Capping your collection?

[springrite]

You would probably have one or more musical instruments in your home and be making your own music. This was certainly the case for many families in the 19th century. I wonder how many homes have this today?

Mine is the baton (often chopstick)

[Jo498]

You have a good point here - of course it is impossible to remember all the details in 100 different recordings of a Beethoven sonata, but this is at the same time the reason why it is so rewarding to have access to many recordings. You discover new things with each listening. Not only about the music but also concerning the interpretation in question.

You are right. My point was not really a good argument *against* having many recordings, maybe even the opposite as you explain.

I disagree with Big shot, if I understand correctly. For me, 5 well contrasted recordings of a Beethoven symphony are far more illuminating than 30 that will usually contain very similar ones (e.g. Karajan 1960s vs. 1970s). Sure, one needs some experience with different interpretations (and familiarity with the music) to recognize and appreciate differences. But for me it seems that after some threshold I tend to become indifferent again... In any case, sheer numbers do not say much. If you have the Eroica with Furtwängler, Toscanini, Scherchen, Norrington and Karajan you obviously have a much wider spectrum covered than with 3x Karajan, Böhm, Wand and Abbado.
And there is a lot of music where the differences are much smaller. In the Schubert quintet comparison one of the most extreme recordings was not included (Heifetz), another was included but is unavailable on CD (Taneyev/Rostropovitch). Compared to such differences the ones between the 5 fairly modern recordings that remained at the end are small nuances. Very few would claim that they give a different picture of the piece (as Heifetz or Taneyev clearly do compared to almost all "normal" recordings.)

If I was ruthlessly culling I would not have so many discs and often 10  or even 20 recordings of some pieces.
I am actually fairly bad at it (despite some past cases of overeagerness) and have often decided to keep a disc anyway because I liked it better than I remembered. Still, I cannot deny the effect that with some pieces I either do not seem to care all that much about the interpretation or apparently like several equally well without noticing big (or somehow relevant) differences. So logic tells me, I do not need all those alternatives...

[ComposerOfAvantGarde]

Mine is the baton (often chopstick)

When I was a toddler I used to hold one chopstick as if it were a violin and the other being a bow...and pretend to play violin all around the house whilst singing music I liked. Chopsticks are indeed incredibly convenient musical instruments!

[(poco) Sforzando]

Yes. Sometimes I wonder if this is not a more engaging and lively relationship with music than passively listening to tons of CDs. 

No question. The most unfortunate byproduct of this technology, recording, is that people by and large make music less for themselves or their friends. I cannot put it any better than the great British novelist E.M. Forster in his superb essay, "Not Listening to Music":

And now to end with an important point: my own performances upon the piano. These grow worse yearly, but never will I give them up. For one thing, they compel me to attend –  no wool-gathering or thinking myself clever here – and they drain off all non-musical matter. For another thing, they teach me a little about construction. I see what becomes of a phrase, how it is transformed or returned, sometimes bottom upward, and get some notion of the relation of keys. Playing Beethoven, as I generally do, I grow familiar with his tricks, his impatience, his sudden softnesses, his dropping of a tragic theme one semitone, his love, when tragic, for the key of C minor, and his aversion to the key of B major. This gives me a physical approach of Beethoven which cannot be gained through the slough of "appreciation." Even when people play as badly as I do, they should continue: it will help them to listen.

[king ubu]

(I do collect Hammerklaviers but mostly because I'm still looking for an actually good recording and will never have the technique to make one. I should probably get rid of some, but the piece fascinates me. Also, as far as recordings go: Why is it so hard even for virtuoso pianists who are hundreds of times better and more experienced than me? Why can someone play Rach 3 or Bartók 2 but not this piece? Anyway)

So once you found the perfect instrument, you will do the actually good recording? Or will you piece it together, using all the Hammerklaviers stored in your hangar? Sorry, couldn't resist 

As for the topic, I think I prefer reading my dad's old Andy Capp books ... seriously, I'm kind building my own library, and after three and a half years or so of serious collecting and listening (lagging behind a few thousand discs of course), I've done some capping only by handing out duplicates (will give some of my Busch recordings to a friend, now that I have the Warner box ... will keep the Dutton/Vocalion Beethoven discs though, don't ask me why, but the Bach and Schubert will go). Mostly I don't feel I've delved into things deeply enough to really tell the clinkers, but a few there are (anyone wants the Brahms violin sonatas by Ilya Grubert/Alena Cherny?). Also, carried away a few times by cheapo offers on discplus, I did order some crapola releases (Urania, IDIS and the like) that I'll unlikely play more than a couple of times.

[zamyrabyrd]

When I was a toddler I used to hold one chopstick as if it were a violin and the other being a bow...and pretend to play violin all around the house whilst singing music I liked. Chopsticks are indeed incredibly convenient musical instruments!

When I was 8, I used to play the piano on the rim of the sink while my mother curled my hair.

[Pat B]

I have all of my CDs (w/ their jewel cases) stored in large plastic boxes. I have about nine of them. I couldn't even tell you how many classical CDs I own (maybe 5,000? including box sets). I don't see anything wrong with owning 12 versions of The Planets just like I don't see anything wrong with me owning over 40 performances of Le sacre du printemps. I collect things and I don't actually intend on hearing everything in my collection, because this will never happen. What it really boils down to is having available options. If I'm in the mood for Brahms I can pull from a large collection, if I want to hear Schoenberg, I can pull from a large collection, etc. I cull occasionally, but mostly what I cull is duplication.

I am trying not to be a collector (in the sense of having things I won't listen to), for a handful of my own reasons, but just to be clear: I am not trying to talk you out of being one. I don't think Jo was either.

As for multiple versions, it really depends on the piece. I am comfortable with large collections of some pieces (and in fact, Le Sacre is one; I have 18 with no misgivings). But while I like The Planets, I don't listen to it that often. Mahler 1 is a bit different; I absolutely love the piece, but I feel like recordings of it tend to have less of an individual stamp. In these cases the marginal happiness I get from owning 12 instead of, say, 5 well-selected ones is probably zero. It might be negative after I move.

Like springrite, I intend to pass my collection to my kids (hopefully the CDs don't all bronze). I'm not sure whether they'll even want it: they're growing up in the age of streaming. But then, my parents' generation never thought mine would be interested in vinyl, so who knows what my kids will think.

[Mirror Image]

I am trying not to be a collector (in the sense of having things I won't listen to), for a handful of my own reasons, but just to be clear: I am not trying to talk you out of being one. I don't think Jo was either.

As for multiple versions, it really depends on the piece. I am comfortable with large collections of some pieces (and in fact, Le Sacre is one; I have 18 with no misgivings). But while I like The Planets, I don't listen to it that often. Mahler 1 is a bit different; I absolutely love the piece, but I feel like recordings of it tend to have less of an individual stamp. In these cases the marginal happiness I get from owning 12 instead of, say, 5 well-selected ones is probably zero. It might be negative after I move.

Like springrite, I intend to pass my collection to my kids (hopefully the CDs don't all bronze). I'm not sure whether they'll even want it: they're growing up in the age of streaming. But then, my parents' generation never thought mine would be interested in vinyl, so who knows what my kids will think.

As I stated in another post, my whole point in having a large collection comes down to having a plethora of music available to listen to at any time I want. Sometimes I end up with 20 or 40 different recordings of the same pieces, but I'm always on the lookout for ways to broaden my collection by introducing new composers to the fold or by having works by composers already in my collection that I didn't own already. Anyway, I know that you're not trying to talk me out of being a collector. That would require a psychology degree and lots of time.

[ShineyMcShineShine]

Interesting thread. I've never seen that TV show Hoarders, but it sounds like some of you are good candidates.  So far I have only a small collection of a few hundred CDs, plus downloads, but I'm already struggling with the capping question. For me, it collecting seems akin to an addiction because I'm always fighting the impulse to acquire more, even after I've resolved to make no further purchases. I have done some culling, more so among my non-classical music, and I find that I'm more satisfied with a leaner collection because it allows me to focus more on the music: I don't have to concern myself with which version to listen to, and I don't have to feel obligated to audition a growing stack of new acquisitions.

[zamyrabyrd]

Heck, I have LP's, music scores and books that take up much more space than CD's...

ZB

[Jo498]

Not to to give a false impression: Almost all of my collection is stored comparably tidy on shelves. The only thing that could be related to "hoarding" is the sheer number and that 5 or 6 feet of boxes are placed before rows of books in a bookshelf. So I am missing 6 or 8 ft. of shelf space for CDs (but before the move I actually have at least 5 rows of CD placed before books in a bookshelf.

And of course I would not dare to tell anyone how or how much s/he wants to collect. But I think most of us will draw a line somewhere. After all, of many repertoire staples there are dozens, even 100s of recordings (and sometimes more broadcasts, bootlegs etc.) available. Very few of us can (or would want to) accomodate 50000 or more discs (same applies for books etc.)

What I wanted to do with the start of this thread is merely to think publicly about options, methods and experiences with "softly limiting" one's collection. I prefer to at least think about this before I am forced to drastic measures by economics or logistics. But I am also aware of the fact that even a drastic reduction (say by 50% which would be a huge pain) would STILL leave me with 2k discs or more and firmly in the realm of "freaks" at least as long as the collection (or most of it) is visible in a living room.
So I perfectly understand the argument that as long as no hard limits are in place one might as well keep going.
OTOH, with some satiation I think I can reduce the acquisiton rate to about 50-100 discs per year. So if I cull at a similar rate the growth will be very slow, I do not have to think about new shelves every year and I also have a chance to keep up and maybe even listen to the Rubinstein collection bought more than 2 years ago.

And at least for myself there also seems to be a trade-off between enjoying recorded music and collecting obsessively. That's why I often say that in the strict sense I am not a collector as I am usually neither striving for completeness, like getting everything from a certain artists nor looking for original editions/covers etc.

[ShineyMcShineShine]

You also have to ask yourself: how much time do I spend listening to music vs. shopping for music? I find it is far too easy to sit down to listen to music in the evening only to end up leaping up and spending hours online shopping instead. Since I crested middle age, I became aware that my life is finite and I've kind of come to see it like a bucket of indeterminate size which might not hold everything I want to put into it. I'd rather spend that time listening to CDs rather than buying new ones that I might never get around to hearing. If I never acquired another CD, I'm pretty confident I could be satisfied listening to my current collection for the rest of my years.

[(poco) Sforzando]

Heck, I have LP's, music scores and books that take up much more space than CD's...

ZB

Except for the LPs, me too.

[Florestan]

Heck, I have LP's, music scores and books that take up much more space than CD's...

Except for scores, so do I.

If I never acquired another CD, I'm pretty confident I could be satisfied listening to my current collection for the rest of my years.

+ 1.

Not that being aware of the fact stops me from acquiring more CDs. 

[Florestan]

Honestly, if right now in this moment I decided not to acquire one single new CD before listening to all the CDs that I already have and have not listened to yet, it would probably take a few years until I add anything to my library --- even if I limited myself to my favorite composers only. 

How about you, guys?

[mc ukrneal]

You also have to ask yourself: how much time do I spend listening to music vs. shopping for music? I find it is far too easy to sit down to listen to music in the evening only to end up leaping up and spending hours online shopping instead. Since I crested middle age, I became aware that my life is finite and I've kind of come to see it like a bucket of indeterminate size which might not hold everything I want to put into it. I'd rather spend that time listening to CDs rather than buying new ones that I might never get around to hearing. If I never acquired another CD, I'm pretty confident I could be satisfied listening to my current collection for the rest of my years.

I enjoy the process of looking for new cds even if I don't buy any.

[Mirror Image]

Honestly, if right now in this moment I decided not to acquire one single new CD before listening to all the CDs that I already have and have not listened to yet, it would probably take a few years until I add anything to my library --- even if I limited myself to my favorite composers only. 

How about you, guys?

I'd be up for the challenge, Andrei. My latest purchase will mark my last CD purchase of the year. Let's see how many seconds I last. Haha.

[Jo498]

Honestly, if right now in this moment I decided not to acquire one single new CD before listening to all the CDs that I already have and have not listened to yet, it would probably take a few years until I add anything to my library --- even if I limited myself to my favorite composers only. 

Similar thoughts are among the reasons why I started this thread. But, in truth, I simply do not know how many. It's also somewhat complicated because there are many CDs where I just "dipped in", e.g. listening to only one piece. With box sets there is the further complication that e.g. in the Rubinstein collection (by far my biggest box) there are probably about 30 discs (because the usually are at LP length) with recordings I have listened to in earlier incarnations (often many times), so technically I have not listened to the discs but to the very same recordings.
Still, there must be several hundred but I do not know if they would last me for one year or three.

Another point is that I do agree with the library aspect many others have mentioned. So the unheard discs and sets are often some that were bought because occasion arose or because I wanted to cover something to have it "in the library" and I was more or less aware of the fact that I would not listen to them any time soon. (I usually kid myself that I will listen to them sometime...)

[(poco) Sforzando]

Another point is that I do agree with the library aspect many others have mentioned.

This will sound like the height of pretentiousness but it's true: from time to time I have had the thought that if all the libraries burned down and only my house remained, you could recover all the best in Western culture from the books, recordings, and films I have on my shelves.

Of course that's ridiculous. I don't have that many shelves.

(I usually kid myself that I will listen to them sometime...)

Who doesn't?

[Madiel]

Honestly, if right now in this moment I decided not to acquire one single new CD before listening to all the CDs that I already have and have not listened to yet, it would probably take a few years until I add anything to my library --- even if I limited myself to my favorite composers only. 

How about you, guys?

I generally don't allow myself to buy any new classical CDs until the last block of purchases have been listened to at least once. The main exception to this is the Bach cantata series, as I can't devote myself to cantata listening to the extent that would be necessary to 'clear' all of those discs. I also have a couple of discs that were thrown in as bonuses/gifts that haven't been listened to yet.

I'm a little less rigorous with pop music, but then they tend to come into the house in ones and twos, not 20s and 30s.

Of course, as is fairly well known by now I don't aim to acquire multiple versions of pieces. I'm far more interested in expanding the repertoire that I have, as I'm a long way from running out of music I'm interested in.

I end up with duplication of course, but that's just because discs/boxes have multiple pieces on them and I would generally avoid something with a lot of duplication. I really only go seeking a 2nd version if I'm not satisfied with the 1st version, and the dissatisfaction can take some time to gel. For instance, I still haven't acted on my desire for a different set of Beethoven piano sonatas even though I asked for alternatives to Kovacevich not long after joining the forum.