# Is there a wiki-type resource that documents recordings/performances and their traits/qualities/etc. in an organized fashion?



## YusufeVirdayyLmao (Nov 13, 2021)

Level/type of authenticity (to score, or historical performance practice information) vs. deviation, performance style (sewing machine / not), interpretation choices, technical accuracy, recording quality, type of instrument / vocal technique etc. etc. - anything that may be relevant or interesting when looking through various performances of the same work, or looking for performances with specific traits / meeting particular criteria.


Essentially, if one checks out a recording, and
-wants to see what other takes there are on this same piece, or
-finds sth lacking (musically unconvincing, or technical slop, doesn't sound very good etc.) and would rather find a better performance,
-etc.,
then a resource like this where you could navigate through any number of recordings and easily gain overview or find what you're looking for, would be very useful.


With vocal music, and esp. theatrical, additional factors would come up - such as who sings in their native language / how good they are at a foreign one, clarity of diction and technique esp. in the forte upper register areas; 
level of acting/emoting;
types of staging (authentic / traditional / creative) etc. - contentious, frequently discussed aspects like these, as well as just about anything else that comes to mind.


Wouldn't have to be confined to just CM or music either, could cover all sorts of areas.


So does anyone know about such a thing, does such a resource exist somewhere? Or if not, would there be any interest in starting one?
Could be done from scratch, or possibly embedded into an already existing one (TV Tropes / AllTheTropes occasionally does production comparison stuff, but not too extensively or systematicaly, from what I've seen.)


----------



## larold (Jul 20, 2017)

Good luck with that. This kind of thing used to exist when people were willing to pay for informed opinion and comparative analysis. Since the advent of the Internet as the source it has mostly disappeared. Victim of get what you pay for.


----------



## Andrew Kenneth (Feb 17, 2018)

This website has a section where different recordings of 578 classical works are compared =>
Verg. Discografieën

This is their entry for the Brucker 9th => 
BRUCKNER: SYMFONIE NR. 9 (geactualiseerd)

It's not an english friendly site though; it's in dutch, but still worth a visit.

This website offers an overview of practically all Wagner recordings out on cd, dvd, blu-ray etc... 
https://wagnerdisco.net
This site rates all these recordings on a scale of 1 to 10 and includes links to reviews; if available.


----------



## Enthusiast (Mar 5, 2016)

What the OP calls for is a resource that takes positions on matters that are overwhelmingly subjective. If such a resource did exist few of us would be happy with it. But what we have - vibrant debate, numerous recommendations by listeners (many of whom have much knowledge and experience), a wide range of views on how various pieces should be played, a variety of critical journals and compendiums etc. - is, anyway, worth so much more. It might seem like a lot of work to tap into all that (and to listen to many recommendations to make our own minds up) but would any of us be happy being told which recordings are "best". There is no such thing, by the way.


----------



## YusufeVirdayyLmao (Nov 13, 2021)

Ah, I'll be checking those out then!

Fittingly enough, the most recent/immediate thing that motivated me to post this thread was in fact this Ring recording




and my mixed reactions to the vocal performances in there.


----------



## YusufeVirdayyLmao (Nov 13, 2021)

Enthusiast said:


> What the OP calls for is a resource that takes positions on matters that are overwhelmingly subjective. If such a resource did exist few of us would be happy with it. But what we have - vibrant debate, numerous recommendations by listeners (many of whom have much knowledge and experience), a wide range of views on how various pieces should be played, a variety of critical journals and compendiums etc. - is, anyway, worth so much more. It might seem like a lot of work to tap into all that (and to listen to many recommendations to make our own minds up) but would any of us be happy being told which recordings are "best". There is no such thing, by the way.


Which is why I named TVTropes as an example - sth of that kind would leave plenty of room for both objective info as well as opinions, impressions and dissenting commentary right on the page etc.

Forums have their own appeals and advantages, but a well-made wiki of that kind offers organization and overview - making things easier to find both for readers and contributors;

so there's a point in having that kind of thing as well. However the tone and content shouldn't be much different than on this or similar forums, that's true. 

Well I'll be checking out those links then.


----------

