[chillysalsa]

Excluding what is currently being writting, do you think you could listen to every piece of classical music ever recorded by the end of your life?

 

[EmptyM]

I highly doubt it. You might be able to hear every piece of music ever recorded at least once, but I doubt you could hear every conduction of every piece. Even if you never slept or even took your cans off, that's still a whole lot of listening.

 

[johnny sack]

ok, if you live to be 70 years old, that means 70*365days*24hrs/day*60min/hr = 36792000 minutes in your life. I am sure that would provide ample time to listen to just about anything

 

[KR...]

Quote:

Originally posted by johnny sack ok, if you live to be 70 years old, that means 70*365days*24hrs/day*60min/hr = 36792000 minutes in your life. I am sure that would provide ample time to listen to just about anything

what no sleep?

 

[DanG]

There is just too much bad classical music out there to be worth it! I'd hate to have to listen through everything Johann Strauss or Philip Glass wrote.

 

[johnny sack]

alright, divide 36792000 by 4 to allow for 6 hrs sleep per night, that still leaves you with 27594000 minutes

 

[Odi_et_Amo]

Quote:

Originally posted by johnny sack alright, divide 36792000 by 4 to allow for 6 hrs sleep per night, that still leaves you with 27594000 minutes

What, no pit-stops? Or, if you're using a portable, no time spent changing the batteries?

 

[Noesis]

While I realize you simply meant this to be a light/fun discussion, I find that I don't really understand or find true beauty in a classical peice untill I have listened to it multiple times. The first time you listen, its tough to grasp everything.

So, while you might be able to listen to all classical recordings before you kicked the bucket, I don't think the result would be as meaningful.

Further, while there is some poor classical, classical would be the most bareable genre to endure for that long. Imagine listening to all the rock albums ever made.

-Chad

 

[jopi]

Let's do that:

Classical recordings have been around for about seventy years. Let's say you also have another seventy years to live.
If it takes about an hour to listen to a classical recording that would mean the recording industry as a whole would have had to crank out a new recording every hour for the past seventy years.

If we talking about commercial recordings only (not somebody recording his daughter playing the flute with his tape recorder at home or your neighborhood church choir, etc.), I think that you could easily listen to all commercial classical recordings that are currently out there.

 

[zowie]

Quote:

Originally posted by johnny sack alright, divide 36792000 by 4 to allow for 6 hrs sleep per night, that still leaves you with 27594000 minutes

And that's not enough.
There is presently approximately 11343800 minutes of commercially released classical music, but based on present rates of new recording, that will be over 45850000 minutes by the time a 15 year old today turns 85 (70 listening years). And those numbers would be far higher if you include radio transcriptions.

 

[aos]

You shouldn't have a problem hearing everything that has been released on CD/tape/vinyl. However, if you consider everything that has been recorded but not necessarily released, you'll find out that there is far more stuff available in archives of radio stations and record companies than they released to broad public. And if you had a recording for every classical work ever *composed*, then you really might have trouble getting to listen it all in a lifetime.

Interesting topic though, I thought about it many times when I was younger. It makes me feel depressed. Lately I've been listening to music that either hasn't been recorded before or is very obscure (The Romantic Piano Concerto series from Hyperion), and a lot of it is well worth listening to. Just imagine how much more is forgotten or perhaps even lost forever.

 

[jopi]

And crawling on the planet's face
Some insects called the human race
Are lost in time and lost in space
And meaning.

 

[Dusty Chalk]

Quote:

Originally posted by jopi ...that would mean the recording industry as a whole would have had to crank out a new recording every hour for the past seventy years.

Why is that so unfathomable? Quote:

Originally posted by zowie There is presently approximately 11343800 minutes of commercially released classical music...

Where did you get that number?

Why do I only ask questions?