The Vivarte box is excellent and is crazy cheap at times, picked it up from Amazon for US $60 delivered not too long ago. Also has some Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert (even a bit of Brahms) so not just Baroque.
Mucho thanks. I wonder why his second cello concerto is omitted? Never recorded by anyone in the Warner Universe? Hard to believe.
I only bought Vivarte I but when I found out Vivarte II has many CD's by Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, I just could not bring myself to buy it even if the price is 'right' ...
Presto only shows 20 recordings of #2, but 127 of #1. One is Paul Tortelier in his EMI box, but I checked the box and it only has #1. None of the other Presto listings are Warner labels.
I have a deep aversion to duplicates, but ~ $2 per CD for the ones I didn't have in the Tafelmusik box was too good a deal to pass up. Plus it has the liner notes for the 17 duplicates. Oh, and I like Tafelmusik
I purchased quite a lot of big artist and conductor boxes over the last few years (no composer, orchestra or label boxes, though) and the Tafelmusik box is the only one I really regret bying. It didn't do anything for me.
Yeah, we all have our own likes and dislikes for different ensembles. When it comes to baroque music, I just do not think much of most North American baroque ensembles as I feel they do not have the level of virtuosity like some of the leading European baroque ensembles ...
You could always sell it (if you haven't already). I've seen it going for some crazy high prices lately
Thanks for doing this, I have the digital version of the Stereo half and have wanted the cover art for it. Amazing work!
Thanks. Good research. No question his first cello concerto is more popular than the second. Still I suspect 27 recordings is more than all of the symphonies except no. 3, indeed more than most works on the box. Seems strange that they couldn't license one of these 27 from somebody. It seems like a significant omission, the only Saint-Saens concerto not represented on the box if I'm not mistaken.
There certainly is nothing wrong with the 2nd Cello Concerto, so I don't know why it's so rare. I'm listening to it right now played by Torleif Thedéen with the Tapiola Sinfonietta (BIS), and this is what the liner notes say: "Completed in 1902, the Concerto for Cello and Orchestra No. 2 in D minor has a somewhat usual structure. The first movement seems like a polonaise, and towards the end of the movement the demanding solo part ushers in a virtuoso Andante sostenuto which replaces the customary solo cadenza. The second movement begins with a sort of scherzo, the difficult solo part featuring extensive use of double stopping (Saint-Saens was one of a very few composers to notate much of the cello part on two staves). There follows a solo cadenza, and finally the polonaise style returns, supplemented by new material. From this description it becomes apparent that the Second Concerto can also be interpreted as a sort of enhanced sonata form." For now I will abstain from buying the box since I have all the orchestral and concerto works already (many in more than one version), and just downloaded the Nash Ensemble's top of the line 2 disc Chamber Works. The few chamber works I'm still missing I'll get elsewhere.
Narciso Yepes Solo is still available for €22,50 at amazon.es. And when you can find 3 other boxes in the same price category, it is even cheaper (bizarre deal, 4 for 3, strange guys these Spaniards)
No, I haven't sold it, too much hassle. Besides, I wonder if potential buyers are willing to pay the insane asking prices you are referring to - did the box actually sell for those prices?
This box got rave reviews at amazon, artistically and technically brilliant they say. Already sold out at jpc and presto. I bought it but didn't have a chance to listen. Any experiences here on the forum?
Glad to help. The scans are not perfect (whether or not the CD is in the sleeve, there is always some “bumpiness”) but they are not meant to be.
They look almost exactly the same to my scans of other sets. You don't want to waste too much time fiddling around with them or it'll take forever.
My Nilsson box set arrived from Amazon.us. I missed the opportunity to get this box for a great price from jpc.de so I paid $250 and ordered one of the last copies from Amazon. This is a great set, so I am not going to complain. Speaking of Amazon, I realized that it is better to order mega boxes than small ones from Amazon. The mega boxes arrive, at least in my case, double boxed, with the inner box usually being the label's box with padding protection. I had no casualties with mega boxes yet, (knock on wood!) On the other hand, Amazon puts small cd boxes, the ones with 25-40 CDs in a flimsy bubble envelop with absolutely no other protection. Unfortunately, some of them arrive with corner bumps because of this.
Thanks for pointing this out. The Naxos Villa-Lobos box (recently discussed here) is part of the 4 for 3 deal, too.
So, another not complete edition! I remember I tried to fill the lack of that concert, with a naxos cd very well played by Maria Kliegel... https://www.amazon.it/Concerto-Vlc-N-1-Op-33-Op-11/dp/B0000014CT/
It’s at Amazon.de. I’m a bit surprised it isn’t at Jpc.de. EDIT - sound clips here: https://www.hmv.co.jp/en/artist_Classical-Collection-Boxed-Set_000000000088040/item_Otto-Klemperer-Concertgebouw-Orchestra-Legendary-Amsterdam-Concerts-1947-1961-Live-24SACD-Hybrid_11840107 I think I’ll save my money for Furtwangler.
These offers are sometimes very short-lived on amazon.es. I recently bought these three box sets on offer. 1) Rodzinski complete columbia 38 euro, 2) Juilliard early columbia recordings 32 euro. 3) Theodor Kuchar plays dvorak etc. (brilliant) 18 euro. I saved quite a lot compared to if I had bought them on amazon.it. In particular, the box dedicated to Rodzinski is fantastic and unmissable and I recommend purchasing it at any cost. I've done some really great listening and the remastering of 40's recordings is absolutely astonish. Picture to an exibition, prokofiev symphony n. 5 , Bizet symphony in c major etc. I remembered having heard this Bizet symphony in the past and I remembered that I liked it, but I didn't really remember that it was so beautiful! Plus the always impeccable booklet full of details from sony !
I would like to make some considerations on the imminent release of the warner box set dedicated to furtwangler. I own the Emi Furtwangler great recordings box (21 cds), bought used at a high price. I compared the Beethoven violin concerto played by Menuhin with the one found in this membran box https://www.amazon.it/gp/product/B000VX1REY/ The Membran remaster is far superior to the one used by emi and I can imagine that the rest of the emi box set has pretty poor remasters as well. Unfortunately I have not yet been able to make a comparison with the recent warner box sets with the symphonies of Beethoven and Brahms which are supposed to feature more recent remasters and which will be used in the outgoing box. Therefore the expectations for this box are very very high!
Is there a Bohm complete orchestral box similar to the Karl Bohm - The Complete Opera & Vocal Recordings that came out recently?
