# An unimaginable disaster



## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

Suppose an asteroid strike wiped out your entire music collection. What works, that you have now, would you replace last if at all?


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## Manxfeeder (Oct 19, 2010)

Replace last, if at all:

Charles Wuorinen, Tashi.
My opera collection except Wozzeck and the three da Ponte Mozart operas. 
McCreesh's recording of the Messiah.
Satie piano works by France Clidat. I definitely wouldn't replace that one.
The Hilliard Ensemble's recording of Bach's motets.

There are probably more, but those seem to stick out right now.


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## Itullian (Aug 27, 2011)

The ones I donated to my library. They have a great classical section now.


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## DiesIraeCX (Jul 21, 2014)

Haha, so our least favorite works, right? I wouldn't replace:
- Bruno Walter's Schubert 9th (I'm perfectly fine with Josef Krips' 9th and Furtwangler's when I need a more dramatic 9th)
- Mackerras' Mozart Eine Kleine Nachtmusik & "Posthorn" Serenade (nothing wrong with Mackerras, just not crazy about the music)

Those two get practically no playing time. Scratch that, they get zero playing time.


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## Blancrocher (Jul 6, 2013)

The rare ones, which unscrupulous vendors are trying to sell for a fortune on Amazon. In the event of this disaster I'd will myself into being less of a Richter fanatic, for example.


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

Possibly my box set of Handel's chamber works - I've never taken to them as much as I have his orchestral and choral output. I wouldn't shed too many tears if I didn't replace Sir Colin Davis's Bruckner 6th either - I admire the man's conducting a lot but this performance has always left me cold.


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## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

I'd probably eventually get around to replacing all of them because I want it all -- everything ever recorded, good or bad. I'm just greedy that way.

But what would I replace last? Probably some American music that is _sort of_ classical but barely qualifies as such. Examples would be an album I have of piano music by William Grant Still which is supposed to be classical but sounds more like Chubby Checker at times, and one of flute and piano music by Copland, Bloch, Schikele, Stephen Foster, etc. performed by Donna Wissinger that is closer to new age relaxing hymns than classical.

But don't let that asteroid try to touch my Swingle Singers album of jazzy Bach music!


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## GGluek (Dec 11, 2011)

The things I would replace last are probably things I wouldn't bother replacing at all -- and probably too numerous to compile a list of.


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## brotagonist (Jul 11, 2013)

It has already happened to me  My sensational LP collection was wiped out nearly overnight in 1990, when I sold it for next to nothing in order to raise money to buy replacements of a few of them on CD.

I told myself that this second time around, I would be much, much more critical and only replace music of enduring, scorching interest. I have come to interpret that as license to replace nearly everything classical and to veto nearly everything else. In practice, however, this isn't quite what has happened, since 59% of the albums (66% of the discs) I now own on CD are classical.

You know, I'm not going to name any work or composer that I would replace last, since I would almost certainly get pretty much all of them again anyway, given sufficient time. I suppose having multiple versions of pieces would be the last thing I would strive to redo. Also, the ones that are out of print and only available at horrendous 'collector' prices would really be the last ones I would get again, if I ever could.


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## ptr (Jan 22, 2013)

The few things I'm sure about; I would not replace any of the Eliahu Inbal discs I have, I find his conducting quite insipid. The only Karajan I would replace are a few select disc from his 50's HMV Catalogue, I would not replace any of Haitink's Shostakovich or Beethoven, hardly any of Osmo Vänskä's Sibelius, Beethoven or Nielsen. Generally I would also be more selective in replacing music prior to Mahler. With almost 40 years experience of listening and evaluating recordings I think I have a decent knowledge bank to base a rebuild on, I'm quite sure I would not over spend on "Audiophile" recordings (like I have done a few times in the past..).

/ptr


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

KenOC said:


> Suppose an asteroid strike wiped out your entire music collection. What works, that you have now, would you replace last if at all?


I do hope it strikes me to , can't bare the thought of being without anything


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## violadude (May 2, 2011)

Let's see:

A CD of Roy Harris' piano works I got on the Naxos label. Don't know what his orchestral or chamber music is like but his piano music bores me to tears. Or maybe I just haven't listened to them enough.

I have a recording of string quartets by Russian/Soviet composer Arthur Lourie that I'm not incredibly fond of. 

I got that big EMI set of Elgar recordings a while back and I'm not sure why because I'm not particularly fond of Elgar. I think it was on sale and I was in a "why the hell not" kinda mood. Anyway, I probably wouldn't be eager to replace a significant portion of that collection.

There are a few late Romantic symphony collections I have that I probably wouldn't jump to replace right away, namely those by Peterson-Berger, Stanford, Langgaard and Atterberg. I enjoy them from time to time, especially Atterberg. But mostly they are just sort of "meh" for me at this point. 

I think that's pretty much it. I like most other things in my library really well.


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

I've got a lot of old LPs that I never play now, mostly folk & pop, so the asteroid would be doing me a favour - though I might replace some of the Steeleye Span. 
Of our recent classical CDs, I wouldn't bother replacing compilations etc which were either free or next to nothing from our newspaper. The rest is carefully considered, so most would be replaced - but I'd be quickest about the Andrew Manze sonatas & the Jordi Savall (Lully & medieval) cds.


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## Taggart (Feb 14, 2013)

We've pruned a few times so most of the duds have already gone. If we lost the physical copies I would want Bach back.

Trouble is, for an asteroid to wipe out our *entire* music collection, Amazon (auto rip) and You Tube would have to go as well. For many others, iTunes or Spotify would have to be wiped out or else some sort of cloud storage. A "music collection" is no longer one (or more) room full of LPs, cassettes or CD's so the OP's premise is somewhat flawed.


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## Cosmos (Jun 28, 2013)

I would probably not rush to replace any John Alden Carpenter CDs. My library only has them because he was born in my hometown, but his music is pretty bland. Maybe I'm too harsh, but I'd like some kind of personality. Same with a CD of Blind Tom Wiggins' piano music, which the novelty of him being blind and autistic fades after a few listens. Though the Battle of Manassas is an interesting "poem".

I wouldn't replace Adams' A Flowering Tree. Haven't gotten around to listening to it, and I really don't have much a desire to.

There are also a few decent albums from Hyperion's Romantic Piano Concerto series that I don't feel the need to revisit


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## Jos (Oct 14, 2013)

I wouldn't replace a single recording and devote myself fully to streaming.

Cheers,
Jos


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## Orfeo (Nov 14, 2013)

Blancrocher said:


> The rare ones, which unscrupulous vendors are trying to sell for a fortune on Amazon. In the event of this disaster I'd will myself into being less of a Richter fanatic, for example.


Unscrupulous is the word I thought of (and beyond non-commonsensical).


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## Orfeo (Nov 14, 2013)

My Melodiya recordings first and foremost (and re-issues of them by Olympia). 
Then rare EMI recordings (Lalo's "Le Roi d'ys", Magnard's "Guercour").
As much Chandos & Hyperion albums as possible.
Some DG & Decca recordings.


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## scratchgolf (Nov 15, 2013)

It would have to be a fairly small asteroid to take out my collection and leave me unscathed. Having said that...

Most of my early purchases would not be replaced. 99 Essential This. 101 Greatest That. I've long since decided what I liked and replaced with preferred versions. I would't replace anything with the name Simon Rattle attached to it. I'd also replace only my top two or three versions of my favorite composers works (Beethoven, Schubert, Mendelssohn, and Bach). I'd probably leave off Lizst's piano transcriptions of Beethoven's symphonies. The luster wore off quickly with those. I'd also replace many recordings with versions by Bohm and Barenboim. 

Then again, I did invest a hefty amount of cheddar in an Asteroid-Proof external hard drive. I knew it would come in handy one day.


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## Headphone Hermit (Jan 8, 2014)

Yikes - this would be a real stress - I have arguments every year with my insurers because they insist that I have a 'collection' (and thus want to charge me much more for insuring them) and I insist that I have an 'agglomoration' because there is no attempt to 'collect' in the sense that adds value to the collection.
I guess the payout would only allow me to buy about 20% of what is on my shelves .... the thought is too awful to contemplate!


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## TurnaboutVox (Sep 22, 2013)

I probably wouldn't replace some of my collection of works that I know so well (and have known for so long) that I can more or less play them in my head. Beethoven's piano sonatas would certainly fall into that category.

But the other recordings I wouldn't replace - sorry, sorry, don't hit me - are those HIP recordings of Mozart and Haydn I unwarily purchased. Nothing else sounds so unpleasantly dissonant to my ears.


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## SONNET CLV (May 31, 2014)

Since my music collection is spread through a couple of rooms, a basement, attic, and barn ... if it were to get wiped out by said asteroid, I'd be in deep ... pit.

So ... I'll let you know ... soon as I can dig myself out.

(But I suspect I wouldn't replace my John Williams _Star Wars Symphony_ which features "The Asteroid Field". -- Too painful a reminder.)


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## Mahlerian (Nov 27, 2012)

Would you also neglect to replace the Rattle/Berlin Philharmonic version of The Planets, with accompanying asteroids by Saariaho, Pintscher, Turnage, and Dean?


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