[Nicolai P. Zwar]

On the other hand, I much rather listen to the 145th version of the Goldberg variations (it’s hyperbole, obviously, I neither own nor have listened to 145 versions… but quite a few) before I listen to something completely “new”, unless I have good reason to try that “new”. I like the nuances, in fact, I like to re-encounter great music I love over encountering new music I may not like as much. I want music to be alive and never sound the same. So I’d rather have great music made new than new music made for one consumption. For me, it may be like returning to a favorite dish in your favorite restaurant by a spectacular chef, that engulfs you in taste even though it never tastes exactly the same but always spectacular, over trying new kinds of fast food, which all may taste very differently, but all rather bland in comparison. In the same way the slightest variation of a single spice can make a huge difference in how a dish can taste, so can a great performance by a great musician can make an all too familiar piece of music sound anew, and that effect is often deeper and startling, moving, than to hear a piece of music that you haven’t heard before, but which doesn’t reach such heights.

And there’s something else that happens when you go deep like that: you start to understand the piece in a way one single recording simply cannot teach you. Each interpretation is like a different light source falling on the same sculpture. You didn’t see that shadow before. You didn’t notice that contour. Owning (or listening to ) many recordings of the same work isn’t redundancy, it’s archaeology, it’s study, it’s contemplation. It’s like reading different translations of the same book each may reveal things you did not get the first time.

Because can Bach really be contained by one performance? Seriously? The Goldberg Variations? You will only have one? Come on! Can Beethoven? That’s like saying a life can be summed up by a single action. These compositions don’t have one “correct” version waiting to be found and listened to, they are an infinite interior to be discovered, and every great performer is just mapping a different corridor of it. The piece is bigger than any one reading of it, and the more readings you collect, the closer you get to grasping how vast it actually is. That’s my two cents of it. That doesn’t mean I buy any more recordings of the Goldberg variations soon, I’ve got enough as is… but IF one comes along that strikes my fancy… well, if I have to wager that against some unknown film score by an unknown composer, I probably take the new version of the Goldberg Variations.

I will perfectly concede though that I don’t need a dozen recordings of most film scores, even the great ones, not all music is destined to be recorded uncounted times. I like having three versions of LAWRENCE OF ARABIA or PATTON or VERTIGO, I don’t need ten, that’s perfectly clear. But I don’t mind two versions of JAWS or BEN HUR.