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]