Former prime minister Paul Keating is passionate about classical music, with a collection centring on romantic composers from 1880 to 1920, including many works for violin.
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During his time in office, Mr Keating could sometimes been seen in Manuka's Abels Records on a Saturday afternoon, flicking through the latest CDs.
On the front page of The Canberra Times on this day 29 years ago was a photograph of Mr Keating singing the praises of a new Australian disc, Canberra Wind Soloists. The CD was recorded by Abels, produced by the ABC and marketed by PolyGram.
The launch took place in Abels' then-new premises at Franklin Street, allowing Mr Keating to reveal glimpses of his encyclopaedic knowledge of classical music, as he described the attributes of many of the selections on the shelves.
Placido Domingo looked on from a top rack with approval.
After demonstrating that he was in a position to make the comparison, Mr Keating said the Canberra disc, recorded in Llewellyn Hall, was world-standard.
