Listening Project? (was:Why do I keep buying the same music?

[Diapason]

Am I alone on this? I'm browsing through amazon's list of box sets, and I find myself gravitating towards different recordings of music I already own rather than taking the chance to explore new music. Part of it is that the current low-pricing of boxes means I can pick up a set that I've always wanted to own for buttons, but I think it runs a bit deeper than that.

I must force myself to listen to new music again. Anyone fancy bringing back the Listening Project?

[jaybee]

I used to really enjoy it, but I know I won't have the time to instigate one over the coming months-- So I feel a little churlish asking all the cm experts to put in all that effort; but I'm okay with being a churl (??) so yes, I'd love to see it back... plus with Spotify it's much easier to access recordings which I wouldn't own...!!

[Diapason]

Rather than one person leading the way and introducing a work, maybe we could choose a piece and whoever feels like sharing anything can post their thoughts. Everything from "I don't like it" to a PhD-level essay would be acceptable. Hmmm....

[Seán]

Am I alone on this? I'm browsing through amazon's list of box sets, and I find myself gravitating towards different recordings of music I already own rather than taking the chance to explore new music. Part of it is that the current low-pricing of boxes means I can pick up a set that I've always wanted to own for buttons, but I think it runs a bit deeper than that.

You are not alone young man. To my mind it is very important to have several diffeent performances of the music I LOVE as it helps me to understand and appreciate why I enjoy one performance over another. When it comes to Beethoven, Mahler and (increasingly) Mozart I just cannot have too many recordings.

I must force myself to listen to new music again.

As long as you enjoy it.

Anyone fancy bringing back the Listening Project?

I would love to see that resurrected. That said, I don't think we have much of an audience for it, it requires huge effort and the participation/feedback is very poor (I have to confess that I was probably remiss here too). Simon, would you like to restart it?

[Seán]

Rather than one person leading the way and introducing a work, maybe we could choose a piece and whoever feels like sharing anything can post their thoughts. Everything from "I don't like it" to a PhD-level essay would be acceptable. Hmmm....

That's a good idea.

Anything to inject new life into the Forum would be welcome.

[Seán]

I used to really enjoy it, but I know I won't have the time to instigate one over the coming months-- So I feel a little churlish asking all the cm experts to put in all that effort; but I'm okay with being a churl (??) so yes, I'd love to see it back... plus with Spotify it's much easier to access recordings which I wouldn't own...!!

Eh, there are only two or three that might fit the bill. :D

[fergus]

As the initiator of the original idea I would also like to see a return of a similar thread in whatever guise people would like. Yes we do have quite a diminished audience but I do not think that need be a major problem in itself; but let us not forget that the last thread died from lack of interest. The big issue here seems to be the participation level from members even though that does not need to be “PhD-level essays” but merely even some relevant comments and/or questions. I think that there was a poll conducted to resurrect the idea at one stage and of course members were enthusiastic but again nobody bothered. So, by all means, let us try again and see how we get on. One always learns from such discussions – I got a great deal of information and music from the last thread. Look forward to it.

[DaveF]

Great idea. Count me in. I didnt participate much in the last one but that coincided with my hifi meltdown at the time. :-)
I'm well up for this one. Dont expect phd level essays from me though. :-)

[Diapason]

I actually think that the less "serious" the easier it is to contribute. It's really hard to follow up a well-researched and well-expressed essay, I know I'm inclined to lapse into awed silence when faced with that.

I've cleverly tried to get this started the week before going away for 2 weeks' holiday, so I'm probably not the best person to kick this off. However, let's just pick something that we all feel we can talk about. Fergus posted about the 1812 recently, pointing out that it's somewhat maligned due to its popularity. That might be a topic for discussion itself, I'm sure we all have opinions on similar pieces.

I could say, for example, that I kind of still love Ravel's Bolero...

[Ivor]

Don't forget there's a few lurkers who have nothing to contribute but learn a lot from these threads. I'm just sayin' the enjoyment and benefit is not confined to the active participants.