Well, I agree with him that Universal/Decca could and should have included all the Marriner Argo recordings - they own them after all - and that it's incomprehensible they didn't. They should have at least explained it in the booklet (I assume there is one, I don't have the box myself).
Thanks @coopmv .... been very busy and with our kitty cat being trained to walk with a harness and leash.... I come home from work and then it's off to the park.
I don't think it's nitpicking. That box could have easily been twice the size with no drop off in quality. I think the reviewer is spot on with the ASV criticism, especially regarding Marriner's Argo The Lark Ascending, etc. album.
It appears the lion share of Marriner's Argo recordings are included in this box. To be sure, a number of Argo recordings for the ASMIF, conducted by Iona Brown, are not included for obvious reason. That famous Vaughan Williams recording should have been included. All in all, I would not hesitate to get the box even without reading this review. I have never been big on reading classical music reviews since day one of my venture into classical music as I learn about a conductor and ensemble from my personal listening experience. Forum like this also helps. I can definitely count on two hands how many recordings I have purchased over the years due to my subscriptions to the likes of Stereo Review, High Fidelity, Audio, Sterophile and TAS, etc. The irony is, I had already owned most of the highly recommended classical recordings mentioned in these audio mags by the time I read the reviews.
Walking a cat??? My doggies are not even used to being walked since I let them roam in the fenced-in backyard ...
First listen to CD 16 from "Murray Perahia - The First 40 Years" on Sony. Beethoven Sonatas No. 1 Op. 7 / No. 11 Op. 22
The review mentions more Argo recordings with Marriner (Handel, Bartók and Tippett are also mentioned) that should have been included but were left off, not only the Vaughan Williams.
If you train them when they are little....anything becomes normal. He is getting used to it and I love the fact he can go out with us and enjoy the outdoors. Our apartment is dow downtown but close to a few very nice parks. At least in spring, summer and autumn Floyd can see other things, feel grass under his feet.
I've been reading critics for a long time, I have never found one that I agree with more than at best half the time which is sort of in blind luck territory. I put it down to commercial interests having to play some role in it. In my experience the best opinions I have read are from forum members (GMG and Talk Classical are other two besides this forum, though TC not the same anymore) or bloggers that are upfront about having no commercial ties. With Amazon reviews- I generally consider these the very lowest rung for useful information. I will only read the reviews of people I recognize or skim to see if there are pressing defects. If I see something with less than 5 star aggregate I am curious why and of course it is more often than not people leaving 1 star complaining about poor sound quality on historic reissues with surface noise. And I see why labels now resort to things like noise reduction to keep them happy Drawing your own conclusions is always best. If an artist/expensive purchase (usually box, or less often OOP/rare CDs) I try and find a way to hear it free before committing to buy. Outside of some OOP/rarer classical CDs (interloan library is my other option) the internet is rife with good stuff.
I always thought Pilz was a cute label name, since it means "mushroom" in German. Turns out that it may be the name of a person, since there's a note on the inside of this (in six languages) from one Reiner E. Pilz. The note ties in these old East German Radio recordings with the then (1990) current fall of Communism. Contents: Schubert's 'Rosamund' Overture, Liszt's Piano Concerto No. 1 played by Bernard Ringeisen and Beethoven's 8th Symphony. Sound is mediocre but performances are good.
To make things worse Decca first released this box and when The Argo Years appeared many were duplicated. This set with, mainly, 20th-century music is warmly recommended of course.
Listening to my LP box of Kempff‘s Beethoven concertos (mono version from the 50s). This is a promo stamped copy of the box. No mention of artist on the spine. This was still from a time when record companies thought only one recording of a work is enough.
Arkiv seems have a classical CD that has been OOP for years. Has anyone ever received a CD-R from them that wasn't part of their ArkivCD program? This CD isn't listed as one of them.
I don't know if this relates to your question, but I recently received "Alexander Agricola: A Secret Labyrinth" by the Huelgas Ensemble from Amazon and to my surprise it was a cdr. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00000IMZT/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 The reproduction was excellent. I might back up the cdr just in case, but I am perfectly fine with it being a cdr. BTW, I missed the Secret Labyrinth Sony box set when it was available and now I am trying to complete my collection by buying the individual cds.
