We bought a copy of the Penguin guide about a year ago, and my parents
in law also have a couple of older editions which I browsed in over
Christmas.  As I think has been mentioned, the guide has some bias towards
certain kinds of recorded sound and away from HIP performances, which a
knowledgeable reader can allow for when consulting it.  But the guide also
makes judgements about the worth of composers and works, and here the bias
of one or more of the authors can show up in sneering comments about music
they dislike, or simple lack of coverage.  In the earlier volumes I saw,
Delius had more space than Schoenberg, Berg and Webern put together, though
in our recent copy the balance has been redressed.  What saddens me about
this is that the Penguin Guide is an influential work that sits in all good
CD shops for consultation, and music lovers interested in exploring areas
of the repertoire little known to them might be tempted to take the views
of its authors as gospel.  (Of course here in Britain there is a wide range
of music broadcast on Radio 3, which should allow people the chance to form
their own opinions about it before investing in recordings, but the
authority of the printed word can weigh heavily).

Virginia Knight