Where do we draw the line?

[Lance]

This post comes after reading about a new recording by a pianist.

Where does one draw the line, as it were, on acquiring recordings by new artists on the scene? I have been thinking to myself, at this age, the huge legacy I have already amassed, and will never hear or re-hear all of it in three lifetimes. I think I've written about this subject before on these pages, but I consider myself now to be more emerged in the great artists of the past, the two exceptions being pianists and vocalists. Newer pianists, except for Mark Viner and a few others (Hamelin, Hough aren't new, but they are "in the loop" along with many others like Yuja), are becoming less and less on the "to get" lists. Vocalists, especially of songs, lieder literture, and operatic arias (not complete operas) are still high on the list. Newer conductors on the scene - not especially collecting them. I am trusting the "younger generation" will fully support new artists of their time. Some other instrumentalists are also on the "to get" list, but not as many as there used to be. I will, of course, be very much aware of many new artists on the scene through radio, YouTube, and hearing recordings that friends and fellow collectors have.

What are your thoughts on this subject? We, as music lovers, simply cannot have everything and the older I get, the more I realize it - and to more fully enjoy what great artists I have at my disposal. •

[mikealdren]

For me, this partly comes down to the question of whether I am looking for new repertory or new performances of what I already have - it's a bit of a balance.

I'm always forever for something new and I hope I always will be, let's hope my hearing lasts!

[maestrob]

For me, this partly comes down to the question of whether I am looking for new repertory or new performances of what I already have - it's a bit of a balance.

I'm always forever for something new and I hope I always will be, let's hope my hearing lasts!

Quite right, sir!

I have a listening habit of hearing 1-2 new recordings on Spotify each day, always hoping to find 1 or so each week that grabs me with something special. This week it was the Babayan/Trifonov double Rachmaninoff, last week it was a wondrous recital CD by Katharine Dain, "Forget This Night." I feel so privileged to live in this golden age of music making, in spite of the terrible troubles throughout our ever-shrinking and warming planet.

At this point, I cannot draw a line, but am replacing the few LPs on my shelves with CDs. I think, though, that I have drawn the line on megaboxes, with one exception: I want the balance of Ormandy's stereo legacy.

How will I ever hear it all? There is just so much!

[Lance]

I didn't mean to paint such a dark picture! There's an old saying: "Once a collector, always a collector." That's probably how it will be for most of us no matter what we say!