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Sat, 16 Jun 2001 10:17:19 -0700 |
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Richard Tsuyuki ([log in to unmask]) wrote:
>To take a short break from the rather high-level discussion of music and
>language (which I am following with interest), I was wondering if anyone
>would care to discuss a much more (perhaps embarassingly) rudimentary
>issue. In expanding my music collection lately (it's still pretty basic),
>I have noticed that, listening to different performances of the same work,
>I almost invariably prefer the one I heard first and am most
>familiar with.
A phenomenon often referred to as "imprinting" after the well-documented
biological phenomenon.
>The preference seems to persist even after repeated listenings of the
>"newer" performance. This sort of bothers me, as it seems to imply a kind
>of conservative narrowmindedness that I didn't know I possessed. It might
>even be worse than having no preference whatsoever. Has anyone else been
>afflicted in this way? Any pointers on the kind of listening that might
>open my ears a little more?
It may take a while to get over; it may simply take the "right" recording
to do it for you. I grew up with Karajan's 1961-2 Beethoven cycle, for
example, but wouldn't prefer any one of that 9 to othjers I've encountered
since.
Sometimes, though, you luck out and the first recording you encounter is
really the One for you.
Deryk Barker
[log in to unmask]
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