# Performance of a work crucial?



## Rob (Apr 20, 2010)

I've thought about this the last couple of days while searching for CDs/mp3s of orchestral music. Since I've just recently begun to explore the classical repertoire, would you say a certain performance of a work can be crucial for me liking it or not? I mean, suppose I listen to one performance of a piece and doesn't think much of it, whereas I would _love_ it, had I heard another version? Or does this only affect the more experienced listener?

This could be highly individual, of course, but what's your opinion?


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## toucan (Sep 27, 2010)

This certainly has happened to me, keeping a very bad memory of a piece of music only to realize - sometimes years later - that it iswonderful - after I have heard it well played. It was the first conductor who was inept, not the music.

Good music can indeed sound mediocre when played by mediocre musicians

(I am not sure the other way round is true, however. Mediocre music is still mediocre even when performed by great musicians, just like mediocre scneraios and plays are mediocre even when played by great actors).

Often on the internet my heart sinks when I see people recommending bad recordings of some of my favorite music, it concerns me that people will get bad impressions of great music & and be deprived of much enjoyment, because they have been given bad advice.


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## Yoshi (Jul 15, 2009)

Yes I think the performance might be crucial.
Sometimes I listen to a different version of a piece that I never found interesting before and suddenly start to enjoy it.


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## Rob (Apr 20, 2010)

So, how do one separate the bad ones from the good? If you just started listening (like I did), it's impossible to know which one's worth your precious time. It's not like you want to preview seven different versions before settling on one of them, and _then_ getting to know the music. That doesn't make any sense to me.


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## starry (Jun 2, 2009)

It does help to compare, some like different things in a performance anyway. As I keep saying there are no shortcuts in finding music. You can ask for recommendations from others like some do here, but that is no guarantee you will actually like what they like as much. It's takes time and work really.


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## Rob (Apr 20, 2010)

Yes, I agree, starry.

It's just that it's kind of frustrating knowing that you might dislike something because you don't possess the proper knowledge beforehand. I mean, it's bad as it is for me already, without having to analyze and compare different conductors' interpretations.  If you're already familiar with Symphony No. 2 by Tchaikovsky it's fine to look for the better version, but since I am not... well, you get the picture. I guess I'm just gonna have to be patient.


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## Argus (Oct 16, 2009)

Rob said:


> So, how do one separate the bad ones from the good? If you just started listening (like I did), it's impossible to know which one's worth your precious time. It's not like you want to preview seven different versions before settling on one of them, and _then_ getting to know the music. That doesn't make any sense to me.


The Portsmouth Sinfonia are normally a pretty solid choice for the classics.


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## Yoshi (Jul 15, 2009)

I was about to post that :lol:.
As a perfect example of how a performance can be crucial.


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## Rob (Apr 20, 2010)

Haha! :lol:


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## tdc (Jan 17, 2011)

I think what often seems to happen is the first good recording a person hears of a piece becomes their standard for which to judge other recordings. Then if they hear other recordings that sound quite a bit different they will often have a distaste for it, but that distaste would not have been there if it had been the first version of the recording they heard. Only in comparison to what they were used to. There is a concept in psychology called the 'mere exposure effect' which states that by simply being exposed to things more than once a person tends to like these things more and more and then develops a preference for them. 

(I think this also explains why a lot of the crap played on the radio sounds so bad at first but when its drilled into people heads all day everywhere they go on the radio and supermarkets, stores etc. they begin to like it, when was the last time you heard classical music played in a dept. store or supermarket? The reason is different types of music have different psychological effects on people- but I digress...)

My theory is after a person has been exposed to a particular version of a recording they will have a bias towards it. For a future version to become their preference it will have to be a lot better than the first version they were exposed to. If it is around the same or only slightly better I dont think they will prefer it. 

So firstly I think most famous recordings of a piece will usually be a decent way for you to tell if you at least like the music/composer, at which point you can search out other recordings. And secondly one should listen different recordings of a piece several times before deciding what they feel is the best version.


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## science (Oct 14, 2010)

I always start out with "classic" recordings, provided that they're not older than about 1965. I figure I'll eventually want to own them anyway, so I might as well start there. The fact that several decades of listeners have loved them tells me I'm probably not wasting my money on a performance that is unusually hard to relate to. 

Then, there are artists that I've come to trust. Pogorelich, for example - I would buy any recording he made, because I like everything he's done so far. 

The search for the perfect recording not for someone at my level of experience - I need to hear more works, not more recordings of the same works. But when you like something, it's often interesting to hear a different performance of it for comparison.


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## Pieck (Jan 12, 2011)

tdc said:


> I think what often seems to happen is the first good recording a person hears of a piece becomes their standard for which to judge other recordings. Then if they hear other recordings that sound quite a bit different they will often have a distaste for it, but that distaste would not have been there if it had been the first version of the recording they heard. Only in comparison to what they were used to. There is a concept in psychology called the 'mere exposure effect' which states that by simply being exposed to things more than once a person tends to like these things more and more and then develops a preference for them.
> 
> (I think this also explains why a lot of the crap played on the radio sounds so bad at first but when its drilled into people heads all day everywhere they go on the radio and supermarkets, stores etc. they begin to like it, when was the last time you heard classical music played in a dept. store or supermarket? The reason is different types of music have different psychological effects on people- but I digress...)
> 
> ...


Agree, but I have recordings of the same work that I equally like, so you have to hear a new recording a couple of times to get used of the differences.

Argus, it's a musical joke, right? 'cause I almost broke a rib while laughing. No one can suck that much, no?

To the OP, at first I didnt get the whole fuss about different recordings until I learnt it on my flesh. I had a recording of Juilliard playing the string quartet no. 1 of Mendelssohn, and some time later I listened to some youtube versions of the 4th movement and I wanted to cry. They played it so emotionless like it was a music exercise. So wait until you hear the massive differences between recordings and you'll understand. :tiphat:


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## Xaltotun (Sep 3, 2010)

A fellow newbie here. Let me tell you how I've approached this. From the beginning, I noticed that some versions are indeed much better than others. In the search of good versions, I learned some names of famous conductors and orchestras, and kept noticing whom I preferred. Usually, household names have a reason why they are household names - they are good, although one might prefer one over the other. 

Listen to a piece. Like it? Good, stay with it, and when you have time, check out some other versions to see if some versions are even better. If you sort-of like it, check out another version immediately. Don't like it but would like to learn to like it? Keep listening to several versions. Hate it? Forget about it, move to another piece.

When you browse through this forum and other web sites, you'll learn some names that appear and re-appear from time and time again. Karajan, Kleiber, Solti, Furtwängler, Rattle, Barenboim, Knappertsbusch, Bernstein, Ashkenazy, Ansermet... check out these guys. I'm sure that there are lesser-known conductors who can match the celebrities, but one has to start from somewhere. Deutsche Grammophon is an excellent record company, and Berliner Philharmoniker and Wiener Philharmoniker are some excellent symphony orchestras. And I think "Spotify" is the best computer tool for listening to classical music.


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## Rob (Apr 20, 2010)

I can relate to most of the things you're saying here. And like tdc, I too believe that you'll (consciously or unconsciously) have a bias towards the first version you hear. If you like it, it's inevitable.

science: "The search for the perfect recording [is] not for someone at my level of experience"

I couldn't agree more. My main focus right now is getting to know the main works, but then again, I'd be thrilled if I happened to stumble upon "the one" performance of a certain piece.

I think I'll stick with the conductors I have liked so far, then. Neeme Järvi has conducted a few of my favourites, among them Myaskovsky's 6th and quite some Prokofiev material (especially the "October Revolution Cantata" is spectacular). Karajan, Ashkenazy and Barenboim are also good, I think. Yesterday I came across the Tchaikovsky symphonies, performed by Haitink. Haven't got to know them yet, though. What do you think of them?

And as far as record labels are concerned, Chandos have impressed me the most so far. I love their Prokofiev releases.

Thanks for your input, guys.


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## Moraviac (Feb 18, 2011)

Yes, it does make a difference. I'm a big fan of Dvorak's 9th Symphony, but I bought it on a cheap cd version, and the music itself was also not as sparkling as I remembered it to be. 

Herbert von Karajan's version of Grieg's Peer Gynt suites though, gave them some extra punch, which really surprised me. 

I once gave my brother a version of St. Matthews Passion which sounded like the orchestra had emptied a can full of coffee. I was thinking the whole time: slow down. I'm glad my brother liked it, but I didn't.

The version can be very important.


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## Ukko (Jun 4, 2010)

Pieck said:


> To the OP, at first I didnt get the whole fuss about different recordings until I learnt it on my flesh. I had a recording of Juilliard playing the string quartet no. 1 of Mendelssohn, and some time later I listened to some youtube versions of the 4th movement and I wanted to cry. They played it so emotionless like it was a music exercise. So wait until you hear the massive differences between recordings and you'll understand. :tiphat:


Performance/interpretation may not be 'crucial', but it sure is important. Mahler's symphonies are a prime example of spread-in-interpretation. The majority of recordings of the 5th Symphony sum out as downers, but a few, e.g. Alain Lombard's, work as an upper.

(I'd list his orchestra, but I don't remember the name; I think Acquataine (sp) is part of it.)


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## Elgarian (Jul 30, 2008)

It's not just a matter of finding which is 'best' though. 'Best' is often a movable feast. I prefer to think of it as the right listener finding the right performance at the right time. For instance, after a lifetime of more-or-less indifference to Beethoven's symphonies, I heard Immerseel's recording of the 5th with his period instrument band Anima Eterna, and it completely blew me away. The box set of his Beethoven symphonies became one of my greatest treasures in a matter of weeks - days even. If you ask me if these are the 'best available performances' of the Beethoven symphonies, I truly wouldn't know. But they present Beethoven _to me_ in a way that is enormously enriching.

Same thing goes for Viviana Sofronitzki's performances of the Mozart piano concertos, played on fortepiano. They're by no means everybody's cup of tea, I know. But for me it feels like having Mozart himself in the room.

I don't think there's any short cut to this. It's a gradual process, accumulating over years. I read the comments of people here; I read _Gramophone_, _BBC Music Magazine_, etc, and I use their reviews as guides, especially where I have no experience myself - but I never regard them as the last word. I've come unstuck too often for that.


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## Meaghan (Jul 31, 2010)

I've definitely been fooled by bad recordings into thinking I didn't like a piece, only to realize later when I heard a better recording that the music itself wasn't to blame. And this happened even when I was new to classical music and not very discerning. 

If you are trying to decide between different recordings of a particular work, you can always start a thread on "Recordings of _________", which will bring out all the people who know the work well (and some who don't) and get you more input than you probably ever wanted. But people often do give useful advice in those threads, and it may help you get a recording with the kind of sound you like.


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