D. Stephen Heersink wrote:

>With all due respect Deryk Barker, an excellent reviewer of classical music
>along with many others on this list, I've tired of Fanfare and American
>Record Guide and have taken a liking to the Penguin Guide.   ...

I agree with all of this and the rest of this message.  Penguin is
extremely useful.  I've heard it knocked for all sorts of reasons, many of
them unfair.  It's difficult to put something like this together and keep
it going, and they've done it.  And they are certainly useful if you're
looking for dead-bang comparisions.

But I'd never eschew ARG (for which I write) and Fanfare.  Nor would I
compare them with Penguin.  We're talking about two entirely different
types of publications.  One makes short recommendations from a consistent
viewppoint and supplies comparisions.  ARG and Fanfare write longer
analyses of recordings.  They support various historical points and take
longer looks at the composers, works and performances.  They often supply
different viewpoints of the same work.  Often you must make decisions based
not on one review, but several.  Some people like this kind of in-depth
treatment (meaty, a friend once called it), some don't.  I like both.
The important thing is that both exist.

Roger Hecht