Standard repertoire

[Harry]

Is it just me, or is it really so that most people go for standard fare in classical music?
I see a lot of postings of the three B's and Mahler/Sibelius/Pettersson thank God/ Stravinsky, etc, etc, etc as Yul Bryner said in the the King of Siam.
But there is so much more quality to be found, yet the bulk of posters are keeping on the surface of things in their choice of composers.
That is not to say that this is a negative thing, but still there is more beyond as some people think, me thinks.
What you you have to say, my classical friends.

[Lethevich]

Too much music, too little time IMO. I have to narrow my choices, as I only have on average a few hours a day for dedicated music listening. I also like to extensively listen to certain pieces, often in multiple performances, which also cuts out time that could be spent on others.

[Harry]

Too much music, too little time IMO. I have to narrow my choices, as I only have on average a few hours a day for dedicated music listening. I also like to extensively listen to certain pieces, often in multiple performances, which also cuts out time that could be spent on others.

Well yes, that's far enough, Sarah!

[MN Dave]

The cream rises to the top. The rest may be of a certain quality, but it is not "the cream."  0:)

[springrite]

The cream rises to the top. The rest may be of a certain quality, but it is not "the cream."  0:)

Somehow I am not one who enjoy an all-cream diet. 

[Harry]

The cream rises to the top. The rest may be of a certain quality, but it is not "the cream."  0:)

I have issues with the term cream and certain quality!

[Harry]

Somehow I am not one who enjoy an all-cream diet. 

See, you are a man after my heart, that it is what I wanted to say.
But my cream diet has a much wider scope!

[MN Dave]

I have issues with the term cream and certain quality!

You have issues indeed.

[Harry]

Well first workout now, and I hope too see many reactions you'd hear!

[MN Dave]

Well, if you get tired of listening to Beethoven, Harry, you can listen to Schubert or Mozart or Chopin...

[Steve]

It really is a matter of limited resources (mainly time). I certainly don't confine myself to the standard repotoire, but it is very time consuming to navigate the world of lesser-known composers.

[Sergeant Rock]

One reason my collection of CDs and LPs grew to 10,000 is because I've ventured far off the beaten standard-repertoire path. There are around 400 composers in my collection. Even when I listen to the most popular composers, I tend nowadays to listen to their less popular works: Beethoven 2, 4 and 8 rather than 5, 6 and 9; early Tchaikovsky symphonies instead of 4, 5, and 6. But then I have all day to listen to music. I understand most people aren't as lucky as I am...or as old    I completely understand, Harry, why many, perhaps most, would rather concentrate on the "cream" or their favorites (i.e., Paul and Pettersson/Schnittke) once they finally have an opportunity to sit down and listen.

Sarge 

[karlhenning]

Most of the music which has earned a place in the standard repertory deserves to be there.  It doesn't necessarily follow (though jbuck, bless him, will at times pursue this line) that the music which has not had the opportunity to win its way into standard rep, for that reason must deserve its obscurity.

To some degree, there's a closed-circuit aspect to it.  The standard rep, for that very reason, gets a lot of exposure, and people have to know something in order to like it.  And we've all experienced the "one tends to like what one knows" dynamic.

[marvinbrown]

Too much music, too little time IMO. I have to narrow my choices, as I only have on average a few hours a day for dedicated music listening. I also like to extensively listen to certain pieces, often in multiple performances, which also cuts out time that could be spent on others.

 Sadly I am in a similar situation.  Lately I've been getting no more that 2 hours of listening time every day. That hardly gives me enough time to explore obscure composers- especially when my Bach collection has been weighed, measured and found WANTING    .  

 marvin

[MN Dave]

Sarge has hit the nail on its noggin.

[Kullervo]

I've been listening almost exclusively to Medieval and Renaissance composers. Almost none of those are "standard repertoire" (Tallis's Spem in Alium might qualify).

[karlhenning]

I've been listening almost exclusively to Medieval and Renaissance composers. Almost none of those are "standard repertoire" (Tallis's Spem in Alium might qualify).

Yes, but you've been making a point of a historical survey, runner deeper than just the frothy top 

[karlhenning]

Sarge has hit the nail on its noggin.

Uh-huh, I suspected that Sarge was hitting the noggin, when he voted "Burma!"

[MN Dave]

Yes, but you've been making a point of a historical survey, runner deeper than just the frothy top 

I've done my survey. Now I sit in my comfort zone, for the most part.

[Kullervo]

Yes, but you've been making a point of a historical survey, runner deeper than just the frothy top 

At first I planned to listen to only the "major" composers from each era, but there is so little knowledge of "named" Medieval and Renaissance composers that it makes no sense to me not to hear as many as I can. Though, once I get to the point where known composers become more commonplace I will have to use discretion.