Following up the obsessive-compulsive nature of collecting CDs and other
recordings, and my belief that if such a thing exists, it would have to be
distinguished from any other form of hobby or self-interest, which entails
necessarily some amount of expenditure. I suspect most CD collectors are
not "in it" for the take of CDs, but in it for the variety of musical
experiences each CD represents. And, like any form of interest, it can be
taken to extremes, such that it might mimic Alex Ross' pontification that
such behavior is truly indeed obsessive-compulsive. But these marginal
collectors aside,

I imagine a great many collectors have around 2,000 CDs in their
collections. What provokes this particular number? Several assumptions are
made: (1) That the collector wants a reasonably-balanced number of CDs from
a particular musical style and from a fairly-wide representative-range of
composers. (2) In addition to the basic portfolio, many collectors have
more than one recording of a particular composition, usually for comparison
purposes, by which to measure the pleasure-range of different conductors,
ensembles, and recording engineers. And finally, (3) this number represents
about the average one can collect without having the recordings exceed the
limits of space and pocketbook. This number also assume that some, if not
many, operas are included.

Now, I don't want to establish the rather arbitrary number of 2,000
as being somehow normative. I believe it is possible to possess one-tenth
this number and still have an enjoyable collection, and I can imagine (and
have well seen) where this number itself is a fifth of other collectors'
legions. Whatever the number, I don't think the number of, nor the impulse
to purchase more, CDs marks anyone as being obsessive-compulsive per se.
Indeed, I find that my enjoyment of music is proportionately increased by
the increase in the number of CDs, since their increase enables me to
appreciate different venues of the same works already in my collection or
to acquaint myself with a composer I've not yet made an acquaintance. And
I have little doubt my own perspective is quite widely shared.

So, before foreswearing any future purchases based on Mr. Ross' own
arbitrary appellation of CD collectors as obsessive-compulsives, I suggest
that those of us who find music, and in particular classical music, one of
the most rewarding experiences in life, probably expend less in one year
than most skiers, gamblers, model hobbyists, and the like. On the other
hand, if one has trouble feeding one's children because one's appetite for
CDs is beyond bounds, *then Mr. Ross has a valid and useful point.

D. Stephen Heersink
San Francisco <[log in to unmask]>