Does it have to sound good for you to like it?

Well, I guess it was good to get all those opinions off your chest.  If only they had the least bit connection to what I actually said.

1. It's the same music.  All written down on paper.   Everyone plays the repertoire.

2. Don't presume what I meant.  I said what I meant.  A better 'recording' is always avaiulable.  Did not mention performance.

3. Beethoven would have made  a poor conductor.  The man was deaf.  With due respect to Mr. Schoenberg.  But all of the major ones made it to the modern age of recording tech.

One man's opinion:  This 'performance' thing in classical music has become a sort of snob thing.  Good and bad performances are like night and day.  Obvious to everyone.

Just to get on the same ground.  EVERYONE owns Beethoven's 9th.  Which is your favorite.  Mine are,  / Böhm Vienna(the slow one), Karajan-77, Gardiner(the fast one).  Yours?

Thanks for the response.

Cheers

@dogearedaudio:

As a classical music lover, I too would take issue with the notion that it's "just the same music played over and over by different ensembles." 

I meant they all play the Classical repertoire.  I did not mean to imply all performances were equal.

Cheers

As an old rock and roll boomer I mostly enjoy the music even though there are some so so recordings. There are some exceptions of CD's recorded so badly that they are unlistenable. I have a CD of the Who's Who's Next which I love the songs on that is so poor that I cringe if I try to listen to it. I have no idea how they screwed it up so badly. Some of the Dead's soundboard releases also grate on me even though I love the Dead's music because I have better recordings of the same tunes.

Of course what is best is well recorded and well played music. 

Jim S.

There are good to bad recordings, nothing we can do.

Therefore, I choose to avoid the half glass empty- expecting/hoping for high sonics and when unsatisfactory leads to disappointment. Instead, I strive to appreciate when I find great recorded music, grateful when I find it like a successful treasure hunt. Also, there seems to be a lot of current classical recordings being released in high quality sonics- another point for being gratified.

I share frogman's POV, especially as set forth in his 2d paragraph.

FWIW I've found good recordings are nothing much more than validation of the effectiveness of the audio set up I have worked on for many years, i.e. that it fairly represents the contents of my recordings. I find that it does. Could be better or worse, who knows, but it meets my needs. Done! Onto the music. :-)