" CM aren't daunted by the selection with which they're
>faced making an initial purchase . . . How would one start?

A good friend of mine asked me this question a couple of years ago, when I
was on a buying tear.  I told him the same thing a guy -- another customer
at a record store, something of an evangelist -- told me: "You can never
go wrong with the bargain discs." I would qualify the statement: *almost*
never.

For a while, all I ever bought were the Sony Essential Classics discs.
Now, I test out certain works through Naxos.  Composers I would otherwise
"fear" at $16.99 and up -- Hindemith and Shostakovich, for example -- don't
scare me so much at $4.99.

So, to any new listener asking where to begin, I'd say: Cheap is easy, and
often better that you think.  Head straight for the bargain bin and be not
afraid.  If you like what you hear, explore other recordings later.  Also,
read.  I've learned a tremendous amount from this list over the last couple
of years.

I would tell this to other, more seasoned listeners, too.  A friend of mine
who is a CM fan recently said he's run out of interesting things to listen
to.  How could that be? I mentioned three composers: Carl Nielsen, Karol
Szymanowski, and Nikolai Medtner.  He'd heard of Nielsen, but not the other
two.  So I recommended some Naxos recordings.  Not all "definitive," but so
what? At least he'll get an idea, and it's a fairly small investment.  I
expect a report from him soon.

Regards,
Bob Chen
Los Angeles, CA