The Insider's Guide to Classical Recordings, From the Host of The Record Shelf, a Highly Opinionated, Irreverent, and Selective Guide to What's Good and What's Not

For hundreds of thousands of loyal listeners throughout the United States, Jim Svejda's weekly radio program The Record Shelf is not to be missed. Now, this amusing and irreverent guide captures the special flavor of Svejda's unique program. Without fear or favor, he recommends his choices of CDs and cassettes for hundreds of compositions from the standard, and not-so-standard, fare. You'll enjoy reading this wryly humorous and candid collection time and time again.

"No one on the air treats both composers and performers with such personal devotion or has such a fine ear for differences in inflections and interpretations."

—New York Times

"The best, most searching and fascinating review of music around."

—Dudley Moore

"If you want to expand or enrich your musical horizons, this book is indispensable. No matter how sophisticated you may be about the world of classical music, Jim Svejda's book will introduce you to new performances and perspectives."

—Michael Medved, PBS's Sneak Preview

"Great fun to read."

—Sir André Preven

Jim Svejda, when not exhuming dead conductors or lamenting the decline of standards among living ones on The Record Shelf, critiques cinema on his radio show On Film (KNX Los Angeles). He resides in Sierra Madre, California.
The Record Shelf is a production of KUSC, the radio station of the University of Southern California, and is distributed by Public Radio International.