Happy Record Store Day!

A Superconductor Guide to Getting Your Groove On in New York City.

by Paul Pelkonen

Today is Record Store Day, when the music industry and (more importantly)  music vendors focus their energies on the few venues left where you can still purchase music in its physical form, be it on vinyl or compact disc. 

With the closings of most of the big chain stores (not to mention a lot of the little specialty shops) there aren't too many places left. Here's my list of places to buy recorded classical music in New York City. Yes, Barnes and Nobles still sells music too (at two locations in Manhattan) but these places are a lot more fun.

Academy Records

12 W. 18th St.

This storefront on W. 18th St. is Mecca for music-lovers in New York City. Academy has an extensive inventory of classical CDs, LPs, and even a small section of cassettes. Inventory subdivided into baroque, opera, boxed sets and modern music, and they also sell rock, jazz, and DVDs.

Music Nirvana: the shoppers and shelves at Academy Records.

Academy is also a good place to sell your CDs, DVDs and vinyl, but vinyl purchases are arranged by appointment. Owners of large collections should call the shop to set up an appointment with their buyer. Your music must be in excellent-to-mint condition for it to be sold. 

Vinyl junkies should also check out Academy Annex in Williamsburg, which carries an astonish stock of 25,000 LPs. Academy Annex is located at 96 N. 6th St.

Westsider Records

Formerly Gryphon Records, this small, cheerful shop at 233 W. 72nd used to exist in the shadow of a massive branch of HMV. Now, it's one of the few record stores remaining in the neighborhood. Westsider has a modest inventory of CDs in the front, with some unusual, out-of-print opera boxed sets popping up from time to time. They have an enormous stock of vinyl towards the back, and a respectable selection of books about music. Their buying is done at the parentshop, Westsider Books, located at 2246 Broadway.

J & R Music World

This enormous emporium plunked down into the middle of Park Row in 1971, right by City Hall. Following the deaths of Borders, Virgin MegaStore, Tower Records, HMV, and Sam Goody/Musicland, (not to mention Circuit City, the Record Factory, Nobody Beats the WIZ, Record Hunter and Record Explosion!) At 23 Park Row, J&R is the last surviving major CD store in New York. Their classical and opera department (located upstairs and to the back at ) has knowledgeable employees and a wide selection of imports. Of course, the block-long chain of J&R shops also sells computers, iPods, blenders, and even electric guitars.

The Juilliard Store

Not enough people know about the Juilliard Store, which has gone from being tucked away above Alice Tully Hall to being hidden in the nether regions of the conservatory building. In fact, it's  around the corner from Alice Tully Hall across from the Gourmet Garage.. Although their first business is sheet music, the Store carries in the neighborhood of 5-10,000 CDs, making them the only surviving store around Lincoln Center to buy recorded orchestral and chamber music. Apparently, the closings of Tower Records and Barnes and Nobles' Lincoln Center branch has been good for business.

The Metropolitan Opera Shop

Recently renovated, this snazzy shop in the lobby of the Metropolitan Opera House (it's past the ticket windows) has a pricey selection of Met merch (including jewelry, opera glasses,  the infamous wooden magnetic Ring desk toy and a flashy plastic LED light-up Ring of the Nibelung.) 

Behind all the ricketa-racketa is a good (if pricey) CD and DVD shop. They ONLY have operas, on CD and video with a selection of out-of-print titles pressed by ArchivMusik. A concierge service (launched last year) will order out-of-stock titles for patrons, in connection with Amazon.com. Open during the week, the shop closes during that evening's opera performance--usually after the first intermission. A discount of 10-20% is offered for members of the Metropolitan Opera Guild.

And one more...

Housing Works Thrift Shops

In addition to selling furniture, clothing and house-hold goods, this chain of charitable institutions located around New York has quietly become a good place to buy vinyl and CDs. Selection varies widely, but the occasional classical gems can be found. They have a "no returns" policy, so caveat emptor. But for prices as low as $1 per CD, what do you really have to lose?

Superconductor 2011 Gift Guide Part II: Orchestral Boxed Sets

One of these boxes has music in it.

With the major labels constantly merging and trying to re-sell old recordings, there are excellent opportunities for the collector. The recordings here are all orchestral music, with great conductors tackling familiar works. Buy one of these for someone you know, and they'll be happy you did.

Nielsen: The Masterworks Vol. 1: Symphonies 1-6, Orchestral works (Da Capo, 4 CDs, 2 DVDs)
Danish National Orchestra cond. Michael Schønwandt. 
Those of us who stayed in New York this summer can tell you that Mr. Schønwandt's performance of Nielsen was a concert highlight of those hot months. The Danish conductor brings his razor-sharp ensemble to a complete cycle of the six symphonies. Recommended here: the bold Inextinguishable Symphony (No. 4) and the brisk Four Temperaments (No. 2). The set also includes overtures and rarely heard excerpts from Nielsen's stage works, not often played outside of Denmark.

Bruckner Symphonies No. 3-9, Sacred Works (EMI, 12 CDs)

Munich Philharmonic cond. Sergiu Celibidache

The Romanian conductor Sergiu Celibidache worked at the height of the recording boom. Yet, the maverick maestro famously refused to join the frenzy of record-making, preferring to let his live performances speak for themselves. When he died, his family did not hesitate to make his performances available on CD. These EMI reissues are at a budget price, featuring his mystic approach to Bruckner with the Munich Philharmonic.

Stravinsky: The Complete Ballets and Symphonies (Decca, 7CDs)

Orchestre symphonique de Montreal cond. Charles Dutoit

Cleveland Orchestra cond. Vladimir Ashkenazy

Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra cond. Riccardo Chailly

This is pretty good Stravinsky. Not absolute top-rank: that's Pierre Boulez' DG recordings or the composer's own readings on Sony. There are some great performances here though: Charles Dutoit's Montreal account of The Firebird and Vladimir Ashkenazy's Cleveland Rite of Spring. The set also includes more modern ballet scores like Agon and the composer's neo-classical symphonies and works for piano and orchestra.

Charles Munch: Late Romantic Masterpieces  (RCA 7 CDs)

Boston Symphony Orchestra cond. Charles Munch 
Charles Munch's Boston recordings have enjoyed something of a renaissance this year, with two boxed sets celebrating his musical legacy. Here is your chance to hear his approach to Wagner, with soprano Eileen Farrell joining the orchestra for scenes from the operas. In addition to solid symphony performances (the Tchaikovsky 4, 6, and Dvořák 8) this set also includes classic concertos.  Violinist Henryk Szerying plays the Tchaikovsky, and cellist Gregor Piatagorsky tackles the Dvořák concerto.

The Mahler Symphonies (RCA, 16 CDs, 1 DVD)
Tonhalle Orchester Zurich cond. David Zinman
I'm just going to quote my own review here:
"The Swiss forces are not as showy a "name" as the Vienna or Berlin Philharmonics or the American "big five." But on these recordings, they play Mahler with freshness, enthusiasm and love for this composer's particular genius. They are led by Mr. Zinman, who chooses brisk, but not rushed tempos, with some exceptions."

"It also includes a fascinating documentary, Going Against Fate, that chronicles the sessions for the Sixth Symphony. The film delves into the complexities of playing in a modern state-sponsored orchestra, from the tuba player's need for brass oil to a bassoonist demonstrating the proper way to wrap and blow a double reed."

Check out the rest of the 2011 Superconductor Gift Guide:

Part I: Gigantic Boxed Sets

Part III: Beethoven for Christmas
Part IV: Opera Recordings
Part V: Piano Mania

Superconductor 2011 Gift Guide Part I: Giant Boxed Sets

The Doorstop Division: 20 discs and up.

These boxed sets might not fit under your tree--or down your chimney.
Image by Matt Groening © Gracie Films/20th Century Fox.

In the last decade, as Americans have gotten more obese (see photo) classical music has too. Companies have put out huge, bloated "complete collections":

• All the operas of Richard Wagner including the Ring. (34 discs, on average.)
• All the piano music of Franz Liszt (99 discs) 
• Complete editions of Bach, Beethoven, Brahms and Mozart (157, 60, 85 and 170 discs, respectively.) 
• The Great Pianists of the 20th Century (Now out of print, but it was 200 discs and came in two suitcases.)

You get the idea. It might have had something to do with the millennium, as record labels scrambled to push their music out into the world (again) before the Y2K clock fried their databases. Or it might have been the simple greed that has nearly driven those labels out of business. Only Norman Lebrecht knows for sure.

Despite the bloat (and subsequent devaluing of music to something that you buy the same way you buy cheese)these make  great gifts for the hard-core music lover in your life. They can also make a handy doorstop after spending the holidays ripping the CDs into your hard drive. Which is why Amazon.com is now making it possible to download entire boxed sets with a minimum of effort.

Anyway, here's five picks. They're big, but they're really good. I promise.

Bach: Complete Cantatas cond. Helmuth Rilling (Hänssler Classics, 71 CDs) 

There are several comprehensive sets of Bach cantatas on the market, from Nikolaus Harnoncourt and John Eliot Gardiner. This entry from Helmuth Rilling, the founder of the International Bach Academy in Stuttgart may not be on a flashy major label, but it is more than competitive.

Vivaldi Masterworks Various Artists (Decca, 28 CDs)

When the Philips label was unceremoniously folded into Decca under the banner of Universal Music Group, the catalogue lost the great Vivaldi recordings made by the ensemble I Musici under the direction of Vittorio Negri.

They're all present and accounted for here, along with great performances from period performance  specialists Philip Pickett and Christopher Hogwood. All the Vivaldi you could possibly want, except for the operas. Those will probably be along on another boxed set, as soon as somebody gets around to recording them.

Wilhelm Furtwängler: The Legacy (Membran, 107 CDs) 

Wilhelm Furtwängler was one of the most important conductors of the 20th century, with a unique, flexible approach to Romantic music. This gigantic set preserves his memory with accounts of Wagner, Brahms, Beethoven, Bruckner, and possibly the kitchen sink. Lovingly packaged with small mini-boxes inside the big case for easier management, the whole set is the size of a small Dachsund. This is the gift for the lover of German music.

Tchaikovsky Edition (Brilliant Classics, 60 CDs)

This shelf-bending set of Tchaikovsky is from Brilliant, the same label that brought you the back-breaking editions of Bach, Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven mentioned at the top of the column. It includes the piano concertos, ballet scores, and even the rarely performed early operas. Another weighty entry in a comprehensive series of composer surveys from Brilliant Classics. Includes the major operas alongside lesser-known works like Oprichnik and Mazeppa. 

The Liszt Collection (Deutsche Grammophon, 34 CDs)

If you read this blog regularly, you might remember an article that I wrote comparing (in some detail) the huge boxed sets that were coming out this year to celebrate the 200th birthday of composer, pianist and cigar fancier Franz Liszt. For more detail about the Complete Liszt Piano Music (performed by pianist Leslie Howard) and the other competing sets, please consult this article.

From the out of print Giuseppe Sinopoli recordings of the Dante and Faust Symphonies to the piano music and songs sung by Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, this is a sweeping collection that celebrates Liszt the composer, and not just of piano music. That is certainly the core here, but orchestral works get equal time, and there's even some rarely heard choral music.

But wait, there's more!
Check out the rest of the 2011 Superconductor Gift Guide: 

Part II: Slightly Smaller Boxed Sets

Part III: Beethoven for Christmas
Part IV: Opera Recordings

Part V: Piano Mania

Outside the Box: The 2011 Superconductor Gift Guide

A guide to shopping for the music nut in your life--even if it's you.

You could do worse.

Well, here it is folks, your guide to the very best of classical music and opera. The focus is on releases and reissues within the last year, with some stone classics thrown to make things a little more interesting.

But first, a few words from your editor. That's me.

The arts are struggling in this country. Corporate underwriting has faded with the fluctuations in the market and collapse of big financial institutions. Musicians need to be paid, trips have to be booked, and concert halls have to be heated. Many orchestras are facing program cuts, labor troubles and other signs that have cast a pallor over their seasons. 

If you're an American concert-goer who loves classical music and reads Superconductor, consider donating to your local orchestra or opera company. You get a neat membership card, and in some cases a magazine, newsletter or discounts at local restaurants.

So donate! And then get yourself something nice. After all, it's the holiday season. 

OK. That's the sermon. Now on with the music. The guide this year is in four parts. Well, five if you count this splash page. All products are sold through Amazon.com in my online store.

Part I: Gigantic Boxed Sets

Everything on this page is 30 discs and up. Sounds like a lot of music? It is but these are for bargain-hunters, catalogue completists, or the serious collector who just can't get enough. 

Part II: Slightly Smaller Boxed Sets

A personal favorite: these are cool stocking stuffers. All the discs are in envelopes to minimize shelf space and clutter. Of course if you have a lot of them....

Part III: Beethoven for Christmas
All you want for Christmas is an irascible deaf guy who can't hear very well. That's either your Uncle Al or Beethoven. Beethoven wrote better music.


Part IV: Opera Recordings

The best full-length opera recordings to come out in the past year, on CD and DVD. The weird part is, most of them are from the Metropolitan Opera.

Part V: Piano Mania

For the piano student or the aficionado, classic recordings and new releases. This is going to be a long Liszt, especially since this is the year that all the labels are celebrating the Hungarian pianist's 200th birthday.