--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In my younger days, I used to visit…" description: "\"In my younger days, I used to visit record shops and covet boxed sets of Beethoven symphonies, Wagner operas, Bach cantatas, Mozart piano concertos. On..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/374/michael-dirda-3414_beethoven_in-my-younger-days-i-used-to-visit-recor_1043253.png" --- # In my younger days, I used to visit record shops and covet… ![“In my younger days, I used to visit record shops and covet boxed sets of Beethoven symphonies, Wagner operas, Bach cantatas, Mozart piano concertos. Only rarely was I able to find the money for such luxuries.” quote by Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/374/michael-dirda-3414_beethoven_in-my-younger-days-i-used-to-visit-recor_1043253.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/374/michael-dirda-3414_beethoven_in-my-younger-days-i-used-to-visit-recor_1043253.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/374/michael-dirda-3414_beethoven_in-my-younger-days-i-used-to-visit-recor_1043253.png) > “In my younger days, I used to visit record shops and covet boxed sets of Beethoven symphonies, Wagner operas, Bach cantatas, Mozart piano concertos. Only rarely was I able to find the money for such luxuries.” [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He reminisces about youthful passion for classical music and the financial limits that made acquiring recordings rare. **In simple terms:** Youthful love for music limited by money. Key Takeaway Seek affordable ways to enjoy art. Themes music nostalgia economics collecting classical music Mood reflective nostalgic Type personal cultural When to use this quote - budget listening - library visits - digital streaming - secondhand markets Key Concepts Cultural appreciation financial constraints collecting habits Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance passion with budget? - What modern alternatives satisfy similar cravings? A Different Perspective Physical media may be obsolete for many listeners. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Luxuries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/luxuries/) [Money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money/) [Piano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/piano/) [Symphonies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/symphonies/) [Younger days](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/younger-days/) ## Related quotes > [You may be rich, but there is one thing you can't afford - that is, if you are a good sort - you can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-baden-powell/you-may-be-rich-but-there-is-one-thing-you-can-t-afford-that-is-if/) [Robert Baden-Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-baden-powell/) > [“Don’t spend your money on luxuries. Save it and secure a safe future. Don’t crave for quick satisfaction.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/don-t-spend-your-money-on-luxuries-save-it-and-secure-a-safe-future/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [We're in the age of the series, trilogy, boxed sets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-duncan/we-re-in-the-age-of-the-series-trilogy-boxed-sets/) [Glen Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-duncan/) > [I grew up loving symphonies. Beethoven is beautiful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lil-xan/i-grew-up-loving-symphonies-beethoven-is-beautiful/) [Lil Xan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lil-xan/) > [ “I remembered that Beethoven's symphonies had sometimes been given names... they should have call \[the Fifth\] the Vampire, because it simply refused to lie… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bradley/i-remembered-that-beethoven-s-symphonies-had-sometimes-been-given/) [Alan Bradley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bradley/) > [Mathematics is an activity governed by the same rules imposed upon the symphonies of Beethoven, the paintings of DaVinci, and the poetry of Homer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-kasner/mathematics-is-an-activity-governed-by-the-same-rules-imposed-upon/) [Edward Kasner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-kasner/) > [Most Beethoven symphonies require 80 or more instruments, and the late romantics even more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neville-marriner/most-beethoven-symphonies-require-80-or-more-instruments-and-the-late/) [Neville Marriner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neville-marriner/) > [Until I reached my late teens, there was not enough money for luxuries - a holiday, a car, or a computer. I learned how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zia-haider-rahman/until-i-reached-my-late-teens-there-was-not-enough-money-for-luxuries/) [Zia Haider Rahman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zia-haider-rahman/) > [“Even now, the angling of the light into this room. The curl of the curtain as it falls from a slackening breeze. To call…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-p-kiernan/even-now-the-angling-of-the-light-into-this-room-the-curl-of-the/) [Stephen P. Kiernan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-p-kiernan/) > [Although, I am proud of all my Symphonies as they all have something special to say, my particular favourite is the Fifth. As the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-arnold/although-i-am-proud-of-all-my-symphonies-as-they-all-have-something/) Malcolm Arnold > [Symphonies can generate a tremendous amount of sounds, beauty, and emotion. That is part of their human feel and sweetness. Keyboards, on the other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yanni/symphonies-can-generate-a-tremendous-amount-of-sounds-beauty-and/) [Yanni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yanni/) > [Why is composing symphonies tough? I don't know. It's just very few people in the world can do it well. And I think that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-fowler/why-is-composing-symphonies-tough-i-don-t-know-it-s-just-very-few/) [Martin Fowler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-fowler/) > [“Outside Soviet Russia, and following the last symphonies of Mahler, Nielsen and Sibelius, an element of obsolescence has unmistakably attached itself to the genre.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauline-fairclough/outside-soviet-russia-and-following-the-last-symphonies-of-mahler/) Pauline Fairclough > [I attempt to compose symphonies, although it is clear to me that logically it is pointless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-schnittke/i-attempt-to-compose-symphonies-although-it-is-clear-to-me-that/) [Alfred Schnittke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-schnittke/) > [Moving pictures need sound as much as Beethoven symphonies need lyrics,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-chaplin/moving-pictures-need-sound-as-much-as-beethoven-symphonies-need-lyrics/) [Charlie Chaplin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-chaplin/) ## More by Michael Dirda > [Nearly all the writing of our time is likely to disappear in a hundred years. Certainly most readers - and nearly all critics -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/nearly-all-the-writing-of-our-time-is-likely-to-disappear-in-a/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [I sometimes lie awake at night and try to imagine what would be the best period in history to spend one's seventy-odd years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/i-sometimes-lie-awake-at-night-and-try-to-imagine-what-would-be-the/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [To my mind, 'Dear Brutus' stands halfway between Shakespeare's 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' and Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's 'Into the Woods'. Like them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/to-my-mind-dear-brutus-stands-halfway-between-shakespeare-s-a/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [The goal of a just society should be to provide satisfying work with a living wage to all its citizens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/the-goal-of-a-just-society-should-be-to-provide-satisfying-work-with/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [Most lyric poetry is about love, whether yearned after, fulfilled, or wistfully regretted; what isn't tends to consist of laments and cris du coeur…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/most-lyric-poetry-is-about-love-whether-yearned-after-fulfilled-or/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [“Books, by their very nature and variety, help us grow in empathy for others, in tolerance and awareness. But they should increase our skepticism…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/books-by-their-very-nature-and-variety-help-us-grow-in-empathy-for/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [My gift, if that's not too grandiose a term, is one for describing novels, biographies, and works of history in such a way that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/my-gift-if-that-s-not-too-grandiose-a-term-is-one-for-describing/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [Once we know the plot and its surprises, we can appreciate a book's artistry without the usual confusion and sap flow of emotion, content…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/once-we-know-the-plot-and-its-surprises-we-can-appreciate-a-book-s/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [My wife tells me I should check out 'Downton Abbey', but I gather that series might be almost too intense for my temperate nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/my-wife-tells-me-i-should-check-out-downton-abbey-but-i-gather-that/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [A reviewer's lot is not always an easy one. I can remember flogging myself to finish Harold Brodkey's 'The Runaway Soul' despite the novel's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/a-reviewer-s-lot-is-not-always-an-easy-one-i-can-remember-flogging/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [I once read that in vaudeville, it was often the straight guy who got paid more than the comic because that's the tougher job.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/i-once-read-that-in-vaudeville-it-was-often-the-straight-guy-who-got/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [From the late 19th to the early 20th century, the December issue of almost any general-interest magazine regularly featured a holiday horror or two.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/from-the-late-19th-to-the-early-20th-century-the-december-issue-of/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [Neither my mom nor my dad ever bought me any comic books. Certainly not for Christmas. I suspect that doing so would have violated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/neither-my-mom-nor-my-dad-ever-bought-me-any-comic-books-certainly/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [For me, the two weeks between Christmas and Twelfth Night have come to be reserved for desultory reading. The pressure of the holiday is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/for-me-the-two-weeks-between-christmas-and-twelfth-night-have-come-to/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [I've always liked an easygoing, colloquial style. I like the kind of reviewer who is essentially a fellow reader, an enthusiast, a fan.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/i-ve-always-liked-an-easygoing-colloquial-style-i-like-the-kind-of/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) [Explore all 131 Michael Dirda quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) ## More Beethoven quotes > [For me, musicians are poets. Beethoven describes himself as a poet of tones, just like Coltrane's a poet of tempo.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/for-me-musicians-are-poets-beethoven-describes-himself-as-a-poet-of/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [I believe so, but at first he must know. He must know in which spirit Beethoven has composed this piece. He must try to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-masur/i-believe-so-but-at-first-he-must-know-he-must-know-in-which-spirit/) [Kurt Masur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-masur/) > [And now, in honour of the 150th anniversary of Beethoven's death, I would like to play 'Clear the Saloon', er, 'Clair de Lune', by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-borge/and-now-in-honour-of-the-150th-anniversary-of-beethoven-s-death-i/) [Victor Borge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-borge/) > [“That Beethoven was capable of producing the ultimate musical definition of heroism in this context is itself extraordinary, for he was able to evoke…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maynard-solomon/that-beethoven-was-capable-of-producing-the-ultimate-musical/) Maynard Solomon > [“He had said it bravely, and that is why one can trust Beethoven when he says other things.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/he-had-said-it-bravely-and-that-is-why-one-can-trust-beethoven-when/) [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) > [The point of recapitulation in the first movement of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony unleashes one of the most horrifyingly violent episodes in the history of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-mcclary/the-point-of-recapitulation-in-the-first-movement-of-beethoven-s/) [Susan McClary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-mcclary/) > [“You'll have a good, secure life when being alive means more to you than security, love more than money, your freedom more than public…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilhelm-reich/you-ll-have-a-good-secure-life-when-being-alive-means-more-to-you/) [Wilhelm Reich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilhelm-reich/) > [I shall never forget Juliek. How could I forget this concert given before an audience of the dead and dying? Even today, when I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/i-shall-never-forget-juliek-how-could-i-forget-this-concert-given/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [“Did Beethoven create his symphonies for his glorification? I don't believe it. I believe he created them because the music in his soul demanded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/did-beethoven-create-his-symphonies-for-his-glorification-i-don-t/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“On behalf of all that is good and melodic, Ludwig van Beethoven, I apologize.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-strohmeyer/on-behalf-of-all-that-is-good-and-melodic-ludwig-van-beethoven-i/) [Sarah Strohmeyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-strohmeyer/) > [Beethoven can't really be great because his picture isn't on a bubble gum card.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-m-schulz/beethoven-can-t-really-be-great-because-his-picture-isn-t-on-a-bubble/) [Charles M. Schulz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-m-schulz/) > [“I hope Ludwig van Beethoven gets his cut, Langdon thought, fairly certain that the original inventor of bone conduction technology was the eighteenth-century composer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-brown/i-hope-ludwig-van-beethoven-gets-his-cut-langdon-thought-fairly/) [Dan Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-brown/) > [“A deaf composer's like a cook who's lost his sense of taste. A frog that's lost its webbed feet. A truck driver with his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/a-deaf-composer-s-like-a-cook-who-s-lost-his-sense-of-taste-a-frog/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [Pulse as an active means of expression, Stravinsky and Beethoven are the two masters of that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esa-pekka-salonen/pulse-as-an-active-means-of-expression-stravinsky-and-beethoven-are/) [Esa-Pekka Salonen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esa-pekka-salonen/) > [I think there are very few people that I would give the title of genius to, really, but Beethoven unquestionably is one of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hough/i-think-there-are-very-few-people-that-i-would-give-the-title-of/) [Stephen Hough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hough/) Browse all 240 Beethoven quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "In my younger days, I used to visit record shops and covet boxed sets of Beethoven symphonies, Wagner operas, Bach cantatas, Mozart piano concertos. 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