National Orchestral Discography Pages
Prepared by Michael Herman

The series of Discographies that I have compiled has been meant to partially fill a gap in the documentation of recorded music. As a collector of LPs and CDs for over 45 years with a specialty in orchestral music, it was apparent that it was nearly impossible to easily track down information about classical recordings unless they were currently available. This is not a new development, as the same problem existed in the days of LPs even though record catalogues were issued on a monthly or quarterly basis.

In the 1950’s, a comprehensive 3 volume guide to recordings was published that attempted to cover all recordings issued up to that very time. This was The World's Encyclopedia of Recorded Music by Francis F. Clough, and C.J. Cuming. However, a work of this type would be an impossibility today as too many recordings have been and are still being issued so something comparable would require a multi-volume set that would dwarf both the O.E.D. and New Grove many times over. So now it is up to the specialist to stake out a particular area and attempt to present reference works that will help enlighten that musical area for those that seek specific information about it.

The data contained in these Discographies comes from a wide variety of sources. The majority of these sources are sites found on the Internet and they basically consist of library databases, national music information centers, recording companies and retailers, music publishers and dedicated sites of composers, conductors and orchestras. I have been also able to utilize a personal library of musical reference books and record catalogues that I have gathered over the years. Finally, I have been able to call upon a network of international music friends from the various countries that my Discographies cover as well as direct questions to composers, conductors and officers of musical societies who are extremely forthcoming with needed information. Each Discography contains a bibliography listing of my sources.

The greatest advantage of online publishing is the ability to constantly revise what has already been written. In an area such as recordings, this ability is absolutely essential. With my eyes continually on the sites mentioned above, I endeavor to keep these Discographies useful by making them as up to date as possible. I am very grateful to readers of these works who have pointed out both omissions and errors and have greatly aided me in this enterprise.

I plan to supplement the Discographies already available with several others in the near future.

Michael Herman

The Discographies
All cover releases on both LP and CD.

They include works written after 1800, with the exception of British Orchestral Music, which is for composers born between 1800 and 1910.

	Benelux and Swiss Symphonies
	British and Commonwealth Symphonies British and Commonwealth Concertos British Orchestral Music
	Finnish and Baltic Symphonies
	French Symphonies
	Scandinavian Symphonies

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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