It's fascinating how easily one can get a thread going by the mere mention
of the topic "repeats".

Being of the "what works musically here and now" (vs.  "thall shalt
not ever goes against the composer's original intention"[whatever that
was])school of thought, I think that the role of recorded music and the
generally increased access to music we have in this century should not be
underestimated.  This certainly enters into the equation if one subscribes
to the theory that the exposition repeat was included primarily to allow
the educated listener to assimilate the main themes prior to hearing their
development.  Recordings (which composers pre 20th century had probably
never dreamed of) change the equation - pure and simple.  Who can say that
Mozart ever intended for us to listen to his symphonies in our homes?

Personally, I prefer no exposition repeats on recordings of post-Beethoven
symphonic literature but yes to repeats in live performances.
Unfortunately, current trends seem to run in the opposite direction.

Question - Why don't CDs contain more liberal use of index markings which
would enable the listener to program their players to give them the choice
of hearing it either way?

Gary Evoniuk
Durham, NC