Reading about all the problems with wives/girl friends and music collections and playback at home I am glad I live alone, though my last girl friend didn't have problems with all that - she loved music herself, about the only thing we had in common Back to the topic
My wife is hard of hearing and any noise bothers her. I've listened to headphones exclusively for 23 years so I'm used to it. The only issue is you are tethered to the system. Anyway, back to the boxed sets. While not a mega box, I'm leaning towards buying the Malcolm Arnold Conifer box from Sony. Over the past six months, I've been buying the original releases as I find them at reasonable prices and they are excellent. I have five of the 11 and I doubt I'll be able to find the remaining six at the price of the box. This is a great set for anyone thinking about checking out Arnold.
On boxsets, I suggest the series of boxsets by pianist Idil Biret. One of my closest friends, and my favorite vocalist, has a hearing disorder where all sound is painful. She struggles to enjoy our conversations, but music is in her past now.
This one does not tempt me. I already bought most of their recordings, and kept the discs (composers) that moved me.
Stop that! Seriously, I like having the original discs/packaging/booklets that all come with memories...even my Beethoven box set is autographed by all 4.
I don't remember what price point I decided was too high, but I noticed the John Williams box set from Sony is 110 on amazon and I hit "buy." I am proud I resisted this long. Now I'm done for another while.
Good! The price on that just has not dropped as some expected. People were spoiled a few years ago when megaboxes were being given away (Yo Yo Ma, Rubinstein, etc). Now the prices stabilize close to the first offered prices. I think the Cleo Laine-John Williams disc is missing from that set.
Yes, there's this note on the amazon.co.uk page for the set: Note: The two collaborations with Cleo Laine are no longer owned by Sony and therefore not included in this set. Not a problem for me.
I suppose the Dankworth's (Cleo's married name) may have retained ownership. It is surprising that they were not licensed to SONY, given the very minor labels that have reissued the RCA Victor LPs, and that John Williams actually was a close personal friend. And also odd, in that the Cleo Laine-James Galway recording was included in the Galway box. Cleo is now 89! Some may remember her taking the USA by storm in the early 1970's. Dame Cleo Laine: 'I do my weeping silently, by myself' »
Philips Classics The Stereo Years for $65.45 plus shipping. Note shipping was about $6 to Arizona Various Artists Philips Classics: The Stereo Years Boxed Set, 50PC on ImportCDs » To my friends in the USA, I hope you enjoy this Memorial Day and that we all take a few minutes to remember the meaning of it.
I am considering these two box sets and would welcome comments and suggestions from the group. Thanks Martha Argerich Complete Recordings on DG http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Recordings-Deutsche-Grammophon-Box/dp/B011WEVWYA?ie=UTF8&keywords=martha argerich complete&qid=1464616002&ref_=sr_1_1&sr=8-1 Beaux Arts Trio The Complete Recordings Beaux Arts Trio, Menahem Pressler, Daniel Guilet, Bernard Greenhouse, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven, Joseph Haydn, Franz Peter Schubert, Johannes Brahms, n/a - Beaux Arts Trio - The Complete Recordings [60 CD Box Set] - Amazon.com Music »
I have the smaller individual sets by Argerich. She is not my first choice in much of the repertoire, but I love the duo recordings. The Beaux Arts Trio set is lovely. People tend to be binary with them - love or hate. I love. Of course, they were how I heard much of the trio repertoire first, particularly those of Beethoven, so I will always have a soft spot for them. I also like the sound of the Philips recordings.
My suggestion is to buy them in the order that you listed them. But if you plan to play the music when guests are over for pleasant conversation, buy the Beaux Arts first.
Hi MD - I have the Beaux Arts Trio box. I already owned the original issue of their Haydn set (and I'm sure some other recordings by them here and there) but I could not resist the mega box. I am about 10 discs in at this point and I'm sure it is desert island material. Typical flip top box and sleeves. Very nice book. The music of course is incredible - brilliant performances. Very vivid recordings that are musical and well balanced. I highly recommend this box if you are at all interested in the repertoire it is hard to imagine these performances would be bettered. I am a big fan of these individual artists mega boxes. I think the role of the artist is sometimes under appreciated in classical music (sounds funny to say I guess)...
Today is a time, first and foremost, for reflection. Memorial Day began as Grand Army of the Republic Day after the Civil War. Today, for many it means nothing more than auto racing and trips to the beach. For some, it means everything. Returning to our regularly scheduled broadcast, the link to Import CDs, led me to another low-priced box, the Decca Great Vocal Recitals is $64.33, plus shipping. Various Artists Great Vocal Recitals Limited Edition, Boxed Set, 55PC on ImportCDs »
Well, well. Import CDs has less than stellar reviews at reseller ratings. I'm hoping my ordering experience will be one of the good ones. While this is off-topic, I thought I should point out the complaint history as I provided a link to the retailer.
I've never bought directly from them, but I have buy from their eBay storefront quite a lot & have always been happy with them.
Thank you for the tip. I just bought it. I will say that importCDs, whether ordered from their site or through amazon marketplace, ALWAYS ships your order. But if you wish to cancel or have any other issue, customer service is poor. You will get your refund eventually, but forget about responsiveness. If they just paid a staff person to be responsive and polite, they could increase their business considerably.
Here is the Customer Service number for ImportCDs: 855-258-9650. I have not ordered that much from them, but, so far, things have gone fine. If an item is listed as In Stock, you should be fine, if it is listed as Back-ordered, you may be less lucky. I put an order in last November for a few items, including one which was released on Nov. 20. This new item was to be a stocking filler for my wife for Christmas. The item kept showing as Back-ordered, despite being brand, spanking new. I contacted them once to check the status, and they could not tell me anything about when they would get the product. I said I could understand that for an old box-set, but not for a new, just released box-set. A few weeks went by and, with Christmas fast approaching, I called them again to cancel, and ordered the item elsewhere using some money off codes to get close to ImportCDs' low-price. They were fine about it. In contrast, another box-set, which showed as Back-ordered when I placed the order, they were able to ship to me within a few days.
And the listed price (though on backorder) has jumped back up to $86+. Sale is over. I did get my shipping confirmation.
Got the John Williams box set in yesterday. Excellent set. I'll have fun exploring this one as I only know about 10 percent of the discs beforehand. Now back to not buying box sets!
Great! I don't recall....does it have any exclusives - previously unissued material? With Spanish Classical Guitar, that is one form of music where I would welcome more multi-artist mega boxes. There are many superbly talented players of the present and past. I'd rather the box narrow its focus (that is, no baroque lute music, no emphasis on flamenco, etc.) The performers interpret the classic Spanish guitar literature so differently, I'd love a set with many such variations, especially by guitarists not yet reissued on CD
