Class Post (9-23-08): Top 10 Classical Summer Hits

Scrolling down the home page of Ross' blog, I came across links to Top 10 lists. There's one for each year beginning in 2004, and continuing to 2007. When I clicked on the link that said summer hits, I chuckled inside, because the title of the entry is Top 10 Classical Party Hits. It made me think of how my "Party Shuffle" feature in iTunes likes to put all my classical music in there along with Norah Jones and System of a Down.
I suppose the casual implication of the word "party" is evident in Ross' intentions for the list. He says that it is a casual list of things he recommends, not a serious end all be all list of the greatest recordings of all time. He goes on to point out that he was recommending the cheaper discs. Therefore he seems to suggests as well, that the recordings themselves are not as important in the music. This supports what he mentions earlier in the paragraph about how he feels the cultural decline of music occurred simultaneously with the gaining popularity of recording.
In addition to the list, which features mostly famous "hits" of well known composers, he mentions that while not complete, there is a complete book on recommended recordings. So I googled that, the New York Times Essential Library: Classical Music to see what it had to say.
As an student in a post post-modern world, I get hung up on what is popular being labeled as "great." It seems that often we are encouraged to question, and form our own ideas of what is great, based on what we have learned about history and aspects of quality. I remember how many of the visual art students in high school professed to despise Andy Warhol, when many, and especially pop culture in general, hail him as a great modern artist.
In reading the description of the book I was reminded of Ross' casualness. The description appears to focus almost equally on the recording and the performer as it does on the work and composer. This is especially true at the mention of Bach's Goldberg variations recorded by Glenn Gould. What is interesting is that Gould's eccentricities make the recording unique, in addition to the caliber of his playing.