Attn: eMusic subscribers

[Brian]

eMusic's latest promotion is an "Election '08" game in which users of the website vote for their all-time favorite eMusic album. Naturally, we have to ensure that the winner of the "Best eMusic Album Ever" vote is a classical CD.    So I suggest that we use this thread to coordinate ourselves, so that we can choose one classical CD from eMusic, tell everybody we know about it, and vote for it en masse in the hope that our chosen classical album can win.

Time is against us - the voting period is just six days - so let's get down to the process of choosing a CD to vote for. It doesn't really have to be the best on eMusic, I suppose, just the one we can convince all our classical-loving friends to vote for (or the one that would be coolest to see winning!). eMusic stocks everything by Naxos, Marco Polo, Harmonia Mundi, BIS and Koch, as well as most things from Supraphon, Hanssler and many other independent labels.

What shall we all vote for? 
My initial, knee-jerk suggestion:
Beethoven's Ninth (Norrington, Stuttgart / Hanssler)
If we wanted to choose something cool and unexpected:
Rzewski's The People United Will Never Be Defeated! (van Raat / Naxos) (only 2 tracks!)
If we wanted to make the competition into our own little joke:
Braga Santos' Symphony No 4 + Variations (Cassuto / Marco Polo)
Anything with PDQ Bach or Elgar

[mn dave]

I'm not an eMusic dude, but I'd think your best bet for a classical disc to win would be to go with the most popular composer.

[Keemun]

Here are some I think might have a chance:

Bach: Mass in B minor (Suzuki/Bach Collegium Japan)
Bach: Goldberg Variations (Simone Dinnerstein)
Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 (Vanska/ Minnesota Orchestra)
Beethoven: Complete String Quartets (The Lindsays)
Holst: The Planets (Previn/Royal Philharmonic Orchestra)
Mozart: Requiem (Davis/LSO)

[Brian]

If we could organize as many eMusic fans as we know to vote en masse for one album, my sense of humor informs me that Rzewski's "The People United Will Never Be Defeated!" would be a cool chart-topper. Otherwise one of the Beethoven Ninths (Vanska or Norrington) sounds like the best bet.

[M forever]

Rather Norrington than Vänskä. The former, as much as one criticize him for a lot of things, was at least "provocative" and "adventurous", but the latter's fake and mannered Beethoven "interpretations" really don't need to be broadcast across the world, as much as they may impress some impressionable young people.

[mn dave]

...as much as they may impress some impressionable young people.

Oh, please.

[Brian]

Oh, please.

Yeah, I'm impressionable and young and prefer Norrington. 

[Keemun]

Yeah, I'm impressionable and young and prefer Norrington. 

I'm not so young or impressionable, but I also prefer Norrington.  I never could get into the Vanska recording.   However, I suggested it because of its seeming (and to me, puzzling) popularity, which fits well with the goal of this thread.