...of Beethoven in my living (i.e. music listening) room. Pretty much life size, bronze-painted plaster. He sits on top of the rocord cabinet, glowering down at me. The room is also graced by a print of Wagner - the great man's head as the front end of Grane, on which a naked Brunhilde sits between the wings, brandishing a spear. And a couple of of small prints of Beethoven and Sibelius, and a picture of Mahler surrounded by oriental green hills - the original artwork for a Gramophone cover many years ago, reflecting a new recording of The Song of the Earth. Also a poster for the Boulez/Stein Pell-Mell at WNO, and another for Cosi by Opera Inside-Out, performed at Newbury Corn Exchange in the 90s. And Rodin's Thinker-Robot, the original artwork for an issue of the Radio 3 magazine from the 80s.

There's plenty of other stuff which is non music-related, in case anyone thinks I am obsessed or monothematic.

I used to have a plain plaster bust of Beethoven, but the dog leapt on me as I was carrying it into my new house, and I dropped the bluddy thing. The dog is dead....but for unconnected reasons!

So what music-related trophies are in your front parlour?

I like this sort of gossipy topic. I have a print of a pencil drawing of Benjamin Britten by Kenneth Green (1944), a postcard of the Curlew River bit of the John Piper window in Aldeburgh Parish Church, a china bowl issued for BB's 60th birthday, with a Midsummer Night's Dream theme, five paintings of East Anglia (two Norfolk, three Suffolk), though these aren't necessarily connected with Britten. I have other reasons for loving East Anglia. I think that's it - oh, two Russian lacquer boxes illustrating The Firebird.

And a lot of books!

Of course, this is not the only room in the house......

My brother and sister-in-law have enormous paintings/prints/drawings of Beethoven all over the house. There must be about ten of them. One can't escape the glowering presence - I find it quite unsettling.

I have a gold-painted one, smaller than life, got it for $1 in a US thrift store. There used to be prints of Mozart and Haydn hanging up but the missus didn't like the frames and there are porcelain plates in their place now.

Pride of place is a large photo of the Savoy Orpheans (dance band and concert orchestra from circa. 1925) signed underneath by almost everyone, over 20 names. The only names/members that might mean anything to folks on here are Reginald Pursglove, violin, Jaques Peretti-Tatte, cello, oh and some folk might know of the pianist Carroll Gibbons.

I've just had another 3 boxes of 78's donated to me by a neighbour, I'm such a sucker to hoard these things, need to move them into the other room and sort through them. Noticed set of Rachmaninov playing second piano concerto, a lot of Menuhin, a lot of Caruso and other Met stars. I'll post something on Collectors' Corner when I've had a good look at them.

John W

I have a small photograph of Canadian violinist Suzanne Hou, which she kindly sent me when I ordered her CD over the Internet. (I think I was the only person to buy it... they had to set up their PayPal account specially for me!  .) I wouldn't normally bother about displaying such things, but I thought it would be rude not to...



I have a disturblingly large number of autographed CDs. None of them by R3-type-people, though, so I won't mention names 

I haven't got any busts (well, you know what I mean!), but if I could find a cheap reproduction of this Ehrlich bronze I would buy it.

I have several bust imetables

I have a small bust of Verdi sitting alongside my metronome.

On the wall is a print of 'Enigma Variations' by Norman Perryman, the original of which is at the Elgar Birthplace Museum. If you look carefully, you can pick out Elgar, Alice and all his 'friends pictured within'.

http://www.elgarfoundation.org/trolleyed/5/66/index.htm and you can click on a thumbnail to a see a larger picture.

IGI, I can only pick out Elgar and Alice 

Is there a little dog in there somewhere?