Jon Lewis' list:

>1. Szymanowski-- esp. solo piano and vocal-with-orchestra. I Like the
>Rumi connection.

I'm sure you'll enjoy this.  I have his complete works for violin and piano
Koskinen/Lagerspetz on Ondine, very nice

>4. Ars Subtilior-- not a single composer, I know (a school? genre? time
>period?) I don't really understand what the deal is but the Realaudio
>clips from the Philip Pickett disc sound really great!

I suspect that Pickett sprinkles fairy dust on his recordings so that they
don't resemble anyone else's recordings of a particular work.  Take his
Montiverdi Vespers as an example.

>5. Mozart's piano concertos-- I only know the "hits" and then only when
>the radio wanted to play them to me. I'm fairly convinced these will be
>the Mozart I'll most connect with-- the most formally inventive I
>gather.

Amongst the little Mozart I connect with.  Have you got any Haydn in your
collection?

>6. Tippett-- I've had one listen to Symphonies 2 and 4 (BBC cover disc),
>and my curiosity is piqued.

Nearly all the Tippet I've heard has been dire and unapproachable, I'm
afraid.  The one exception is the Corelli Fantasia Concertante.  Good
luck with you Tippet exploration.  I think you might need it!

>7. Leifs-- like Birtwistle, sounds great on paper. Plus, I fetishise my
>3/4 Scandinavian heritage. Probably start with Saga Symphony.

Sounds interesting.  Hang on, this isn't the guy who composed a load of
short pieces with bits in them that sound like immitation bird sounds is
it? (These bits sound like they're played with one of those children's
flute things with a plunger in the end.) If so, this may be dire too!

>8. Beethoven's late String Quartets-- I've neglected these in favor of
>all his other output. Maybe because of their lofty reputation. Time to
>get over it.

There are now loads of super budget boxed sets appearing on top name
labels.  Look out for them.  The Medici on Nimbus is a good buy.

>9. Christus-- big ol' gaping hole in my Liszt picture. I'm quite afraid
>of works that don't fit onto two CDs. For this one I may have to "cheat"
>and do one movement at a time over a few weeks.

Good idea I'll add that to my list too.

So my list:

1.  Much more Bach particularly vocal works and keyboard pieces.

2.  Mozart 'Haydn' Quartets + all the bits that people have told me I must
listen to to give him fair consideration.

3.  Anything by Haydn that I haven't got already = mainly songs, religous
and Baryton.

I don't really plan my buying.  I buy what's cheap that I haven't got as a
rule.

Bob Draper
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