Aman Ahuja wrote:

>* I have a collection of about 50 CDs now, and plan on using some carefully
>saved money over Christmas to buy some much wanted CDs.  I have hardly any
>Bach (having only recently looked into Boroque), and plan to buy the
>following (your opinions?):
>
>"Concertos for Oboe and Triple Concerto", Virgin
>The Violin Concertos, played by Izaak Perlman, EMI
>"The 6 Brandenburg Concertos and four Orchestral Suites", a 3 CD set from
>     Archive.  It apparently got very good reviews.

If you're just starting, get the Brandenburg Concertos and Orchestral
Suites.  You'll get a greater variety of music, all of uniform excellence.
Unlike a collection of violin concertos, for example, each of the
Brandenburgs is different from the others, some of them prominently
featuring solo instruments, like the trumpet in No. 2, the flutes and
violin in No. 4, and the sublime flute, violin, and keyboard combination in
No. 5.  others, like Nos. 1, 3, and 6, not.  The four orchestral suites,
especially No. 2, which features a solo flute are a fitting complement to
the Brandenburgs.

>* Should I be wary of buying CDs online?  They sometimes do not specify
>the musicians/orchestras.

That can be frustrating.  They will show you the label, however, if only
from the illustration of the album cover, from which you might be able to
determine the artists' identities from other reference sources.

>* Finally, has anyone heard of a composer by the name of Friebert?  I have
>a Christmas Symphony by a Friebert on MP3, but from my various attempts to
>find information on the composer, he doesn't exist.  Bad research, or
>another product of morons putting classical music on the web?

 From my one-volume Norton-Grove Concise Encyclopedia of Music:

   Friebert [Frieberth], (Johann) Joseph (b Gnadendorf, bap. 5 Dec 1724;
   d Passau, 6 Aug 1799).  Austrian tenor and composer.  After singing
   in Vienna, he was Kapellmeister at the Passau court from 1763,
   composing mostly stage works.  His brother Karl Frieberth (1726-1816),
   also a tenor, served Prince Esterhazy (under Haydn) until 1776, then
   became a Kapellmeister in Vienna; he wrote lieder and other vocal
   music.

>It is hard being a classical music fan at the age of 18, attending a
>technical university; not that I object to other types of music, but CM is
>hardly popular.

When I attended university, admittedly many years ago, most of the students
spending time in the student union's "Music and Arts" room, listening to
classical recordings, were engineering students and students majoring in
mathematics or one of the sciences.

Walter Meyer