Taking Stock: Beethoven's Sonata #32 in C Minor, Op. 111

[Lance]

Beethoven's: Piano Sonata No. 32 in C Minor, Op. 111

Here is what I have accumulated over a long period of time:

►Arrau, Claudio/Philips
►Arrau, Claudio/Appian (APR) (Live 1975)
►Ashkenazy, Vladimir/Decca
►Ashkenazy, Vladimir/Berlin Classics (Live 1957)
►Ashkenazy, Vladimir/Decca
►Bachkaus, Wilhelm/London (Live, London)
►Backhaus, Wilhelm/Decca
►Backhaus, Wilhelm/Virtuoso (Live 1959)
►Badura-Skoda, Paul /Music & Arts
►Barenboim, Daniel/Westminster
►Bloomfield-Zeisler, Fannie/Pierian (Piano roll)
►Brendel, Alfred/Vox
►Brendel, Alfred/Philips
►Ciani, Dino/IDI (Live 1968-70)
►Ciccolini, Aldo/Nuova Era
►Coop, Jane/Skylark
►Dinnerstein, Simone/Telarc
►Fiorentino, Sergio/Fidelio
►Fischer, Annie/EMI
►Fischer, Annie/Hungaroton
►Fischer, Edwin/Hunt (Live 1954)
►Fischer, Edwin/Music & Arts
►Frank, Claude/Music & Arts (Original RCA)
►Gieseking, Walter/Andromeda
►Gieseking, Walter/Arkadia (from 78s)
►Gieseking, Walter/Tahra (1949, not EMI)
►Gieseking, Walter/BWS (Live 1947)
►Goode, Richard/Nonesuch
►Gould, Glenn/CBS/Sony
►Graffman, Gary/Columbia
►Grinberg, Maria/Melodiya
►Gulda, Friederich/Preiser (Live)
►Gulda, Friedrich/Decca
►Gulda, Friedrich/Brilliant Classics (1967, Austria)
►Guller, Youra/Erato, Nimbus
►Haskil, Clara/Stradivarius (Live 1953)
►Haskil, Clara/Melodram
►Heidsieck, Eric/EMI
►Horszowski, Mieczyslaw/Music & Art (Live, 1954)
►Hough, Stephen/Hyperion
►Hungerford, Bruce/Vanguard
►Katchen, Julius/Decca
►Kempff, Wilhelm/Orfeo (Live 1959-60)
►Kempff, Wilhelm/Dante (r. 1936)
►Kempff, Wilhelm/DGG (mono only)
►Kempff, Wilhelm/DGG (stereo remake)
►Korevaar, David/Ivory Classics
►Kuerti, Anton/Analekta
►Kuerti, Anton/Columbia/Odyssey
►Lateiner, Jacob/RCA
►Leimer/EMI-Electrola
►Michelangeli, Arturo Benedetti/Decca
►Michelangeli, Arturo Benedetti/Aura (Live 1988)
►Michelangeli, Arturo Benedetti/BBC Legends (Live 1961)
►Michelangeli, Arturo Benedetti/I Grandi Concerto (Live)
►Nat, Yves/EMI
►Ney, Elly/TIM-Membran (Original EMI)
►Ney, Elly/Colosseum
►Ney, Elly/Europa
►Ney, Elly/Electrola
►Nikolayeva, Tatiana/Orfeo (Live 1987)
►Nikolayeva, Tatiana /Olympia/Melodiya (Live 1983)
►Novaes, Guiomar/Vox
►Ogdon, John/BBC Legends (Live 1963)
►Petri, Egon/Appian, Pearl (Original EMI)
►Petri, Egon/Dell'Arte (live)
►Pletnev, Mikhail/DGG (live 2000)
►Pogorelich, Ivo/DGG
►Pollini, Maurizio/DGG
►Richter, Sviatoslav/Decca
►Richter, Sviatoslav/Doremi (Live 1974)
►Richter, Sviatoslav/Live Classics (Live 2001)
►Richter, Sviatoslav/Parnassus/CD (Live, Leipzig)
►Richter, Sviatoslav/Revelation (Live 1975)
►Rose, Jerome/Monarch
►Rosen, Charles/Columbia
►Scarpini, Pietro/Arbiter
►Schiff, András/ECM
►Schnabel, Artur/EMI, Dante
►Schnabel, Artur/RCA (American recording)
►Serkin, Rudolf/Sony
►Serkin, Rudolf/DGG
►Smith, Ronald/Appian (APR)
►Sofronitsky, Vladimir/Urania
►Solomon (1st version)/EMI, Testament
►Solomon (2nd version)/EMI, Testament
►Uribe, Blanca/MSR Classics
►Vogel, Edith/BBC Magazine
►Yudina, Maria/Vista Vera, Aristotipia

There may be a few others that I have overlooked or through sloppy cataloguing. As you can observe, for me this is quite the grand sonata!

[MarkC]

I looked especially to see if you have HEIDSIECK, and I'm glad to see that you do.
I didn't expect it.
I've had the privilege of working with him a bit. He's a remarkable pianist and person, and not well enough known in the U.S.

[Prometheus]

Only one version of this piece for me.

Barenboim on EMI.

[Lance]

Yes, I got to know Eric Heidsieck's work rather late in time and when I heard it, I loved it. I now have many of his EMI recordings, and some on other labels. As I recall, his wife is also a pianist. They recorded [for Integral/Franch] Bach's C Major BWV 1060 Two-Piano Concerto together and also Mozart two-piano work. I was impressed with the performances. For EMI he recorded Mozart's PCs Nos. 20 and 25 with conductor André Vandernoot (Eric used his OWN cadenzas! Mozart would have loved that.) See below in red.

I looked especially to see if you have HEIDSIECK, and I'm glad to see that you do.
I didn't expect it. [Really, you didn't expect it?]
I've had the privilege of working with him a bit. He's a remarkable pianist and person, and not well enough known in the U.S.

[MarkC]

......As I recall, his wife is also a pianist.....

Yes she is (Tania Heidsieck). They both studied with Cortot.
My wife and I have spent some time with them. He speaks terrific English; she doesn't. Fortunately my wife speaks French.

[val]

My favorite is Friedrich Gulda (now on BRILLANT CLASSICS). The perfection of the articulation in the first movement and the sensational sense of the rhythm in the variations of the Arietta.

Solomon is very powerful in the first movement but his version of the Arietta suffers from a certain uniformity.

Schnabel seems too dramatic. But the way he phrases the initial theme of the Arietta is unique.

[Holden Fourth]

Only one version of this piece for me.

Barenboim on EMI.

Yes, the arietta that DB plays is sublime. If you like it can I suggest that you investigate Claudio Arrau on this DVD (also on Youtube)



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBgSSK0m5kA

[Werner]

A great work - one of the greatest. I'll be interested to see where this thread goes.

[maestrob]

The greatest performance of Op. 111 I've ever heard was during a live recital by Mitsuko Uchida in Carnegie Hall: the piano actually radiated greatness. I've never heard anything like it, and was totally swept away.

My favorite recording is Richter on Phillips.

[JackC]

This is music that occupies the summit of human achievement. Nothing greater has ever been written. It also captures all of what Beethoven is about- from the incredible struggle, drama, power and excitement of the first movement to the journey through the unspeakable beauty, tenderness, depth and vision of the arietta. A gift to all humanity forever and a glimpse of eternity.


The pianist who attempts the most and who has come the closest to capturing even half of what is in this music is Schnabel. The best of the rest capture, on their best days, perhaps 25%.

[MarkC]

......The pianist who attempts the most and who has come the closest to capturing even half of what is in this music is Schnabel. The best of the rest capture, on their best days, perhaps 25%.

Schnabel was quoted as saying something like that he was glad when he achieved 40% of what he tried to do. My reaction was, heck, when I perform I achieve 99% of what I try to do.

I later realized it was that I really wasn't trying to do anything.

[stefanher]

Solomon for me although I confess the Uchida is very good- I'm not normally a fan of hers.

How good is Elly Ney? As is well known she was a certain dictator's favourite pianist which didn't help her later career. If we can put this aside did she stand with the many listed above?i

[MarkC]

.....How good is Elly Ney? As is well known she was a certain dictator's favourite pianist which didn't help her later career. If we can put this aside did she stand with the many listed above?i

I'm sorry to say she was real good.

I didn't know either, so I checked YouTube.....and there's quite a bit.
A couple of highlights:





....and here's Op. 111:

[Seán]

This is music that occupies the summit of human achievement. Nothing greater has ever been written. It also captures all of what Beethoven is about- from the incredible drama, power and excitement of the first movement to the journey through the unspeakable beauty, tenderness, depth and vision of the arietta. A gift to all humanity forever and a glimpse of eternity.

That is a splendid description of Beethoven's masterpiece.

I have two copies of this Sonata and I love to compare and contrast the approach of both artists:
Friedrich Gulda (Brilliant Classics)
Sviatoslav Richter (Decca)

The Brendel recording is on my wish list, in fact I love Brendel's approach to Beethoven.

[Chalkperson]

.....How good is Elly Ney? As is well known she was a certain dictator's favourite pianist which didn't help her later career. If we can put this aside did she stand with the many listed above?i

I'm sorry to say she was real good.

I agree, her pianism transcends her personal failings...

[Prometheus]

Yes, the arietta that DB plays is sublime. If you like it can I suggest that you investigate Claudio Arrau on this DVD (also on Youtube)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBgSSK0m5kA

Thanks for the link!

[John F]

Egon Petri (Columbia 78s), especially for the first movement, Michelangeli especially for the second movement.

[MarkC]

Egon Petri (Columbia 78s), especially for the first movement, Michelangeli especially for the second movement.

Funny.........while it would seem mostly impossible to separate those out for a piece like this, it does make sense.

Yet, wouldn't it seem odd if someone programmed either movement separately?
(I sometimes have heard the 1st movement programmed separately -- and yes, IMO it was odd.)

[Werner]

I can see preferring the first OR second movement of this sonata by one pianist versus someone else's second (or first) movement. But I can't imagine programming either movement separately for performance - it seems to me that both movements are inseparable, whatever you think of the components of a given performance.

I just listened to a piece of the first movement as played - incredibly slowly - by Elly Ney on YouTube - couldn't stand more than a couple of minutes of this. I don't know - and don't think enough of this pianist to want to find out whether this is her only recorded version, but I've heard quite enough, for all the reputation she had. i remember visiting Adrian Aeschbacher - a Schnabel pupil who has also done all the thirty-two sonatas - in 1965 after stopping in Bayreuth, where we saw photos of Ney visiting in earlieer times. I mentioned this to Adrian - who was more of a contemporary of Ney's than I - or Donald - are. At the mention of Ney's name, he said sarcastically: "Ah, Beethoven's "Widow!"

Lots of artists have had their turns at this masterpiece. The material for this thread is nnot nearly exhausted.

[Chalkperson]

......The pianist who attempts the most and who has come the closest to capturing even half of what is in this music is Schnabel. The best of the rest capture, on their best days, perhaps 25%.

Schnabel was quoted as saying something like that he was glad when he achieved 40% of what he tried to do. My reaction was, heck, when I perform I achieve 99% of what I try to do.

That's why I don't enjoy 60% of his pianism...

[Werner]

There seems to be no arguing about Schnabel - to some he's a guide to depth and penetration of the music, and to some he isn't. Having grown up with the aura of Schnabel excellence, that will tell you where I am.

But thre are still many others who have had their say in this masterwork.

[RebLem]

Here's mine:

Alfred Brendel, Philips
Annie Fischer, Hungaraton
Richard Goode, Electra/Nonesuch
Friedrich Gulda, Brilliant
Bruce Hungerford, Vanguard
Donald Isler, KASP
Jeno Jando, Naxos
Julius Katchen, Decca
Wilhelm Kempff, DGG stereo
Maurizio Pollini, DGG
Sviatoslav Richter, Music & Arts
Artur Schnabel, Seraphin LPs
Rudolf Serkin, Sony
Craig Sheppard, Romeo

[Wallingford]

Well, I have or used to have:

Schnabel 1 & 2
Brendel 1
Backhaus, live at Carnegie, '54
Novaes
Petrie, live, '54
Bloomfield-Zeisler
Riefling
Browning

(.....and, a tape from one of my old college recitals, '83. )

[MarkC]

.....(.....and, a tape from one of my old college recitals, '83. )

THAT'S the one we want to hear!!!!

[Wallingford]

.....(.....and, a tape from one of my old college recitals, '83. )

THAT'S the one we want to hear!!!!

Alas.....I'd burn you a CD copy, except that my CD-R recorder broke down several weeks ago.

[Lance]

Okay - I've completed my listing. I'm anxious to see what other renditions CMGers have. Am I missing anything that might be considered absolutely "extraordinary" for Beethoven's opus 111?

[MarkC]

.....(.....and, a tape from one of my old college recitals, '83. )

THAT'S the one we want to hear!!!!

Alas.....I'd burn you a CD copy, except that my CD-R recorder broke down several weeks ago.

What about just loading it (or uploading or downloading, or whatever the heck they call it) online?
Like, onto YouTube or an mp3 or whatever the heck they call it?

[Chalkperson]

Okay - I've completed my listing. I'm anxious to see what other renditions CMGers have. Am I missing anything that might be considered absolutely "extraordinary" for Beethoven's opus 111?

I have some that you have not listed...

Craig Sheppard
Mitsuko Uchida
Paul Lewis
Andreas Haefliger
Christoph Essenbach
Stephen Kovacevich
Mikhail Pletnev
Bernard Roberts
Carol Rosenberger
Vassily Primakov
Anatol Ugorski

[Wallingford]

.....(.....and, a tape from one of my old college recitals, '83. )

THAT'S the one we want to hear!!!!

Alas.....I'd burn you a CD copy, except that my CD-R recorder broke down several weeks ago.

What about just loading it (or uploading or downloading, or whatever the heck they call it) online?
Like, onto YouTube or an mp3 or whatever the heck they call it?

Hey, I'd really love to set up my own little "network" on YouTube--but their instructions leave me in the dark, and I'm afraid I can't buy extra software and/or equipment yet!

[MarkC]

^^ Understood.......but whenever, we're ready for it!! ^^

BTW......I don't know if I have what's needed either. I had "professional help" to put my one thing on youtube.

[Chalkperson]

We jut got a you tube page, in fact we are loading stop frame animation stuff onto it next week, i'll let you know how we get on...

[MarkC]

(Maybe he wants to wait longer anyway?
I know how these things can be........)

[Lance]

Well, of those you list, Mitsuko Uchida interests me the most. I also have the Mikhail Pletnev on DGG (that's the live Carnegie Hall Recital 2-CD set). Thank you for reminding me of that.

Okay - I've completed my listing. I'm anxious to see what other renditions CMGers have. Am I missing anything that might be considered absolutely "extraordinary" for Beethoven's opus 111?

I have some that you have not listed...

Craig Sheppard
Mitsuko Uchida
Paul Lewis
Andreas Haefliger
Christoph Essenbach
Stephen Kovacevich
Mikhail Pletnev
Bernard Roberts
Carol Rosenberger
Vassily Primakov
Anatol Ugorski

[Chalkperson]

I am enjoying all of Vassily Primakov's CD's on Bridge, even a Schumann one, he's a very fine pianist...Craig Sheppard is also an excellent musician, his Bach and Beethoven are superb, and I think Paul Lewis is possibly the best British pianist in quite some time...I bought all of Bernard Roberts CD's on Nimbus when I started collecting Classical Music, he is nowhere near as well known as he should be...

Well, of those you list, Mitsuko Uchida interests me the most. I also have the Mikhail Pletnev on DGG (that's the live Carnegie Hall Recital 2-CD set). Thank you for reminding me of that.

Okay - I've completed my listing. I'm anxious to see what other renditions CMGers have. Am I missing anything that might be considered absolutely "extraordinary" for Beethoven's opus 111?

I have some that you have not listed...

Craig Sheppard
Mitsuko Uchida
Paul Lewis
Andreas Haefliger
Christoph Essenbach
Stephen Kovacevich
Mikhail Pletnev
Bernard Roberts
Carol Rosenberger
Vassily Primakov
Anatol Ugorski

[Lance]

I have some recordings by Craig Sheppard (in Schubert) I think. While I've heard a lot about Paul Lewis's Beethoven cycle, and have heard a couple of these recordings (radio, collector friends), I am not in need of yet another traversal of the Beethoven 32. One gets to a point where one is entirely satisfied with what has already been amassed. I would certainly see Lewis in live recital if that opportunity ever arises. There's only so many $$$ and so much space to put all these acquisitions. When I finally expire, someone is going to say: "This man was nuts!" But what a way to be nuts, eh?

I am enjoying all of Vassily Primakov's CD's on Bridge, even a Schumann one, he's a very fine pianist...Craig Sheppard is also an excellent musician, his Bach and Beethoven are superb, and I think Paul Lewis is possibly the best British pianist in quite some time...I bought all of Bernard Roberts CD's on Nimbus when I started collecting Classical Music, he is nowhere near as well known as he should be...

Well, of those you list, Mitsuko Uchida interests me the most. I also have the Mikhail Pletnev on DGG (that's the live Carnegie Hall Recital 2-CD set). Thank you for reminding me of that.

Okay - I've completed my listing. I'm anxious to see what other renditions CMGers have. Am I missing anything that might be considered absolutely "extraordinary" for Beethoven's opus 111?

I have some that you have not listed...

Craig Sheppard
Mitsuko Uchida
Paul Lewis
Andreas Haefliger
Christoph Essenbach
Stephen Kovacevich
Mikhail Pletnev
Bernard Roberts
Carol Rosenberger
Vassily Primakov
Anatol Ugorski

[premont]

: "This man was nuts!" But what a way to be nuts, eh?[

Well, if one has got te be nuts, this is certainly the way to go.

I have accumulated a large number of recordings of Beethovens Piano sonatas too, collected in the run of the last sixteen years, mostly complete sets, but also some near-complete sets and some various other recordings. I found it interesting to see how much we overlap as to op.111. I have not made any catalogue of my library, so I may have forgotten a few. The ones where we do not overlap (quite a lot) are written in bold.

Kempff DG mono
Kempff DG stereo
Brendel Vox
Brendel first Philips recording
Brendel second Philips recording
Backhaus Decca mono
Backhaus Decca stereo
Schnabel
Nat
Arrau first Philips recording
Arrau second Philips recording
Buchbinder
O´Connor
Roberts
Jando
Lill
Badura-Skoda Gramola recording
Badura-Skoda Astrée recording
Lebedev
Tom Beghin
Al-Bacha
Barenboim first EMI recording
Barenboim DG recording
Barenboim live DVD release
Sheppard
Youkohama
Gulda Decca recording
Gulda Amadeo recording
Aszkenazy first Decca recording
Aszkenazy second Decca recording
Nicolayeva Olympia recording
Lucchesini
Heidsieck
Pearl
Goode
Kuerti first Analekta recording
Franck
Levinas
Annie Fischer Supraphon recording
Pludermacher
Kovacevic Philips
Kovacevic EMI
Pommier
Hobson
Øland
Grinberg
Ciccolini first recording Cascavelle
Ciccolini second recording Nuovo Era
Willems
Zechlin
Lewis
de Groote
Gieseking Radio Saarbrücken recordings
Solomon Testament
Komen
Hungerford
Schiff
Ruso Opus recording
Rosen Sony
Richter-Haaser Philips
Rudolf Serkin Sony
Peter Serkin
Swann
Eschenbach
Binns
Pollini
Larsen
Demus
Edwin Fischer Music and Arts
Söderström
Ney Membran release
Backhaus live
Michelangeli live
Rangell

[MJWal]

Well, I only possess or have heard a fraction of the recordings mentioned so far; one recording not mentioned, I believe, is that by Yvonne Lefébure, perhaps not essential listening (her Fauré is) but an interestingly dry approach. Of the recordings I know, Schnabel and Richter appeal to me most, Solomon as runner-up. That might change tomorrow - I must listen to Hungerford again. I do feel that anyone into this sonata owes it to herself to read the appropriate pages in Mann's Doktor Faustus based on Adorno's perhaps mistaken but provocative thesis that Beethoven was here bidding farewell to the "organic" sonata form itself. And considering the canonic hauteur, as it were, of this piece, it seems that the mind-boggling experience of listening to Clarence Barlow's variazioni e un pianoforte mecanico (HatART) would be an ear-opener for people interested in the era of "post-modern" music and where engagement with the past can go without becoming mere pastiche.

[barney]

I have 18 versions, so don't belong on the same page as the likes of Lance with more than 90 (yes, I counted). The only one worth mentioning that no one else has is Australian pianist Gerard Willems on the new Australian-made Stuart piano. Very fine, though it wouldn't be in my top 5.

[MarkC]

I have 18 versions, so don't belong on the same page as the likes of Lance with more than 90......

Yes you do belong..........you have about 9 times as many as I do.

[Lance]

Remember: it's QUALITY, not QUANTITY that really counts! This whole collecting thing can become obsessive eventually if you allow it. I'm just glad it hasn't happened to me - yet!

[MarkC]

Remember: it's QUALITY, not QUANTITY that really counts! This whole collecting thing can become obsessive eventually if you allow it. I'm just glad it hasn't happened to me - yet!

Give it time, you're young yet.

[Lance]

Nope ... I think I'm pretty much past the possibility of being obsessive about collecting records and books. I continue to keep my fingers crossed that it will not happen to poor moi.

Remember: it's QUALITY, not QUANTITY that really counts! This whole collecting thing can become obsessive eventually if you allow it. I'm just glad it hasn't happened to me - yet!

Give it time, you're young yet.

[premont]

The only one worth mentioning that no one else has is Australian pianist Gerard Willems on the new Australian-made Stuart piano. Very fine, though it wouldn't be in my top 5.

I did mention him, but happened to make a typo and spell him Willens.

[premont]

Remember: it's QUALITY, not QUANTITY that really counts! This whole collecting thing can become obsessive eventually if you allow it. I'm just glad it hasn't happened to me - yet!

The composition of my collection does not express "blind" completism, but rather a wish for a broad musical horizon (other than it certainly also includes recordings made by my favorite pianists). This is the reason why my collection represents more different styles of interpretation than yours (f.i. it includes all existing recordings made upon fortepiano). I may be wrong, but it seems to me, that your taste is the all-decisive factor in determining the composition of your collection. Accordingly I would not think of acquiring that many individual recordings made by the one and same pianist as you (Ney, Michelangeli, Richter et.c.).

[barney]

The only one worth mentioning that no one else has is Australian pianist Gerard Willems on the new Australian-made Stuart piano. Very fine, though it wouldn't be in my top 5.

I did mention him, but happened to make a typo and spell him Willens.

Sorry, I read straight over the top of that. Your list is formidable like Lance's. Have you heard the Willems, and what did you think of the piano?

[barney]

Remember: it's QUALITY, not QUANTITY that really counts! This whole collecting thing can become obsessive eventually if you allow it. I'm just glad it hasn't happened to me - yet!

Ah, but how can you tell before you buy and try? I've got some dud CDs that I expected to be brilliant. Now you have heard your list of 91 (or so), and want to concentrate purely on quality, how many would you get rid of? (Yes, I know it's rhetorical; the actual answer is 0).

[premont]

Have you heard the Willems, and what did you think of the piano?

With so many sets to listen to, and many other listening projects going on, my time to listen to most of the CDs more than once in the first run is naturally restricted. This is going to change when I retire, - some day. So a couple of years have passed, since I listened to his Beethoven set. I have a generally favotable impression of him, remembering him as suitably straight without going to excesses and actually trying to hold a little back, given this big instrument, playing like a careful driver of a Rolls Royce. So his playing is to my taste, but I think the instrument, even if it is magnificent from a technical point of view, blows the music up a tad more than desirable.

[Lance]

Since I am particularly interested in the artists who play the music, and having so many to select from gathered over a period of many years, it's kind of a personal thing. Out of all those performances that I have, perhaps 10 to 15 or so would rank at the absolute top, including Michelangeli and Elly Ney, but especially Solomon, both the latter two of whom were considered among of the greatest Beethoven interpreters of their times. With regard to the instrument, yes I am biased I suppose. I do not enjoy hearing performances on period instruments most of the time; there are exceptions, of course. I do enjoy hearing Bach on the harpsichord or piano, however. I realize, the composers heard their music on the instruments of their time. However, the piano as we know it today, can handle virtually anything written for harpsichord, fortepianos, and other keyboard instruments. This is a personal choice for me. It does not mean it is right (nor wrong). As a concert piano technician, I guess my heart lays deeply with today's pianos (i.e., instruments from about 1855 to the present day.) In the case of Elly Ney, Wilhelm Kempff Artur Schnabel and a few others (who recorded two or more versions of Sonata #32 over the years), having all their recordings of particular pieces is joyful and above all educational in listening to how the artists changed their own concept of a piece of music. ♪

Remember: it's QUALITY, not QUANTITY that really counts! This whole collecting thing can become obsessive eventually if you allow it. I'm just glad it hasn't happened to me - yet!

The composition of my collection does not express "blind" completism, but rather a wish for a broad musical horizon (other than it certainly also includes recordings made by my favorite pianists). This is the reason why my collection represents more different styles of interpretation than yours (f.i. it includes all existing recordings made upon fortepiano). I may be wrong, but it seems to me, that your taste is the all-decisive factor in determining the composition of your collection. Accordingly I would not think of acquiring that many individual recordings made by the one and same pianist as you (Ney, Michelangeli, Richter et.c.).

[premont]

Since I am particularly interested in the artists who play the music, and having so many to select from gathered over a period of many years, it's kind of a personal thing.

My intention was to say that neither of us is a blind completist, since we both have clear criteria concerning which recordings we want to acquire. Maybe the difference between us is, that I am first and foremost interested in the music, while you are equally interested in the performers.

[Chalkperson]

Since I am particularly interested in the artists who play the music, and having so many to select from gathered over a period of many years, it's kind of a personal thing.

My intention was to say that neither of us is a blind completist, since we both have clear criteria concerning which recordings we want to acquire. Maybe the difference between us is, that I am first and foremost interested in the music, while you are equally interested in the performers.

Speaking personally, i'm interested in both...