I have a few of these BBC Music Magazine CD's when I was given a gift subscription in the early 2000's ...
Some of them are really good. I have some interesting recordings by Menuhin, Toscanini, Horowitz, Arrau, Curzon, etc..
I first saw the name Paul Lewis on one of the BBC Music Mag CD's I received. He is now a major pianist for the HM label ...
Dunno if he classifies as "classical" but I am looking for some good John Dowland collections. Any aficionados out there can help?
I just got in today the Gergiev Shostakovich 3/10 SACD today. Listening to it right now. My understanding is 3 has not seen a lot of play time, which is a bonus but I got jt for the 10. It was also rather cheap, $7.50
Yes, he did. His cycle got mostly good reviews in the UK, but mixed ones elsewhere. I got the set soon after it came out, didn't like it very much and sold it, and re-bought it a couple of years later, thinking I might have missed something - turned out I hadn't, I'm still not fond of it but didn't sell it this time
I am particularly interested in this set. However I heard there are two versions of it (a Decca set and another), with the original being the superior of the two. Know anything about that?
I read somewhere (amazon reviews?) that the Decca version was the original one. Not sure. I generally try to confirm via Discogs, but I've noticed they're not complete with their listings for everyone. Regardless I will be picking that set up first and looking to augment it with others.
I also have quite a few Beethoven Piano Sonatas cycles, but I love those 32 and keep looking out for more - good ones, that is I have complete cycles by Claudio Arrau (1 complete and 1 incomplete), Vladimir Ashkenazy, Jean-Efflam Bavouzet, Ronald Brautigam (fortepiano), Alfred Brendel (2), Annie Fischer, Richard Goode, Friedrich Gulda (Brilliant Classics/Amadeo), François-Frédéric Guy, Wilhelm Kempff (2, mono and stereo), Stephen Kovacevich, Paul Lewis, Andrea Lucchesini, Yves Nat, Maurizio Pollini, András Schiff and Arthur Schnabel, and incomplete ones by Emil Gilels, Murray Perahia, Rudolf Serkin and Solomon, plus lots of Sviatoslav Richter performances and single discs.
The complete lite music boxes by Nigel North on Naxos and Jakob Lindberg originally on BIS but available on Brilliant Classics are both good
I found the review. Posting for any interested parties: At least two Amazon Marketplace sellers don't sell this version when you order. Instead, they send a US-manufactured reissue on the Musical Heritage Society (MHS) label. I bought twice and returned them for that reason. On the third time I ordered directly from Amazon, and received the correct set, i.e. what the product page lists: a Decca label issue (manufactured in Germany). It's the same music if you don't care about the labels, but I don't like getting a MHS issue when I order a Decca import. With that said, this is a fantastic set, worth more than the price. I have most of this on the original L'Oiseau-Lyre vinyl records, and I still play them regularly. The gem of the entire set is the Second Booke of Songs 1600. There are some great compositions, and the ensemble performance is absolutely first rate and magical. I have an extensive collection of early music, and this is some of the best of it. The instrumental pieces (solo lute and consorts) are wonderful as well.
