# Complete Classical Music Collection



## skim1124 (Mar 6, 2019)

Just out of random curiosity, how many CDs do you think it would take to have one recording of every piece of classical music composed--that is, as much as possible, no doubling of any piece? It wouldn't matter who recorded it.

To make it easier, let's limit it to Western classical music encompassing lieder, opera, chamber, solo instrumental, orchestral, choral.

Would 20,000 CDs do it? Or is that a gross under-estimation?

I realize that this would not necessarily be a good collection as I assume that most of you would prefer to have multiple recordings of pieces you value, but I was just wondering if someone were to go for completeness, what kind of a number we'd be talking about.

Two other questions: Is there a database somewhere that'd yield an accurate number? And does the Library of Congress or something equivalent keep such a complete collection of recordings?


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

skim1124 said:


> Would 20,000 CDs do it? Or is that a gross under-estimation?


I think you're at least one zero off, possibly two.


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## flamencosketches (Jan 4, 2019)

Hundreds of thousands if not millions of CDs. The vast majority of it would be 20th and 21st century works. New classical works are composed every day, and there are more active composers than ever.


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## Johnnie Burgess (Aug 30, 2015)

flamencosketches said:


> Hundreds of thousands if not millions of CDs. The vast majority of it would be 20th and 21st century works. New classical works are composed every day, and there are more active composers than ever.


And most of the new works are not recorded even been performed in concert. If performed only performed one time.


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## skim1124 (Mar 6, 2019)

Really? Two million+ CDs? I obviously had no idea how much has been composed in the 20th/21st centuries. (I wonder how all these composers support themselves if their works aren't performed regularly or recorded?)

Then what about a collection of works that have been recorded as opposed to composed? Would that number be closer to, say, 100,000 CDs?


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## Oldhoosierdude (May 29, 2016)

skim1124 said:


> Just out of random curiosity, how many CDs do you think it would take to have one recording of every piece of classical music composed--that is, as much as possible, no doubling of any piece? It wouldn't matter who recorded it.
> 
> To make it easier, let's limit it to Western classical music encompassing lieder, opera, chamber, solo instrumental, orchestral, choral.
> 
> ...


Uh, like a lot, man.


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

skim1124 said:


> Really? Two million+ CDs? I obviously had no idea how much has been composed in the 20th/21st centuries. (I wonder how all these composers support themselves if their works aren't performed regularly or recorded?)
> 
> Then what about a collection of works that have been recorded as opposed to composed? Would that number be closer to, say, 100,000 CDs?


My gut feeling is still what I posted before (which was an estimate about recorded works, not anything anyone ever composed).


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## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

You be lucky of you find them at all, people streaming nowadays, so dive in the secondhand shops and you can buy as much as you like.


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