Is what you're saying true ?! That makes me very happy, you have given me hope to have my Grumiaux boxset. I will also order it, for when it is available, it will be shipped to Mexico.
If you don't mind importing from Canada, the Decca Sound box is a good choice: https://www.amazon.ca/Decca-Sound-5...eywords=the+decca+sound&qid=1627062959&sr=8-1 It looks like there's still one copy of the RCA Living Stereo Collection, Volume 2 available as well.
I don't think so, but there's no denying that the recent Warner slipcase boxes with original cover art discs are a model in putting together these c. 20-CD sets. I really like the Ravel set in all respects.
Clam shells when they get too big makes the spine more prone to being bent or crushed, specifically during shipping. Slipcase/box is just better.
On second thought, I suppose what you expect out of a box is key. If your goal at this stage is merely "a box that helps broaden [your] exposure to the standard repertoire", that reminds me of my initial foray into jazz. I was well served by the Smithsonian Collection of Classic Jazz despite the fact that it merely touched on many artists and in some cases provided only edited works. From that set, I was able to identify what I liked (e.g., Fats Waller and Louis Armstrong) and what I wasn't yet ready for (e.g., Thelonious Monk and John Coltrane), though that latter would change. After a listen to a set like the above (there may be others) you may say you like baroque vocal or classical symphonies, but not opera or modern music. Then, like I did (initially buying Waller and Armstrong and other CDs), you might take it from there with smaller "clam shell" sets or a larger box or two that covers a composer, a genre, or an ensemble type.
What's been mentioned so far are mainly works for a symphony orchestra, but since you also mentioned Bach I think you should consider complementing with a box that covers mainly Baroque and done with modern performance practice, i.e. with period instruments and closer to what someone like Bach would have recognized (also called HIP). Again various excellent boxes are oop, but these two are available for reasonable prices and can be starters: Vivarte Collection Vol. II Baroque (Brilliant)
The 40 CD DG 111 Conductors box would be worth considering - https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B06ZYWB5KX/?coliid=I3W3X4ONWXNQLT&colid=1BVJFZIKQ6BJO&psc=1
Even for a classical music novice interested in becoming familiar with the genre? I cannot say because I don't have it, but 40 years ago when I first started listening to classical music I suspect I would have enjoyed it immensely . . . though it would have had to have been 24 (or more) LPs back then!
I would recommend taking a subscription to one of the streaming services that have a large selection of classical music (I have Tidal), see what you like best and then buy it. Even Youtube has a ton of classical music from all major composers and performers that you can listen to for free just to get an idea.
I have this, but today I would not buy it! I bought 111 conductors only because I paid very little for it! (about 40 euro)
I do, I use Amazon music. My last purchase: Andor Foldes, complete DG recordings, very well remastered!
I keep resisting this box, which has been available at times at a very low price. I've heard some of the remastered recordings (e.g., Sibelius) and find them a definite improvement. But it's an odd, unsatisfying (to me) selection. If the Bernstein "Symphony Edition" and "Concertos & Orchestral Works" boxes are ever remastered and re-released, though, I'll be all over them.
Not mega but these have been in my heavy rotation since I got them a couple of weeks ago. These are the best performances I've heard for Villa Lobos' symphonies and in great sound quality. My first time hearing the Choros and Bachianas Brasileiras, these came across as quite excellent to me.
Agreed. I'm not sure why I overlooked this cycle for so long, I guess hearing Karajan, Bohm, etc drag their feet in these had me thinking HIP was the only way to go with Hogwood. But the Dorati cycle is so much better, finally the music has some texture and weight to it but with still swift tempi in period style to keep things moving.
The box set equivalent of "Cozy Classics" or "In the Mood for Mozart" or "Elgar Evenings" perhaps (we've all seen those kinds of titles!) but it's probably a nice overview for beginners.
Thanks! You’re right. The DG History of Classical 100 is exactly what I’m looking for. You’re also right that it’s reached OOP sky high prices. I was able to find it on Discogs, but oddly it was broken into two releases: disks 1-50 and the other disks 51-100. The DG 111 and DG Originals boxes seem to be safe bets short of the History box. Does Naxos have a similar box that anyone would recommend?
I noticed that at Discogs. I don’t think the sellers are splitting it up that way. I suspect someone originally listed the box in two parts, then when sellers came along with sets to sell they had no choice but to select one or both listings. Perhaps it’s Discogs’s formatting restrictions that caused this. I’m not aware of a Naxos box. Harmonia Mundi has (or had) a 20-CD double set (two 10-CD sets) called Century I and Century II that is similar to the DG 24-hour set. I’m actually considering selling mine as part of my shelf cleaning project.
Naxos has a series of 10-disc boxes that cover different parts of the repertoire very nicely (e.g., Baroque, violin and piano concertos, chamber music). I don't see one available for symphonies, but I may be missing it. I will always highly recommend Naxos, I think they deliver great product and value.
No, Discogs allows large box sets in a single listing. The restriction is Discogs server performance. A complete tracklisting for a mega (50+) box set is too large for Discogs’ entry form to work in without slowing to a crawl.Each new line makes data entry slower and slower. And the case of the 2 boxes of the History of Classical Music release, the submitter brilliantly added track credits for every track, which was stupid of them. To make matters worse, combining the two is not the solution. Discogs merges preserves the data of one release only. The best I have done is the Karajan Symphony Edition 58 CD box. I am up to disc 56 of the Cluytens box. The largest I have seen done properly (so to say) is the Solti Chicago box, with 108 discs. In the case of the three above-named boxes, they are conductor boxes where symphonies and concertos account for a good chunk of the entries (in the case of Karajan, all of them), so the line count per disc can be as low as 6. Addendum: even entering cd titles as track numbers is a significant time sink, and there is no reward for doing a proper job of it.
