I wrote: >>>Indeed the sort of random buying Albie mentions is certainly what most >>>beginners do, Albie responded: >>You don't think that complete newcomers to the classical department of the >>record store don't go "*Schoen-who*?... Oh... ok... here's one... >>*Beethoven*... now at least I've *heard* of him..." And then Walter Meyer joined the conversation: >I should think most people buy their first recordings based upon something >they heard, seeking either a recording of what they heard or a recording of >something like it. The point I was trying to make--somehow I got the impression that this was what Albie was talking about when he first denigrated random buying--was that beginners typically don't worry about (and, I would argue, don't *need* to worry about) different versions of whatever work they are seeking. They don't need to worry because virtually every rendition that makes it onto CD is good enough that it can serve as an introduction to the work in question and light the fire of a passion for classical music. Newbies may be seeking the work for just the sort of reasons Walter Meyer suggests above, or because they saw the composer's name in a book, or because someone recommended the composer or work, or simply because at an unspecifiable point in their lives, from some unidentifiable source, the composer's name entered their consciousness. Albie doubts the existence of this last sort of buying and parodies it ("now at least I've *heard* of him") above. I'm here to tell him that it happens and it works. When I decided that I wanted to begin exploring classical music--I had no background in it at all--I would walk into CD stores and libraries (they're not mutually exclusive), look through what they had and, when I hit on a name I'd heard (and these tended to be names in what some have been calling the cannon), I'd pick it up and check it out. I do not ever remember saying to myself, in my early years of listening anything like: I'd like to hear Beethoven's Fifth, but since they don't have (for example) Furtwangler's 195* version I will have to forego the experience. Indeed joining this list was something of an eye-opener to me: it had never occured to me how very important sometimes very small differences in performances can be for some listeners. And yes, the radio is a great place to hear a variety of works without committing oneself financially, or even leaving one's home. And for those of us fortunate enough to have broadband and the free software RealPlayer this is true no matter where we reside. I live on the outskirts of Tokyo and my classical music station of choice is out of the University of Oregon: <http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~kwax/launchra.ram?mode=compact>. It's much better tnan the BBC (also available to anyone with broadband and RealPlayer). Best, David Cozy [log in to unmask]