University of Virginia Library

The Rediscovery

That I was able to put together nearly two full pages of
record reviews is not the result of my own natural verbosity.
Rather it is the product of a recent rebirth of interest in
classical music and in classical recordings among the general
listening public and among the various record manufacturers.
This rejuvenation of interest can, I think, be traced to creative
marketing techniques and to a rediscovery of classical music
among the youth in this country.

It is very easy for serious discophiles like myself to be
intensely critical of Walter Carlos for creating "Switched-On
Bach" and of Peter Munves for developing the "Greatest Hits"
series, but it is important, I feel to remember that, were it not
for such "popular" classical records, the record manufacturers
would not have the revenues to finance all kinds of unusual
recordings which please a minuscule portion of the buying
public but which also result in large losses for the record
companies. The profits resulting from "Beethoven's Greatest
Hits" offset the losses sustained by, say, Igor Kitonis's
recording of English Harpsichord Music.

Creative marketing and renewed listener interest are only
two pieces of the puzzle. The listener has an obligation to be a
gad-fly to his local record dealer. If one doesn't see the record
he wants, he should ask for it and, if out of stock, make the
dealer order it. A dealer will only stock what he thinks his
customers will buy.