If you aren't familiar with classical music, it's a puzzle just what information is important and what isn't.

The key thing is to list ONLY that information that will help would-be buyers find your listing, either by search or by scanning the categories; and NOTHING else.

I've revamped this guide to make it a lot shorter; hope this works!

Rules:

1. Most classical composers can be adequately indentified by only their last name (surname). Beethoven, Mozart, Brahms, for example. There's rarely any need to write out the first names.

2. A few surnames apply to more than one composer, often relatives. Examples: Franz Joseph and Michael Haydn (brothers); Wolfgang and Franz Xavier Mozart (father and son).

3. In most such cases, one of the composers is so much better known than the other that he is identifiable by surname only. Examples: "Haydn" alone means Franz Joseph Haydn; if it's his brother, you have to add the "Michael". "Mozart" means Wolfgang, the father. If it's the son, you have to write "Franz Xavier Mozart".

4. Most pieces of music by a given composer have a fairly short name they're widely known by. Examples: Symphony # 1; Piano concerto # 2. There may be opus numbers, catalog numbers, nicknames, and all sorts of other identifying words, but they're usually super-adequate. Don't clutter up your listings by overdoing the identification.

5. Exception to rule #4: Mozart wrote hundreds of works and they are all identified by the number given to them in the Köchel catalog: K.617, K.56a, KA.103, for example. (That "A" means "anhang", German for "appendix".) In Mozart's case, be sure to include the Köchel number.

6. Performers are also usually identifiable by surname only: Ormandy, Beecham, Bernstein, Klemperer, Karajan.

7. Pitfalls: "Vaughan Williams", two words separated by a space, is the composer's surname. He gets filed under "V", not "W". I can't tell you if the conductor Michael Tilson Thomas goes under "Tilson" or "Thomas" -- I've tried to figure it out and never come to any definite conclusion.

8. List performing groups by their full name, but you can drop leading "the". Sometimes the words "symphony" and/or "orchestra" can be omitted. Examples: Cleveland Orchstra; New York Philharmonic; London Symphony Orchesra; L'Orchestre de la Suisse Romande; Seattle Symphony. It's probably best to just copy it as it is printed on the jacket of your LP or CD.

9. Many classical compositions have multiple movements and these are usually separately tracked on LPs and CDs. Don't list them!

10. It's important to give the record label and catalog number in full!

11. It's important to give the date of the recording, if known. It's usually (not always) listed on the back of a CD or in the booklet. There are some recordings that are only distinguishable by date and one is rare and sought after while the others are ho-hum affairs.

12. If the recording is monophonic, say so. "Monophonic".

13. Try to put the critical information in the listing title. Don't clutter it up with "Rare!" or "Choice!" or "Scarce". Your potential customers already know what's rare, choice, and/or scarce!

14, Don't write in all UPPER CASE. IT'S HARD TO READ when you are scanning listings.

15. Hard to say if the composition is more important or the performers. It's a toss-up.

Examples (fictitious):

One where the performer is the interesting thing:

Beecham, Royal Philharmonic, 1967: Berlioz "Symphony Fantastique" (EMI 44853)



One where the composer & composition are the interesting thing:

Stockhausen, Klavierstücke; Kontarsky, 1972 (Sony 77724)

Good luck. Let me know if this guide helps you.