Do you collect incomplete sets?

[George]

Or, in other words, can you collect incomplete sets?

I ask because I have noticed that when I have say, Volumes 2 and 3 of a set, I have some compulsive need to get that first volume, even if the performances aren't that great or I am not that interested in the repertoire.

I guess it's just the nature of collecting, but I wonder if some of you can limit your buying to just the volumes you desire?

Also, I wonder if down the line it makes more sense to have the whole set, as it may be worth more that way?

Another example is recordings by the same performer of the same works. Recently I've been pondering Rubinstein's first set or Nocturnes, when I already have his two other sets. 

[dtwilbanks]

You gotta do what you gotta do. 

[jochanaan]

Well, I can.  I often will finish out a set with recordings by different performers, just to see how someone else approaches the music.  For instance, I have Symphonies #1, #2, #5 and #7 of the 1970s Colin Davis/Boston Symphony Orchestra cycle, but I filled out the cycle with Paavo Berglund/Bournemouth Symphony (#4) and Ashkenazy/Philharmonia (#3, #6).  And if I had known how uneven the first Solti/Mahler cycle was, I probably would have not bought the complete set immediately.  I was young and a little foolish in those days. Since then I've added the Klaus Tennstedt/LPO M1, the Leonard Bernstein/London Symphony #8, and four (at last count) other #2's, including Gilbert Kaplan/London Symphony and the historic Oskar Fried recording.

[Bogey]

For me, it is a "set to set" decision. 

[Bogey]

Quick question George.  And be honest.  Did Mark make you post this thread? 

[George]

Quick question George.  And be honest.  Did Mark make you post this thread? 

No, I did it all on my own.

Oh, right, his incomplete Beethoven set.  Lucky he doesn't wish to finish that one, for that would cost him quite a bit to replace those missing 15 CDs. 

I actually had the idea for this thread weeks ago, but failed to remember to start it.

I was having a conversation with an old Music History professor of mine and he said that he thinks the reason the record companies give the individual sets numbers like Volume 1, 2, 3, 4, etc; is so that you feel as if you are missing something if you don't have them all. Therefore, you then go and buy the missing pieces.

I guess that the term "collector" implies that one "collects" whatever one wishes, but I just found this idea interesting, especially in the few cases where I have bought missing volumes just to have the whole set. I have a feeling Harry will chime in when he returns. 

[Bogey]

No, I did it all on my own.

I have a feeling Harry will chime in when he returns. 

Ummmm, errrr, George, you should know better than anyone that Harry does collect complete sets....he collects complete catalogues. 

[George]

Ummmm, errrr, George, you should know better than anyone that Harry does collect complete sets....he collects complete catalogues. 

Touche. 

[Mark]

Or, in other words, can you collect incomplete sets?

I ask because I have noticed that when I have say, Volumes 2 and 3 of a set, I have some compulsive need to get that first volume, even if the performances aren't that great or I am not that interested in the repertoire.

Quite often, this is the case for me. However, it works in reverse, too: I've actually gotten rid of incomplete sets having acquired the complete set of the same works in what I consider to be better performances. A case in point? Beethoven's Violin Sonatas on Naxos. Had just the one volume, and wanted to get the rest. Then I acquired two or three superior complete cycles, and that solitary Naxos disc quickly found itself on a charity shop shelf. I coudn't keep it because a) it wasn't that great, and b) it wasn't part of a complete cycle, and I had no intention of making this the case. Such is the strength of my 'completism' that I'd rather do this and clear shelf space than have odd volumes hanging about.

I guess it's just the nature of collecting, but I wonder if some of you can limit your buying to just the volumes you desire?

Having said all the above, I'm incredibly fickle in that I can also do this, and just buy an odd volume of a set. But ...

... the reason the record companies give the individual sets numbers like Volume 1, 2, 3, 4, etc; is so that you feel as if you are missing something if you don't have them all. Therefore, you then go and buy the missing pieces.

... I generally get twitchy if I buy something that's part of a numbered set and I don't have 'em all. However, give me a few weeks to simply enjoy the CD, and the twitchiness dies down. Then, I can just forget I don't own all the other numbered volumes.

Another example is recordings by the same performer of the same works. Recently I've been pondering Rubinstein's first set or Nocturnes, when I already have his two other sets. 

With this I have no qualms at all: if I like a performer and think that their two or more performances of any given work might have something interesting to offer, I'll happily buy as many recordings as I desire. Often, this proves quite revealing or contrasting: look at Abbado's two Beethoven symphonies cycles - both on DG, recorded several years apart, but a world away from one another in interpretive terms, and all the more fascinating for this.

Quick question George.  And be honest.  Did Mark make you post this thread? 

Oh, right, his incomplete Beethoven set.  Lucky he doesn't wish to finish that one, for that would cost him quite a bit to replace those missing 15 CDs. 

Ah, but you see, it's NOT incomplete, now is it? It's ony 'incomplete' from the point of view that it isn't the limited edition extended box set - which, I admit, I did think I was buying at first. But every note by Beethoven is there, and that was my original reason for purchasing it. As to collecting the 15 discs of historical stuff, why would I bother? Would I have bought these individually, or as a 15-disc set? No, because I have very limited interest in old recordings. At best, they'd have been a briefly fascinating aside to the main set, but would've sat in the box, unplayed save for a first spin, for years on end.

I often will finish out a set with recordings by different performers, just to see how someone else approaches the music.  For instance, I have Symphonies #1, #2, #5 and #7 of the 1970s Colin Davis/Boston Symphony Orchestra cycle, but I filled out the cycle with Paavo Berglund/Bournemouth Symphony (#4) and Ashkenazy/Philharmonia (#3, #6). 

Er ... which composer are we talking about here? I'm guessing Sibelius.

[marvinbrown]

Or, in other words, can you collect incomplete sets?

  In a word NO.  Why? Force of habit.  I got into Classical music through opera and vocal work.  It is meaningless to buy half or a quarter of an opera, even Wagner's Ring Cycle (comprised of 4 operas) which can be sold in fragmented sets makes no overall sense if you just buy one of the operas.  I carried this "habit" on to instrumental music.  Besides....its a lot cheaper when you buy a complete set than having to run after "missing" recordings to complete a set.   

  marvin

[DavidW]

  In a word NO.  Why? Force of habit.  I got into Classical music through opera and vocal work.  It is meaningless to buy half or a quarter of an opera, even Wagner's Ring Cycle (comprised of 4 operas) which can be sold in fragmented sets makes no overall sense if you just buy one of the operas.  I carried this "habit" on to instrumental music.  Besides....its a lot cheaper when you buy a complete set than having to run after "missing" recordings to complete a set.   

  marvin

But what about an incomplete set of complete works?  What you said makes sense, but when you generalize to other genres I hope you don't carry the completism with you. 

Anyway my fantastic example of an incomplete set that rocks hard is Smetana Q (on Supraphon) performing Beethoven's late SQs.

[George]

Quite often, this is the case for me. However, it works in reverse, too: I've actually gotten rid of incomplete sets having acquired the complete set of the same works in what I consider to be better performances. A case in point? Beethoven's Violin Sonatas on Naxos. Had just the one volume, and wanted to get the rest. Then I acquired two or three superior complete cycles, and that solitary Naxos disc quickly found itself on a charity shop shelf. I coudn't keep it because a) it wasn't that great, and b) it wasn't part of a complete cycle, and I had no intention of making this the case. Such is the strength of my 'completism' that I'd rather do this and clear shelf space than have odd volumes hanging about.

I have found that over time I often grow to enjoy interpretations that I didn't enjoy very much the first time. This is another reason I buy/keep complete sets, that way if/when my taste changes, I won't be kicking myself later. Also, I often like to keep hard to find purchases that I am not wild about to reference later. 

... I generally get twitchy if I buy something that's part of a numbered set and I don't have 'em all. However, give me a few weeks to simply enjoy the CD, and the twitchiness dies down. Then, I can just forget I don't own all the other numbered volumes.

Very good point. That's why I love wishlists. I can't tell you how many CDs I have really wanted, put on my wishlist for awhile, and never bought.

With this I have no qualms at all: if I like a performer and think that their two or more performances of any given work might have something interesting to offer, I'll happily buy as many recordings as I desire. Often, this proves quite revealing or contrasting: look at Abbado's two Beethoven symphonies cycles - both on DG, recorded several years apart, but a world away from one another in interpretive terms, and all the more fascinating for this.

Yes and in the case of Rubinstein's Nocturnes this is the case: very different interpretations.

Ah, but you see, it's NOT incomplete, now is it? It's ony 'incomplete' from the point of view that it isn't the limited edition extended box set - which, I admit, I did think I was buying at first. But every note by Beethoven is there, and that was my original reason for purchasing it. As to collecting the 15 discs of historical stuff, why would I bother? Would I have bought these individually, or as a 15-disc set? No, because I have very limited interest in old recordings. At best, they'd have been a briefly fascinating aside to the main set, but would've sat in the box, unplayed save for a first spin, for years on end.

Yeah that's why I said it was good you didn't want them. I suppose we could say that Brilliant released two complete sets and you got the one you wanted?   

[George]

But what about an incomplete set of complete works?  What you said makes sense, but when you generalize to other genres I hope you don't carry the completism with you. 

Yes, I am not speaking of complete sets that are sold as a set, but rather those that are sold separately. For example, Schnabel's Beethoven on Pearl/Naxos or Richter's "The Master" series.

Anyway my fantastic example of an incomplete set that rocks hard is Smetana Q (on Supraphon) performing Beethoven's late SQs.

Did they do a complete set? If not, I can see it would be easy to just buy the late SQs. 

[dtwilbanks]

Sometimes it seems there is too much collecting going on and not enough listening. I apply this to myself as well.

[George]

Sometimes it seems there is too much collecting going on and not enough listening. I apply this to myself as well.

Yes, I need to transition back to the listening phase.

[BachQ]

If your goal is to collect only incomplete sets, what happens if you accidently collect a complete set ....... ?

[dtwilbanks]

If your goal is to collect only incomplete sets, what happens if you accidently collect a complete set ....... ?

Give part of the set to someone else so they can start their own incomplete set.

[BachQ]

Give part of the set to someone else so they can start their own incomplete set.

But what if the recipient's goal is to collect only complete sets ....... ?

[dtwilbanks]

I'm pretty close to a complete set of the music I need. After that, it will be a matter of slowly collecting the music I want.

[dtwilbanks]

But what if the recipient's goal is to collect only complete sets ....... ?

Of course they are free to do so. It is out of your hands.