Regarding the Mercury Masters box: I own most of the box as content of the three Mercury Living Presence cubes, and owned many as individual MLP releases before that. The recordings and performances are all cream-of-the-crop, even though some be mono. And with Tom Fine (son of the legendary Wilma Cozart Fine, co-producer of the original recordings) in charge of the both audio (remastering) and documentation this is a no brainer. You cannot go wrong. Regarding the Decca box: I own everything already, either in prior Decca Legends, Eloquence, or Tower Japan releases. All are very good to excellent recordings but not quite as special as the MLP stuff. I did not order the Decca box, but I would not hesitate to do so if I did not already own all or many of the recordings.
Without me doing anything, although I was trying hard, the payment got processed and now my order says it will be delivered on the 18th and is waiting to be shipped with DHL. 67€ and change for me too, while it originally was 69€.
Mine has been sent too, DHL shipping so it should be pretty quick and in good condition. I'll be interested to see if it's double boxed or not.
So im searching Ebay and whatnot and kicking myself for not getting into classical a couple years ago when these sets were dirt cheap and now costing hundreds upon hundreds, if not nearing a grand now. Any explanation as to why these habe jumped up in price and scarcity? Is there a classical cd box boom coinciding with the vinyl resurgence? also, why dont some of these get repressed? Like the Julian Bream box is at minimum $500 used, why wont they reissue it?
This is one of my all-time favorites. I remember that I listened through this box while reading Jan Swafford’s excellent Brahms biography. Both are highly recommended.
FNAC just sent shipping notification for the Muti box - In my case, EUR 65.16 to the US, also via DHL.
The "documentary" discs in the Bruno Walter box are a somewhat different story than the documentary discs included in most other boxes. With the possible exception of Disc 77, these were all released on LP back in the 1950s and early 1960s, and can therefore be considered a legitimate part of his "complete" Columbia recordings. For the most part, they consist of rehearsal recordings and interviews with Walter, rather than interviews with other people talking about Walther.
I do like those rehearsal discs. I think it’s really fun to hear the conductor work with the orchestra. And Bruno’s voice is so soothing. I listen to them on headphones while I fall asleep.
Are they not all mono? I thought that was the MLP USP. I'm happy with good quality mono in boxes. I find that historic recordings can be very variable in sound quality, but I'm reassured by your comments.
I also received the shipping notice and DHL Express tracking information from FNAC early this morning with an estimated delivery date of 21 June 2021 to California. That would be amazing considering the cost. Fingers crossed on delivery and packaging. I still had an active order with Amazon France which I cancelled first thing this morning. Much thanks to forum member Pigalle for posting the FNAC listing!
CONGRATS to all of you who scored that Muti box at the fantastic price. I'm having "non buyers" regret now for not pulling the trigger when I had the chance.
While checking out this box at jpc.de I saw an ad for another not-quite-mega box, 21 CDs of music for cello and piano with Yo-Yo Ma and Emanual Ax. It has been marked down from eur 39.99 to eur 19.99. Sounds interesting, and it's less than one euro per disc: vhttps://www.jpc.de/jpcng/classic/detail/-/art/a-celebration-box-set/hnum/9027665
I wouldn't beat yourself up--there are still a bounty of riches available and I would concentrate on purchasing what is available now at a reasonable price. I have over 6,000 CDs. That is too many. I will not live long enough to listen to them all, and storing them is a pain. When the mega boxes first came out, it was astonishing how low they were priced. I remember when the Arthur Rubinstein box was first released in the early 1990s--it had a list price of $1,600! So when an even bigger Rubinstein box came out about 10 years ago, in a better box with a lovely booklet, for under $200, it was astonishing. So we all ran to buy them (I paid less than $100 for mine). There were a variety of factors leading to the low prices. The Great Recession. The fact that the Big Five record companies (now the Big Three) were in flux and trying to make their sales appear as high as possible. And the fact that I don't think the record companies knew where to price them. But those days are gone. That being said, terrific bargains are still available. Interested in pianists? The Gould box or the Casedesus box would be a great start. Want to explore orchestral music? Try the Ormandy, Walter, or Bernstein boxes. I doubt the idiots asking $900 for some of these boxes find many takers at that price--trust me, there is no market for classical CDs. If you doubt what I say, try to sell some on E-bay or at one of the remaining record stores. I have heard people say they can't give them away at yard sales. Focus on what you want and enjoy it.
One copy of Heifetz & Piatigorsky box 55 € at Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.de: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0092AKDQK https://www.amazon.de/dp/B0092AKDQK It's the same seller: momox = medimops. A reliable external seller, I've bought a lot of cds to them.
Wise words. The labels must be doing something right -- I stopped buying CDs years ago, but they lured me back with the big boxes. They're just too tempting in every respect. I also missed out on the early bargains, but the boxes coming out now are still a great deal. Swordandchains, look at all the ones still available in addition to the ones ssstand mentioned: Abbado, Barbirolli, Celibidache, Chailly, Cluytens, Kubelik, Mehta, Previn, etc.
