User:Milkunderwood/sandbox Rubinstein

For Arthur Rubinstein discography - (which I still think should be renamed Arthur (Artur) Rubinstein discography, but that is a separate issue):
 * Obviously a considerable amount of time and work has been put into the construction of the present Arthur Rubinstein discography. My concern is that the layout which was initially set up was less than ideal, and I have not been able to think of any convenient way that it might be rearranged.
 * In two discussions of this discography, first here and then here, there was a general consensus among participants in WikiProject Classical music that the original date of recording is much more important and consequential than a publisher's date of issue (or one of multiple reissues).
 * A primary editor of the present discography, THD3, has understandably expressed concern that users will want to be able to view the table by discs, to see the full contents of each disc. My suggested alternative table easily does just that, by sorting on its last column, while still emphasizing the importance of actual recording dates in my second column.

Here are two examples of the present layout of the discography:
 * Note that although the present discography is also presented as a sortable table, virtually all entries in the first column are 1999, and RCA Red Seal (each separately linked) in the last column, both of which seem less than useful.
 * Further, while the third column occasionally presents a specific year (but not the actual date, or venue) of recording, more frequently only a range of years is shown, if any at all. Date information could be added later, but the present layout of the table seems not to conveniently allow for anything more specific than a single year or range of dates in its third column for individual compositions.

Below these two examples is my suggested alternative layout, with a number of sample entries:


 * This table provides examples of:
 * two different RCA releases of a recording;
 * releases containing multiple recordings and recording sessions; and
 * Rubinstein's work with various accompanists.
 * I've also concentrated on Chopin to display examples of multiple works in a single genre, such as the Mazurkas, Nocturnes, Polonaises and Waltzes.
 * At the end of the table is an example of a live recital of miscellaneous pieces by different composers.
 * I provide full publication data with each entry, but give links to each issuer only once, in a reference footnote.
 * Following my alternative layout are some of the formatting rules I have set for myself, and a few notes. A major purpose of these formatting rules is to assure that when the page first appears, it will already be sorted as shown in the large table below, even though it also uses the "wikitable sortable" structure. The table's organization should remain as consistent as possible, throughout.

Formatting notes
General formatting rules followed in proposed layout: - Wanted columns: - Add all new items to autosort alphabetically by composer & composition, e.g., - next by recording date, earliest first, e.g., - but, e.g., - Put major or significant works as separate entries, even if recorded on the same date (e.g., 1954 Beethoven sonatas No. 8; No. 21; No. 23); combine shorter works only if same venue and date range, or if combined without distinction in the booklet (e.g., 1950-51 Chopin Polonaises). - However, live recitals of miscellaneous short works should be listed together as "&#187;Recital:", entered at the bottom of the table in date sequence. Add the word "(live)" in italicized parentheses to follow the date in the second column. - If a disc of short works is organized (or a recital is played) other than by opus or other sequential number, it's OK to list them sequentially and combine where possible - e.g., the selections from Visions Fugitives in the 1961 Lugano recital, which were played with several out of sequence. - Try to link to page and/or section discussing an individual work wherever available, instead of to a general list of compositions. - If linking to a list, sometimes section by genre is preferable, sometimes by opus number - use best discretion. - Since the table is likely to be resorted by date, etc, links need to be repeated for each separate occurrence of a significant name. - As a general rule, where titles of compositions are abbreviated in liner notes or booklet, they are expanded in these table entries, e.g., - Nicknames are given in parentheses and double quotes to follow opus numbers - see Beethoven's ("Archduke") Trio, in the example above, or in the table. A number of compositions have little-used or obscure nicknames; include only those that are widely and generally used - be selective rather than trying to be inclusive of all such nicknames. Track listings in booklets are frequently a good example to follow, but check for consistency with other entries for the same piece. Since Chopin's Polonaise-Fantaisie is a title rather than a nickname, it is shown as (Polonaise-Fantaisie) with parentheses but not double quotes. - Releases collated from sources other than a physical disc at hand are indicated by [*]; the asterisk is to be removed for any disc found, and full information provided here. The complete catalog number (not the barcode) should be provided, omitting only the separate 2 that indicates a compact disc. Substitute a hyphen for a space in all catalog numbers, for clarity; e.g., - Follow the same rule for LPs, cassettes, or other media formats. - A special symbol to indicate recitals of miscellaneous selections, and to force these to sort at the bottom of the table, is shown here in Alt+numpad code and in HTML code: - Extraneous hyphens (as "|-") separating entries in Edit view of the table are just for easier and clearer navigation while editing. ''If this reorganized table passes muster for posting, it must be proofread against the table presently posted, for errors and typos, before it is added (or substituted). For volume numbers in the Rubinstein Collection this can be done easily by sorting on the last column. To recap, Recording dates are earliest first, Release dates are latest'' first. This preliminary draft prepared by Milkunderwood (talk) 05:00, 23 October 2011 (UTC)
 * Composition(s) (sortable by composer and composition title), e.g.,
 * Beethoven: Piano Trio in B-flat major, Op. 97 ("Archduke")
 * Recording date (& Venue) (sortable by year; but by month alphabetically), e.g.,
 * 1941: September 12 & 13
 * Other Personnel (not very usefully sortable), e.g.,
 * Jascha Heifetz, violin
 * Emanuel Feuermann, cello
 * Release (P) or (c) date & Label (sortable by year listed first, which should always be most recent, because older releases may not be dated, and in any case are mostly out of print; also, this is a discography for Rubinstein, not for RCA); e.g.,
 * 1999: RCA Red Seal 9026-63012 [Rubinstein Collection Vol. 12]
 * 1992: RCA Victor Gold Seal 09026-60926 [Jascha Heifetz Collection]
 * Beethoven: Piano Concerto
 * Beethoven: Piano Trio;
 * Chopin: Mazurkas | 1952
 * Chopin: Mazurkas | 1965
 * Brahms: Intermezzi Op. 76, [etc] before
 * Brahms: Intermezzi Op. 117 - it's OK if these sort backwards in a re-sort on the Composition(s) column.
 * Grieg's "Ballade, Op. 24" is expanded to read Ballade in the Form of Variations on a Norwegian Folk Song in G minor, Op. 24.
 * 5614-RC, not "5614-2-RC" as on spine, or barcode "0 7863-55614-2"
 * 09026-63013, not "09026 63013-2" as on back of case, or barcode "0 9026-63013-2 4"
 * » = [Alt]+175 - (right double angle quotes, for "»Recital:"
 * » = [Alt]+0187 - (the same right double angle quotes)
 * &#187; = HTML 187 - (the same right double angle quotes)
 * do all three symbols display properly as described, on all computers, or is one or another encoding required?
 * Any helpful comments or edits to this sandbox page are welcome; please remember to sign with four tildes. Thank you!