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
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