# Multiple Recordings of... ?



## StlukesguildOhio (Dec 25, 2006)

With the recent or recently revived discussions of New -vs- Old Releases, and Contemporary -vs- Historic performers, conductors, etc... I thought I'd throw out something in that direction. Many of us have sizable collections of music and among some of these collections some of us have multiple recordings of the same work. My questions are:

1. Have you intentionally purchased multiple recordings of the same musical works?

2. If you have, why?

3. Which composers/musical works do you most feel the need to collect multiple recordings of?

:tiphat:


----------



## joen_cph (Jan 17, 2010)

_1. Have you intentionally purchased multiple recordings of the same musical works?_
- yes, to a large degree, in 100s of cases. Up to around around 20-25 versions in a few cases, due to cheap LPs and collecting for many years.

_ 2. If you have, why?_
- to get more nuances from the work, plus checking out some famous interpretations or interpreters.

_ 3. Which composers/musical works do you most feel the need to collect multiple recordings of?_
- mostly the classical core repertoire, or obscure works I fancy a lot, or works where I feel the musicianship could be better. But I don´t buy that many alternative recordings any more, except when the LP cover designer is interesting.

Remaining on my want list:
- all Mozart piano concerti / Anda
- Beethoven Sonatas / Goodyear
- complete Beethoven / Brilliant Classics 
- Maria Yudina 8 CD / Brilliant Classics


----------



## Winterreisender (Jul 13, 2013)

For the majority of orchestral and other instrumental pieces, I am content with a single "reference" recording. There is however much vocal music for which I have several recordings. This is the area where I believe the interpretation can differ most significantly from one recording to the next. I have many recordings of Schubert's Lieder for example; I have the Fischer-Dieskau box set, the Graham Johnson complete recordings (which features a range of singers) and several other individual CDs. It is always nice to hear different voice types for a single song.

Another area where I enjoy collecting multiple recordings is early music and baroque. Because these composers were less specific with their performance directions, the interpretations can differ more significantly. For many composers, e.g. Bach, there is often the question of the instrument, or the HIP question, and it is therefore interesting to hear the full range of interpretations.


----------



## ptr (Jan 22, 2013)

Yes, all the time!

For me, interpretation is the name of the game, the more interpretations one can listen to the deeper one's understanding of the art becomes.. It not that what it is all about!

Any work that I like where there are several versions available. There are to many composer where I have multiple versions to tell about all, but to name a few, Some of my favourite Fourth Symphonies, Mahler (52) Shostakovich (29) Ives (14), I've got about 25 versions of Messiaen's "La nativité du Seigneur" and 19 "Turangalîla-Symphonie's" and 41 of Rakhmanioff's Symphonic Dances, crazy, I know, have listened to all of them (or will) and really think that it makes me much, much richer then if I had bought gold!

/ptr


----------



## BRHiler (May 3, 2014)

> 1. Have you intentionally purchased multiple recordings of the same musical works?


Yes. Probably in the 100's as well



> 2. If you have, why?


To find the "Perfect" recording. A recording that plays the music the way I hear it internally (which, by the way, never happens!)
Also, to check out other recordings that other people recommend, or just because I love the piece of music that I want to hear a variety of interpretations



> 3. Which composers/musical works do you most feel the need to collect multiple recordings of?


The big ones for me are:
Stravinsky: Le Sacre, Petrushka, Octet, L'histoire du Soldat
Copland: Appalachian Spring, Billy the Kid, Symphony #3
Grainger: Lincolnshire Posy
Husa: Music for Prague 1968
Holst: The Planets
Bartok: Concerto for Orchestra
Respighi: The Roman Trilogy
Mahler: all symphonies, but faves are 6,3 and 5

Can you tell I'm a brass player?!?!?!


----------



## Guest (Jun 11, 2014)

Bach obviously demands the most since there's the whole period recordings thing vs. so many good Bach pianists, plus that Art Of Fugue thing, etc.


----------



## Itullian (Aug 27, 2011)

Yes
To find what I think is the best recording
For instrumental, the Schumann and Brahms symphonies, which are my favorites.
In vocal, Wagner and the Italian comic operas, and Mozart's big 5.


----------



## joen_cph (Jan 17, 2010)

ptr said:


> Yes, all the time!
> 
> For me, interpretation is the name of the game, the more interpretations one can listen to the deeper one's understanding of the art becomes.. It not that what it is all about!
> 
> ...


Impressive; an indiscrete question perhaps, but could you reveal in some way whether you use these library resources professionally too or not?


----------



## Ukko (Jun 4, 2010)

Joen's 1,2 and 3 work fine for me, except that the multiple recordings of the same work stop at a half-dozen or so. Beethoven, Mahler and Bartók are the principal multis.


----------



## realdealblues (Mar 3, 2010)

_1. Have you intentionally purchased multiple recordings of the same musical works?_

Yes, constantly! More often than I buy works that I don't already have.

_ 2. If you have, why?_

I like to hear different interpretations of the same work to see which ones I feel work the best for me. I look for recordings I connect with and feel resonate the best with me. If I had the chance to conduct or play a work and then record it, what would it sound like? How would I play it? How would I phrase it or set the tempo? The recordings that are closest to what I have in my head or could see myself doing are generally those I keep.

_ 3. Which composers/musical works do you most feel the need to collect multiple recordings of?_

Works that I listen to most frequently which generally are Symphonies, Piano Concertos and Solo Piano Works.

Symphonies take up the majority of my collection. Beethoven, Brahms, Bruckner, Dvorak, Haydn, Mahler, Mendelssohn, Mozart, Schubert, Schumann, Sibelius, Tchaikovsky, etc. I usually have 20+ recordings of each Symphony that I really love.

I have purchased something like 60 different complete Beethoven Symphony Cycles and listened to them extensively to find ones that I like best. I am now down to about 20 that I feel are worth keeping. I'm trying to cut it down to 10-15 but it seems impossible. I'm at about the same with Brahms Symphony Cycles.

I have well over 200 Mahler Recordings. I'm trying to cut it back to 10 favorites for each Symphony, which again seems impossible at times.

Beethoven Sonatas I've bought probably 30 different cycles...I think I'm down to about 10. I have lots of non complete cycles and misc. recordings as well.

Mozart Sonatas and Piano Concertos I probably have over 20 complete cycles each plus all sorts of misc. recordings.

I have probably 40 different recordings of Mozart's Requiem as well.

Lots of Vivaldi's Four Seasons Recordings too.

A lot of times the only way I can hear a recording is to buy it so I buy and trade or buy and sell a lot. It's getting better with things like Spotify where I can hear something first but I still have to buy most of it.

But there are lots of works that I feel I only need 1 or 2 recordings of. Sometimes I like to have a Traditional Recording of a work and then a Modern Recording for both interpretive and sound quality reasons.


----------



## StlukesguildOhio (Dec 25, 2006)

/ptr- For me, interpretation is the name of the game, the more interpretations one can listen to the deeper one's understanding of the art becomes.. It not that what it is all about!

Any work that I like where there are several versions available. There are to many composer where I have multiple versions to tell about all, but to name a few, Some of my favourite Fourth Symphonies, Mahler (52) Shostakovich (29) Ives (14), I've got about 25 versions of Messiaen's "La nativité du Seigneur" and 19 "Turangalîla-Symphonie's" and 41 of Rakhmanioff's Symphonic Dances, crazy, I know, have listened to all of them (or will) and really think that it makes me much, much richer then if I had bought gold!

realdealblues- Symphonies take up the majority of my collection. Beethoven, Brahms, Bruckner, Dvorak, Haydn, Mahler, Mozart, Schubert, Schumann, Sibelius, Tchaikovsky, etc. I usually have 20+ recordings of each Symphony that I really love.

I have purchased something like 60 different complete Beethoven Symphony Cycles and listened to them extensively to find ones that I like best. I am now down to about 20 that I feel are worth keeping. I'm trying to cut it down to 10-15 but it seems impossible. I'm at about the same with Brahms Symphony Cycles.

I have well over 200 Mahler Recordings. I'm trying to cut it back to 10 favorites for each Symphony, which again seems impossible at times.

Beethoven Sonatas I've bought probably 30 different cycles...I think I'm down to about 10. I have lots of non complete cycles and misc. recordings as well.

Damn!!!

In comparison I am but a rank amateur. Of course I can't help but think that 60 versions of Beethoven's Symphonies or 54 performances of Mahler's 4th is a bit... excessive?

But then I am reminded of a joke a friend recently related (which fits both of us to a T:

Anyone who is driving slower than you in traffic is an idiot.
Anyone who is driving faster than you is a maniac.

:lol:


----------



## Headphone Hermit (Jan 8, 2014)

1. yes

2. for same reason as many of the others above

3. Berlioz _Les Troyens_ - probably the only one where I'm tempted to go for completeness. Samples of opera singers .... and then hunting out those I like best. In particular, I probably have over 100 CDs with Callas singing.


----------



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

1/ Yes, but I'm fairly sated now!

2/ Primarily to compare different interpretations and also, in the case of Beethoven, Schubert and (up to a point, Bach) as explained below.

3/ Most of Mahler, especially the symphonies. Also symphonies of Bruckner, Schubert and Beethoven - I was also interested in collecting both 'period' and 'modern' in the case of the last two. I've been meaning to augment my sole Shostakovich cycle (Haitink) with a cherry-picking of recordings by Mravinsky, Kondrashin and Rozhdestvensky in order to create an exclusively 'Soviet' cycle but this is on a perennial back-burner as collecting unfamiliar works by other composers takes precedent. 

I also bought Bach's GV's, AoF and '48' for both piano and harpsichord (and, in the case of AoF, for ensemble with soloists) in order to hear how they sounded on different instruments, but am happy with just one recording for each version.


----------



## realdealblues (Mar 3, 2010)

StlukesguildOhio said:


> Damn!!!
> 
> In comparison I am but a rank amateur. Of course I can't help but think that 60 versions of Beethoven's Symphonies or 54 performances of Mahler's 4th is a bit... excessive?
> 
> ...


Well, if I think about Beethoven Symphonies, there are so many interpretations.

I know I love all of his Symphonies.

But...

They can be played with Big Orchestras and Small Orchestras.
Period Instruments and Modern Instruments or even a mixture of both. 
They can be Fast, Slow, Moderate, Muscular, Lean, Majestic, Gigantic, Exciting, Dramatic.

There are so many different interpretations of Beethoven Symphonies it's insane...

But, unless you hear several, how do you know which one fits you?

Do you just buy a set because it's popular and say to yourself, well that's Beethoven, that's the way it should be played?

How do you know? Maybe you find out you hate Period Instruments or maybe you like slower tempos with modern instruments and large orchestras? Maybe you like them faster with modern instruments and smaller orchestras?

So to me, you have to do a lot of listening if you really love something. Each one also gives you a different glimpse into not only the composer but also the conductor and his vision of the work which leads to me to believe maybe I will like this conductors vision on another work that I enjoy. For me it's exploring deeper into things that I like and people that I like.


----------



## Aramis (Mar 1, 2009)

About 25 _Don Giovannis_, over 17 _Rigolettos_, about 15 _L'Elisirs d'Amores_, 11 _Marias Stuardas_ and _Madamas Butterflies_...

I though I'm good until Schigolch came in and said he has 100+ _Normas_.


----------



## SONNET CLV (May 31, 2014)

I remain one of the crazy ones, as should have been evident had you read my post at the "Favorite 'Le Sacre' recordings" thread, where I admitted to purchasing two large boxes of Stravinsky's epic, with a total of 44 or so different versions. And this just adds to the recordings I already owned, some of which were not included in either box set. But hey! It was the 100th anniversary year of the riotous premier. What else could I do?

In my younger days I actually collected recordings of Beethoven's Fifth! Now that is pure wackiness, 'cause there are just too too many. (I acquired some 50 or so just on LP before the CD phase hit. I dread counting up the number I currently have. I gave up counting such things years ago.) Yet, I'm still open to possessing one more version, if it gets a really great review in a music magazine ... or if it gets an especially terrible review. I sometimes buy a recording because it is supposed to be so bad. It serves for comparisons.

I vowed years ago not to purchase another set of the complete Beethoven symphonies, but I've broken that vow many a time since. (Heck ... another Beethoven set adds another Fifth to my collection!)

In recent years, as I turned more and more to Schubert (whom I didn't understand in my youth and whom I always considered was a composer to study more deeply as I acquired some age and wisdom), I began collecting Winterreise recordings. But the variety there is copious since the work is arranged for several voice types and various instrumental groups besides the requisite pianoforte.

Of course I count multiple copies of nearly every major musical work. I have many many _Brandenburg Concerto_ sets and Vivaldi _Four Seasons_ recordings. I find the tonal variety of the Bach concerti more varied than in the Vivaldi works, so I actually pursue the Bach moreso than the Vivaldi.

For someone like Bruckner, though I have several complete sets of his symphonies, I lean towards picking up interpretations of my two favorite symphonies, the Fourth and the Seventh. I have many of those. Each one is unique and telling in its own way.

For Nielsen it's the Fourth Symphony ("The Inextinguishable"), for Mahler the Second and Fourth, for Shostakovich the Fifth. With Bartok it remains the String Quartets. For Bach, the Cantatas, especially BWV 82, and the Brandenburgs. For Mozart the Oboe Quartet (my favorite work by Mozart). It's obviously easier to collect multiple copies of older established works by the classical masters than it is to find a lot of the modern stuff. But I do have several versions of favorite pieces like Gorecki's Third Symphony (I think I own every recording of it) and Penderecki's _Threnody_. It's often more difficult to track down multiple versions of something by, say, Iannis Xenakis or George Crumb (though I have managed several versions of the string quartet_ Black Angels_, a favorite again).

Craziness, for sure.

Often I do comparative listening, sometimes with three or four works compared at a time, sometimes only one movement of each under scrutiny. I often use the score in hand for such listens. I like to see (or hear) what I might learn. I like to learn.

Music is a passion for me. It was never my main job, but it was always on the fringe side of everything I've ever done ... nearly everything. And for that reason it remains still fun, 'cause I've never overdosed on it or came to count music as a means of earning a living. It's been a lifetime hobby, and remains so well into my umpteenth decade.

I may be crazy, and I may be stupid for collecting multiple copies of so many works, but I've learned a lot, so I'm not dumb.

At least I hope not.

As long as I can afford this addiction, and I_ can _afford it, there is probably no harm done.


----------



## GreenMamba (Oct 14, 2012)

No. If I have duplicates, it's because of pairing issues.

I certainly appreciate that various interpretations can be quite different. I like listening to different performances on Spotify, etc. However, when push comes to shove, I'd always rather acquire a work I don't currently own at all, and there are so many of those on my wish list.

I don't have a big CD collection to begin with. I'm a bit of a minimalist with possessions.


----------



## Alypius (Jan 23, 2013)

> 1. Have you intentionally purchased multiple recordings of the same musical works?
> 2. If you have, why?
> 3. Which composers/musical works do you most feel the need to collect multiple recordings of?


As a general principle, I try not to own multiples. Partly it is because, with my rather limited resources, I would rather use my funds to expand the breadth of my collection. I would rather purchase new works than performances of something I already own. Because of this, I end up spending a fair amount of time _before purchasing_ reading reviews, testing out performances on Spotify, YouTube, etc., and also reading what people around here and other venues recommend. Part of that is simply the good fun of the search itself. Also, since chamber music makes up much of my collection, there are often only a handful of performances of individual works. It's easier if symphonies are one's first preference to end up seeking out multiple versions.

I realize that my tendency to avoid multiples differs significantly from most other collectors. I certainly can hear differences between performances, often significant differences, but in those cases where I have multiple recordings of the same work, I almost inevitably zero in on one performance as my preferred and listen to it to the exclusion of the others. I also tend _not_ to buy box sets, which is one of the ways one tends to accumulate multiple recordings. And in fact, probably the majority of the multiples that I own have come from buying (a small number of) box sets. If I end up with multiples that are not part of a box set, I generally end up selling back the CDs and deleting the files from my computer (but only after I've got a good sense of what I prefer).

In several cases, I want an HIP version and a non-HIP version. So for Bach's _Well-Tempered Clavier_ and _Goldberg Variations_, I have both a piano version and a harpsichord version. While I generally prefer the HIP version, I have both a modern and an original-instrument version of Haydn's string quartets. In a few cases, I continue buying new performances in hopes of finding a version of something that I'm satisfied with (I've had a very hard time finding performances of Mozart's piano concertos that really satisfy me -- especially in terms of good acoustics).

There are a few significant exceptions to all this:
*Stravinsky's _Rite of Spring_ (Stravinsky himself; Markevich; Gergiev / Kirov; Boulez / Cleveland; Dudamel / Simon Bolivar)
*Beethoven's symphonies (Karajan 1962; Kleiber (5&7); Barenboim; Gardiner; Vanska)
*Beethoven's string quartets (Takacs Quartet; Alban Berg Quartett; Quatuor Mosaiques [for op. 18])
*Debussy's _Preludes_ (Jacobs; Samson Francois; Michelangeli; Bavouzet)
*Bartok's _Concerto for Orchestra_ and _Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta_ (Reiner / Chicago; Boulez / Cleveland)
*Ravel's _Piano Concerto in G_ (Argerich; Zimerman; Bavouzet)
*Shostakovich's symphonies (Barshai, Haitink, Mravinsky, Petrenko, strays such as Bernstein doing #5)

These exceptions are because I sometimes want both a classic or historically famous performance (e.g. Stravinsky's _Rite_, also Markevich) and an outstanding contemporary one (e.g. Gergiev, Boulez). In the case of contemporary performances of _Rite of Sping_, Boulez captures the clarity and detail, Gergiev the savagery. But my interest in differences of interpretation here is more the exception than the rule.


----------



## Orfeo (Nov 14, 2013)

*Anton Bruckner's Eighth Symphony:* Karajan (BPO, VPO), Wand (BPO), Barenboim (Chicago), Kubelik (Bavarian), Rozhdestvensky (USSR Ministry), Most (Mahler Youth), Horenstein (BBC), Tennstedt (LPO). Why? The canvas (or scope) of this magnificent symphony is so huge that various renditions (or approaches) are valid in their own rights and are often revealing).

*Alexander Glazunov's Sixth Symphony:* Butt (LSO), Serebrier (RSNO), Fedoseyev (Moscow), Svetlanov (USSR SO), Golavanov (Moscow Radio). It is a wonderful score, in some ways Tchaikovskian and Borodinian, and yet it points to people like Rachmaninoff, Gliere, and others. And it's interesting how they treat the outer movements in particular: grand in Borodin's style, or something closer to Tchaikovsky's dramatic utterance and manner. Butt is more of the former, while Fedoseyev brings out more of Tchaikovsky in the reading (though more Glazunov/Borodin type majestic in the finale).

*Pyotr Tchaikovsky's Manfred Symphony:* Muti (Philharmonia), Svetlanov (USSR), Rakhlin (USSR SO), Symeonov (USSR Grand Radio SO), Simonov (LSO), Jurowski (LPO), Ashkenazy (Philharmonia), Ahronovitch (LSO). An amazing work that invites the various degrees of the (overly) sentimental approach, the highly poetic one (slow movement), the redemption, the struggles. And it is amazing how different interpretations of it are often compelling and bring new lights of this difficult work not readily recognizable before.


----------



## Bulldog (Nov 21, 2013)

No. 1 is an amusing question. How can a person accidentally acquire multiple versions of the same work?

In my case, I've had a penchant for acquiring many multiple versions of the works I most love. Some of this acquiring has to do with my reviewing multiple versions during the time period I was reviewing for Classical Net and MusicWeb.

As for specifics, I have about 150 versions of Bach's Goldberg Variations and dozens of versions of the WTC. Other Bach works where I have "dozens" include the French/English Suites, keyboard partitas, solo cello suites, Brandenburgs, etc. Clearly from my perspective, Bach is best. 

I also have many versions of Shostakovich symphonies, quartets and the Op. 87 Preludes and Fugues. Other composers in the "many" category include Mahler, Bruckner, Dvorak, Buxtehude, Chopin, Schubert, Schumann, Handel keyboard suites, Haydn quartets and solo keyboard, Janacek quartets, Mozart……

Overall, the more I know of a work, the more I realize that many types of interpretations well reflect the music's greatness. However the one area where I'm quite stubborn is that I have no interest in hearing modern strings for baroque music.


----------



## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

I have 5 sets of Haydn's London symphonies and two sets of the Paris symphonies. I love doing comparisons of the same work in different performances.


----------



## SimonNZ (Jul 12, 2012)

There was another thread a while back on this subject. At the time I wrote this:



SimonNZ said:


> I used to have forty-something recordings of the Goldberg Variations, but after a three-year process of culling my insane collection I now have just the essential dozen recordings of that work.
> 
> edit: after checking it turns out I still have 22 recordings of the Goldbergs:
> 
> Arrau, Cole, Gould '55, Gould '81, Hantai, Hewitt, Jarrett, Kempff, Kirkpatrick, Landowska, Leonhardt '53, Leonhardt '65, Leonhardt '76, Pinnock, Karl Richter, Ross, Schiff, Suzuki, Tureck '47, Tureck '57, Yudina, Walcha


But since my vinyl got stolen I've lost eight of those (and added one on cd by Rousset)

After that I'd say maybe a dozen recordings of Monteverdi's 1610 Vespers


----------



## StlukesguildOhio (Dec 25, 2006)

Having begun this thread, I suppose I should fess up to my own collecting habits. I have a sizable music collection. I am at the point where more often than not, recent purchases are of alternative performances of works I already own than of works that are "new" to me.

In the case of the core repertoire that I listen to most I tend to have at least two alternative recordings. In most instances a seek out at least one older "historical" performance and one more contemporary one. In some instances I have more than two or three versions. In some cases this is because I have purchased the work specifically for the performance of a given musician(s). But there are also some works that I am so infatuated with that I seek to hear any acclaimed version. Among the works that I have the most performances of I would include Bach's WTC, AoF, and Goldbergs; Beethoven's symphonies... especially no. 9; Mozart's clarinet quintet/concerto; Haydn's "London Symphonies", etc...

I am quite of the same thinking as Winterreisender in that I often tend to have far more versions of vocal works. Among those I am most obsessed with I would include Gluck's _Orphée et Euridice/Orfeo Ed Euridice_, all of Mozart's major operas, the concert arias, the _Requiem_, and the _Great Mass in C-minor_; Berlioz' _Les nuits d'été_; Schubert's _Winterreise_ and other lieder; Verdi's _La Traviata_; Wagner's _Ring, Parsifal,_ and _Tristan_; Humperdinck's _Hänsel und Gretel_; most of Richard Strauss' operas... especially _Salome, Elektra_, and _Der Rosenkavalier_; the songs of Schumann, Faure, Debussy, and Ravel; Faure's _Requiem_, Mahler's _Song of the Earth_ and Strauss' _Four Last Songs_.


----------



## SONNET CLV (May 31, 2014)

SimonNZ said:


> But since my vinyl got stolen....


Tragic as the theft is (and I am saddened by and sorry for your loss), it seems a touch encouraging, perhaps, to those of us who value the vinyl experience, that someone out there still thinks LP records are worth stealing. Those who proclaim that vinyl is dead should talk to you -- or better yet, your sneaky little thief.


----------



## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Although I'm always interested in hearing how different performers approach a piece of music, I'm more likely to use my limited funds to investigate unfamiliar music than to duplicate repertoire I already have. It's hard not to end up with unsought versions of things, simply because they're coupled with the works I'm actually looking for, and I won't turn down another version of a favorite work if I think there will be something really special about it (I read reviews a lot). As time goes on I get to know what performers and kinds of performances I prefer in different repertoire, and once I have a version, or a few versions, that substantially satisfy my idea of a piece, I don't go looking for still others. That said, I do have a hard time resisting performances of Sibelius's 7th Symphony (someday someone will get it just right), as well as Wagner's _Tristan_ (which no one can ever get just right) and _Parsifal_ (which can sound just right in many interpretations). I also think it impossible to have too much Maria Callas, though I'm nowhere close to testing that thesis.


----------



## Guest (Jun 12, 2014)

I have probably 1000 or so hours of classical music, so I'm arguably in the middle as far as collection size goes - some have 10x or 100x smaller, some have 10x or 100x larger.

Like @Alypius above, I prefer to add new works rather than new versions of existing works. I also have this weird habit of occasionally trying to listen to every single disc in my collection over the course of several months, which definitely helps me keep the focus on quality over quantity. However I have collected a couple of versions of a few works. I have maybe four versions of Beethoven's 9th and ditto the 4th piano concerto.

I would like to gradually begin exploring new versions of some of my favorite works, but for now it's not a priority. Then again, I'm only about 5 years into this collecting thing -- ask again in 15 years!


----------



## Blake (Nov 6, 2013)

When I first started I would look for different interpretations of what I really dug at the time. Now, I choose more meticulously and and go for new pieces that I haven't heard. I jump around eras enough that one good interpretation for a piece is all I need. 

Different strokes, really. Some people like to fix on one point and dive down. I like to see as many points as I can, with the occasional single-pointed dive.


----------



## StlukesguildOhio (Dec 25, 2006)

Woodduck- Although I'm always interested in hearing how different performers approach a piece of music, I'm more likely to use my limited funds to investigate unfamiliar music than to duplicate repertoire I already have... As time goes on I get to know what performers and kinds of performances I prefer in different repertoire...

I suspect that most of us with a sizable music collection began in this manner... learning which performers and conductors we liked most for a given repertoire or period. There comes a point, however... or at least such is true in my case... in which one finds that there are increasingly fewer major composers or works that one "must have". Over the last 6 or 7 years I have been able to purchase large numbers of recordings... at a rate far faster than I have been able to listen to them. I must have at least 60 or 70 opera recordings alone that I have yet to play. At a certain point I found the pleasure afforded by music that was wholly "new" to me has declined in comparison to that afforded by alternative recordings of old favorites.

...and once I have a version, or a few versions, that substantially satisfy my idea of a piece, I don't go looking for still others.

As I suggested, in most instances I tend to seek out 2 or 3 alternative recordings of works that I count among the "core repertoire". In doing so, I tend to look for performances that are quite different from one another: one historic, one contemporary, perhaps one HIP. I usually don't go looking for further alternatives... but rather, they seem to find me.:lol:

That said, I do have a hard time resisting performances of Sibelius's 7th Symphony (someday someone will get it just right), as well as Wagner's Tristan (which no one can ever get just right) and Parsifal (which can sound just right in many interpretations). I also think it impossible to have too much Maria Callas, though I'm nowhere close to testing that thesis.

I am admittedly no Sibelius fanatic... but I do have several recording of most of his symphonies. The one performance that truly sold me on the 7th... and on Sibelius... was that of Beecham:


----------



## Guest (Jun 12, 2014)

I should say that, although the interpretations may vary wildly, I generally prefer to stick with one favorite recording of a work. There are a few exceptions in which I can't seem to choose between strengths and weaknesses of a couple of recordings, but they are few indeed.

I have Dvorak 9 in Bernstein and Kubelik (and have heard others too), but I rarely ever listen to the Kubelik. To me, the Kubelik recording has more clarity and precision, but a few moments seem far too tame in comparison to the energetic Bernstein disc on Sony. I tried to listen to them back to back a few times to make more in-depth judgements, but it turns out I would just rather have the energy in those few parts, 95% of the time.


----------



## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

StlukesguildOhio said:


> I am admittedly no Sibelius fanatic... but I do have several recording of most of his symphonies. The one performance that truly sold me on the 7th... and on Sibelius... was that of Beecham:




Yes, I once had the Beecham Sibelius 7th on LP. It was actually my introduction to the piece, and a beautiful introduction it is (I wonder why I don't have it now). It feels more affectionate - that adjective always gets applied to Beecham, but somehow it fits - than some; others may be more craggy, or more tragic, or more mystical, or more whatever (Bernstein's is more whatever!) - and so I must hear them too. I guess we all need our little compulsions.


----------



## Marschallin Blair (Jan 23, 2014)

> Woodduck: That said, I do have a hard time resisting performances of Sibelius's 7th Symphony (someday someone will get it just right), as well as Wagner's Tristan (which no one can ever get just right) and Parsifal (which can sound just right in many interpretations). I also think it impossible to have too much Maria Callas, though I'm nowhere close to testing that thesis.


_Ja. Oui. Si._ . . and _a fortiori_ on the Callas; especially anything from the late forties to the mid-fifties.


----------



## opus55 (Nov 9, 2010)

I used to think it's crazy to own multiple recordings of the same work.....


----------



## Marschallin Blair (Jan 23, 2014)

opus55 said:


> I used to think it's crazy to own multiple recordings of the same work.....


Even with the winnowing process of 'quality' over 'quantity' its a ravaging addiction and I have so many cds that I've literally lost count.

Less than all cannot satisfy man. . . or shopophoics taking Manhattan or Amazon.


----------



## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Marschallin Blair said:


> _Ja. Oui. Si._ . . and _a fortiori_ on the Callas; especially anything from the late forties to the mid-fifties.


Especially that, yes. But she rarely did anything that cannot _teach us something_. Of what other singer can that be said? And, high note problems aside, I love the darker coloration her voice took on in the '60s; I treasure her explorations of mezzo repertoire as much as anything she ever did in her youthful prime, and wish fervently (but hopelessly!) that she had added other complete mezzo roles to her uniquely classy Carmen.


----------



## Marschallin Blair (Jan 23, 2014)

Woodduck said:


> Especially that, yes. But she rarely did anything that cannot _teach us something_. Of what other singer can that be said? And, high note problems aside, I love the darker coloration her voice took on in the '60s; I treasure her explorations of mezzo repertoire as much as anything she ever did in her youthful prime, and wish fervently (but hopelessly!) that she had added other complete mezzo roles to her uniquely classy Carmen.


---
I completely agree. It's just that I'm more inclined to the stratosphere than to the mezzo-sphere. Where do you think the term 'high drama' comes from?-- it comes from Divina's vintage Lucias, Normas, and most especially her Medeas. Its not in the OED but its true.


----------



## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Marschallin Blair said:


> ---
> I completely agree. It's just that I'm more inclined to the stratosphere than to the mezzo-sphere. Where do you think the term 'high drama' comes from?-- it comes from Divina's vintage Lucias, Normas, and most especially her Medeas. Its not in the OED but its true.


Unmitigated sophistry.


----------



## Marschallin Blair (Jan 23, 2014)

Woodduck said:


> Unmitigated sophistry.


I prefer the euphemistic stylization, "religious zealot," as I'm a Callas devotee.


----------



## amfortas (Jun 15, 2011)

opus55 said:


> I used to think it's crazy to own multiple recordings of the same work.....


Especially when you already know how it's going to end.


----------



## ptr (Jan 22, 2013)

joen_cph said:


> Impressive; an indiscrete question perhaps, but could you reveal in some way whether you use these library resources professionally too or not?


Well I don't know, think I've written about it before, I'm just an "almost" obsessive collector, could have been stamps or coins or women.. But I choose music as it speaks more to my aural sensitivities.

On the whole I regard it as a gentleman's private library, no public lending available but sometimes listening (for thoise who is visiting), I have made my database available to a few national institutions (for research purposes) and I have been known to sometimes make copies for temporary listening (mostly of analogue very rare sources, but not very often as I do not have the time or patience to do it well..)

So, no, it is purely for pleasure that I collect recorded music, and slightly as a preparation for hearing some works live..

/ptr


----------



## brotagonist (Jul 11, 2013)

1. Yes, I have intentionally purchased multiple versions of a few works, so far. I am still kind of in the 'establishing a core collection' phase, so my primary interest has been in selecting additional pieces for my collection, hence I have not deliberately 'duplicated' a whole lot.

2. I acquired additional versions, because I liked a certain conductor or performers, because I wanted an HIP performance, or because I felt that the other album sounded better than the one I already had... The subjective appreciation of one album over another is likely the strongest factor influencing my purchase of multiple recordings.

3. I think the composers I most like to have multiple recordings of are my favourite ones, and particularly my favourite pieces by those same composers. There is also a tendency to want music from the common practice in multiple versions, while I might be less inclined to get multiple versions of 20th Century composers. I'm not sure why this is: perhaps there are just not that many versions of the latter available, or perhaps because there are certain performers that I have come to love and respect and I just choose their performances right away.


----------



## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

Beethoven's Ninth (33 recordings so far): Compulsion and searching for the best one. I have settled on Ferenc Fricsayas the best, so am not buying as wildly as before, but can't pass up a good deal.

Handel's Messiah because I love it. I have Dunedin Consort's (Dublin Vesion), Westenburg's, Academic Orchestra and Choir's (Copenhagen) live recording, Higgenbottom (all male), and a version sung in German (not Mozart's reorchestration).

Mussorgsky's Pictures at Exhibition: Got carried away and bought all sorts of different renditions from accordion, strings, and brass to different orchestrations, concerto, and of course piano.

Beethoven's Fidelio: Just a few because I finally found the one I really like and already had another and got one free. Also bought a production done in English.

Brahms German Requiem because I wanted to get the live recording from the Academic Orchestra and Choir.

Beethoven Symphonies: Two cycles (Walter and Wand) plus miscellaneous editions of some of the symphonies.

Sometimes an extra copy is a nice loaner so you don't have to worry about someone ruining your disc or even not returning it.


----------



## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

Florestan said:


> Beethoven Symphonies: Two cycles (Walter and Wand) plus miscellaneous editions of some of the symphonies.


Only two Beethoven symphony cycles? Ah, jeez, that's really terrible! So drop a buck and get the Liebowitz cycle, which is very good and kind of Walter's opposite. C'mon, you know you want to! It's part of this download...

http://www.amazon.com/Genius-Beetho...402622304&sr=1-1&keywords=genius+of+beethoven


----------



## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

Of course, I wouldn't be an established classical listener without multiple sets of the Beethoven symphonies, keyboard concertos, violin concerto, triple concerto, string quartets, keyboard sonatas and the Missa Solemnis.

As far as livable space at my house, the box sets are winning!!


----------



## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

KenOC said:


> Only two Beethoven symphony cycles? Ah, jeez, that's really terrible! So drop a buck and get the Liebowitz cycle, which is very good and kind of Walter's opposite. C'mon, you know you want to! It's part of this download...
> 
> http://www.amazon.com/Genius-Beetho...402622304&sr=1-1&keywords=genius+of+beethoven


Affordable in electronic download, but extremely expensive on a CD. What makes this such a great performance over others? I see Santa Fe Listener gave it 4 stars (he does not often give out 4 stars).


----------



## Steve Wright (Mar 13, 2015)

Ooh, this is fun.
_1. Have you intentionally purchased multiple recordings of the same musical works?
_
I have only just started out in the serious collecting business (and only as far as my finances will allow, so second-hand off Amazon Marketplace) but, so far, the things I seem to be collecting are:
*Brahms Symphonies *(esp 2 & 3): so far Karajan/BPO, Wand/NDRSO, Sanderling/Dresden
*Schubert Symphonies 8 & 9*: Bohm/BPO, Mackerras/OAE, Wand/DNRSO and (started with this, not the best but clearly good enough to get me addicted!) Lande/St Petersburg 
*Schubert Piano Sonata D960*: Kempff, Jando (cheap!)
*Sibelius Symphony 5*: Rattle/Birmingham SO, Berglund/Bournemouth SO

_2. If you have, why?_
Simply, because I love these pieces the most, thus far. I am sure other things will take over in time, and I know that in general the above are beautiful rather than difficult works. The first movements of Brahms 2 and Schubert 8 and 9 strike me, just now, as the most beautiful things I have heard, and I am really enjoying hearing how they can be done differently.

_3. Which composers/musical works do you most feel the need to collect multiple recordings of?
_
That'll be Schubert, right now. But Bruckner will be next, I think. He does seem like someone worth hearing various versions of - his music is so ripe for interpretation - more or less spiritual, soaring, bombastic, shimmering etc. I'm also going to want to hear various versions of Sibelius, from ice to fire or however the cliches go..


----------



## DiesIraeCX (Jul 21, 2014)

*Beethoven*: _Symphony No. 9 in D-minor, Op. 125 _

Don't judge me.

Herbert von Karajan/Berlin (1963) (1977 DVD) (1977 on DG, different performance than DVD)
Ferenc Fricsay/Berlin (1958)
Arturo Toscanini/NBC (1952)
Wilhelm Furtwängler/Berliner (1942) Philharmonia (1954 Lucerne Festival, his last performance of the Ninth)
George Szell/Cleveland (Sony)
Claudio Abbado (1996 on Sony) (2001 on DG)
David Zinman/Tonhalle (ArteNova)
John Eliot Gardiner/ORR (Archiv)
Riccardo Muti/Philadelphia (on Seraphim Classics)
Rene Leibowitz (Compilation)


----------



## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

Buying multiple copies of a work can have one or more of several reasons:

1. You are looking for a better or the best performance (the latter guarantees you will buy dozens of different performances).

2. You just like buying CDs and at the time you are really focused into a particular work.

3. You find a different treatment of a work (full work vs somewhat cut, or Fidelio vs Leonore opera, or the various revisions Handel did to Messiah).

4. You want to hear it sung in a different language.

5. You want to hear it with a different conductor or different soprano (or other voice), or your favorite soprano (or other voice).

6. A different orchestration or transcriptions of a work.

7. You saw it for a super low price used and could not resist even though you already have 7 performances of the work.

8. You saw it on Amazon for only $6 used and all the listings on Ebay are upwards of $49 so it must be a steal, you grab it.

Ok, surely that is not all, please add to this list.


----------



## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

DiesIraeVIX said:


> *Beethoven*: _Symphony No. 9 in D-minor, Op. 125 _
> 
> Don't judge me.
> 
> ...


I won't judge you if you don't judge me for my somewhere around 40 different Beethoven Ninths, including one with a CD ROM of the sheet music going by as you play it which I have never watched because Linux operating systems do not run CD ROMs, but I bought it anyway.


----------



## Blancrocher (Jul 6, 2013)

Florestan said:


> 8. You saw it on Amazon for only $6 used and all the listings on Ebay are upwards of $49 so it must be a steal, you grab it.


Ha--good one. I've used this rationale many times. However--though I'm not sure if I should admit this, even to myself--it's always been a letdown when I've gotten that usually-expensive rarity in my hands!


----------



## ptr (Jan 22, 2013)

Of works where I have multiple recorded versions the main driving force is to listen (and evaluate) different interpretations, ultimately to hear if some performer/conductor comes close to what I hear when I read the score.

/ptr


----------



## Cesare Impalatore (Apr 16, 2015)

StlukesguildOhio said:


> 1. Have you intentionally purchased multiple recordings of the same musical works?
> 
> 2. If you have, why?
> 
> 3. Which composers/musical works do you most feel the need to collect multiple recordings of?


1. Yes, quite often.

2. Because no one is perfect but many go near perfection in different ways.

3. The most prominent examples in my case are:

- Schubertiano Sonatas
- Mozart: Requiem
- Beethoven: Symphonies
- All sorts of Operas, I almost never have only one recording of the same work if multiple good ones are available.


----------



## AnotherSpin (Apr 9, 2015)

I am getting almost all accessible versions of my favorite pieces of music, and the reason why is that none of them could be definitive or ultimate.


----------



## HaydnBearstheClock (Jul 6, 2013)

Yes, I do have multiple versions of some of the pieces I really like. In some cases, this happened because CDs often contain 'overlaps' to what you already have, plus something else that you don't but would like to have. For eg., that was the case with Haydn's Paris symphonies, which I owned in Kuijken's interpretation, before I bought the Bruno Weil set, which also contained many Sturm und Drang symphonies that I didn't have.

In some cases, I may want a better recording because I believe the performance could be better. In others, I may want to hear a renowned interpreter or a different approach to the same piece. Most of my 'repeats' so far are from Haydn's pieces.

But in general, I prefer having one 'reference' recording.


----------



## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

I have six sets of the Bach Sonatas for Violin and Harpsichord.


----------



## Heliogabo (Dec 29, 2014)

In fact, When I have multiple recordings of the same pieces it is because of several reasons, already mentioned here. In some cases, with works that I specially enjoy, I'm fine with two versions just for sake of variation.
But I collect deliberately versions of just a few works: 
Bach's Goldberg variations and WTC. 
Beethoven's piano concerto Emperor.
Schubert's Winterreise.
And I'm beggining with some of Mahler's symphonies (4, 5, 6, 7, 9). This is specially dangerous to my pocket!


----------

