Bob Draper writes in regard to me and my type:

>I have been surprised at the way some list members are so obsessed
>with purchasing multiple copies of the same work in order to
>chase that dream of  a performance of absolute perfection.

There may be people who chase the dream of "a performance of absolute
perfection," but I would have thought the passage quoted would have made it
clear that that is not what I see myself as being up to.  Rather, there is
a body of works (roughtly, the "Austro-German classics") that (a) appeals
to me, and (b) stands up to a multitude of approaches, revealing something
a bit different from each angle.  The point is not that I'm looking for the
one perfect performance of Beethoven's ninth, but that part of what I like
about Beethoven's ninth is that it says different, and compellingly
different, things in different hands.

(I hope the account of "relative indifference" makes it clear that I'm not
writing off other musical traditions or failing to explore them.  But then,
how much do you have to defend your own listening practices?)

Nick
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