I actually do not have that many big boxes. I only have 3 boxes with 100+ CD's: Szell Complete Columbia Recordings, Furtwangler Legacy and a 155-CD JS Bach compilation from Brilliant Classics ...
Does your tape box look like this? I agree, it sounds great. And Ampex tapes have held up beautifully over the years.
But with just those three boxes, you've got the equivalent of about a fifth of my entire collection of LPs and CDs, which numbers about 1,600, although I've never actually counted. (My Discogs collection now stands at 1,307, but there are a couple hundred at least I have that aren't yet in the Discogs database, so not counted--mostly Japanese releases).
I bought an embarrassingly large number of pre-recorded tapes back in the day. Joined one of those mail-order tape clubs, too, which swelled my collection. It takes some time to thread the player and the machines require constant maintenance, but when it all comes together it's a beautiful (and nostalgic) way to make music. Always glad to see someone else appreciating tape.
The Tolkien quote brought a smile to my face. I have been trying for decades to understand Bruckner. Alas, I still don't.
Yes, I was surprised at how good my friend's transfer sounded, and how little tape hiss it exhibited. When I was a kid (late '80s, early '90s) I used to have a deck made by some Eastern Bloc company (I believe TESLA) which used to belong to my mother. I loved playing the tapes I had. None of them were pre-recorded, though. The deck was hooked up to a single loudspeaker. I still remember the smell of those tapes.
Yes, I have that LP, but mine is the EMI release (vinyl made in the UK). 1978. Also just noticed on the jacket that it is an SQ-encoded Quad recording. I've not played it in a long time, so I'm not recalling the performance or sound. Maybe tomorrow I'll put it on the TT.
I am not a fan of the big box sets either. I own two complete sets of Beethovens 9 Symphonies, and my 8 disc set of Beethoven 32 Piano Sonatas by Backhaus are about as big as it gets for me.
Yes, my biggest set is likewise a nine-disc set of the Beethoven sonatas for piano (Badura-Skoda on period instruments). My second-biggest set (seven CDs) is of the Schubert sonatas (Kempff). My next-biggest sets have only four CDs each. I don't really have anything against the big sets, I suppose, but it's hard to find space for them, and I guess much of the pleasure for me is hunting down the original obscurities. That said, Klavier is right in saying they can save a lot of money.
The Prague Chamber Orchestra is an excellent ensemble and Mackerras had made quite a few recordings with it during his career ...
I managed to own every CD singles from this set though the downside is they take up a bit more space ...
Speaking of box sets, having recently decided that Beethoven Piano Sonata No. 15 "Pastoral" is among my favorites of the sonatas, from listening to the Badura-Skoda set, I decided to listen to it on a modern piano, turning to the Jean-Efflam Bavouzet set on Chandos. Listening to CD 3 from Volume 3 of 3.
1st Listen: I am really enjoying this...as I have previous discs in this series, which I hope will become a complete series of Mozart Piano Concerti. These are now my favorite Mozart Piano Concerti on SACD...for several reasons including the most satisfying aural presentation of these works that I have heard on disc, coupled with introspective, thoughtful playing (I have been a fan of the pianist, Peter Rosel, for several decades) combined with refined, alert, beautifully balanced accompaniment from the Dresden Kapellsolisten: Dresdner Kapellsolisten | Willkommen
This has to be the worst work ever composed by Beethoven. Berlioz and Schubert both composed marches that sound much better than these Wellington Marches. No wonder there are not that many versions out there and Karajan never bothered to make a second recording ...
I just bought and downloaded a hi-res (24bit/96k) version and sampled it a bit (I had sampled it from Qobuz earlier and was very impressed). Dare I say...that they make the Quartetto Italiano sound a little anemic? I still love them, but man the QE rocks! The recording practically places them in my audio room, but it still has a lot of hall sound. I'll give some of it a full listen tomorrow.
Funny you mentioned the Italians. I listened to a classical radio show the other day where they compared three versions of a Beethoven String Quartet (can't remember which one exactly), by the Italians, the Takács Quartet and the Quatuor Ébène. The Italians sounded fine (as always) but rather "dated" (don't know how to better describe it), the Takács, who also used to be favourites of mine in this repertoire, sounded a bit mechanical and the Ébène were by far the best, they sounded absolutely wonderful. I then listened to a few audio samples and decided to get the set. It's a must for lovers of Beethoven String Quartets.
