Thanks. Can't say I like every recording in the box and there are recordings that I feel should be included but are not ...
Looks like this is more a box about the ASMIF itself than ASMIF and Marriner as there are a good number of recordings that really have nothing to do directly with Marriner ...
More Than Just “Amadeus” is a great title. It is not a Marriner box per se, though inevitably the bulk of recordings will be conducted by him. DOES NOT INCLUDE AMADEUS SOUNDTRACK, GOTT SEI DANK. I’m going for it, as my ASMF collection is limited to 13 titles (none called “Amadeus) - some Corelli, two guitar concertos, and The Barber of Seville, which does not seem to be in this set. I am looking forward to the overture to Rossini’s celebrated opera Tank Lady.
An update, with image. More Than Just “Amadeus” is a great title. It is not a Marriner box per se, though inevitably many recordings will be conducted by him. DOES NOT INCLUDE AMADEUS SOUNDTRACK, GOTT SEI DANK. I’m going for it, as my ASMF collection is limited to 13 titles: some Corelli, two (?) guitar concerto discs and an Il Barbiere Di Siviglia which does not seem to be in this set. I am so looking forward to the overture to Rossini’s celebrated opera Tank Lady.
Thanks for flagging this - there are a lot of interesting CDs available at very reasonable prices during the sale. The ICA Classics website states that the listed prices include VAT; do you (or does anyone else) know if VAT is deducted from the price for orders shipped to the USA? I've tried to place an order, including my address but stopping just short of entering my credit card number, and there didn't seem to be any way to remove VAT from the price.
The VAT should automatically come off the final price of your order for each item. I have bought from UK etailers for years and it has always worked out just fine for me. The problem I have with purchasing from Amazon UK is, it looks like I now have to pay sales tax, which I think is ridiculous since the items originate from Europe and my state has no right to hit me with a sales tax.
In the EU it's always been like that; on stuff imported from outside the EU sales tax (VAT) is payable, unless the total value is under 22 euros - and I'm told that tax-free threshold will be abolished.
Just heard from Decca UK that the Wilhelm Backhaus Complete Decca Recordings box will be released in the EU on November 15.
Is this foreign-sourced VAT collected by Brussels or by the individual member state? The sales tax collected on foreign-sourced items should go to the state when the purchaser resides in our case. Honestly, it is not clear if the US Supreme Court ruling of last year really applies here. Perhaps Amazon just pockets the tax to fatten its bottomline?
There has been talk of a federal VAT for decades and gone nowhere. The problem largely has to do with states having to forego their individual sales tax, which is a non-starter for most since it is a revenue generator for them. There are some US states that have no general sales tax (except alcohol).
This means that since Sweden (where I live) has a higher VAT (25%) than most other European countries, when I buy from the different Amazons I always get to pay a slightly higher price since the difference between the seller country's VAT and that of Sweden is added (just like you Americans get a deduction of the whole VAT since there is no federal sales tax, as coopmy just explained). Sneaky as I am I sometimes have boxes sent to my daughter who lives in NC, and then I bring it back to Europe during one of my trips to see her and her family. This obviously works better for smaller boxes than for some of the megaboxes I have: I would not like to travel with my Bach333! Since I am also a collector of movies, most of what I bring back to Sweden (often a suitcase full), however, are American-produced films, such as the Criterion Collection, bought in the US.
I remember well when I visited Sweden in the fall of 1993 and found out CD prices in Stockholm were no bargains compared to what I could get stateside ...
If lived in a country with the same levels of Human Development Index (HDI) and Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) as Sweeden, I would be happy in paying 25% on tax When I buy a box-set from Europe, first I have the VAT removed from the item at the check-out, that´s good, but then then I have 60% of import fee added by my country, then I have more 18% tax added by my local state, then I have 2 more taxes added as custom clear out and and administrative services... at the end of the day all the taxes and fees sum up to incredible total of 105% of the price paid for the item+shipping. For example, if the item after VAT removal is EUR 85.00 and the shipping is EUR 15.00, I have to pay this EUR 100.00 to Amazon plus EUR 105.00 to my beloved government, which gives back... nothing other than corruption and more corruption. Sorry for the self-pitty moment, but, be happy dear friend, paying taxes when the ammount charged is fair as compared to what is received back from the country is a true bless
No doubt you are right, and I am truly grateful to live where I do, even if (in addition to the 25% sales tax) I am taxed over 60% on my last earned income. However, having visited your country by ship in my youth (Santos, Rio and Recife), I have to say that Brazil has other qualities I envy, not least a wonderful music culture (to get back to our topic).
HMV.co.jp has a full listing. If you copy the text (about 20 discs per go) and enter them into Google translate, you get a pretty good overview of the box set's contents. Academy of St.Martin in the Fields : ASMF 60 (60CD)
Thanks for the link. It just confirmed for me that most of the recordings in this box are already in my collection. For a few that are not, I also do not particularly like them. So I will skip this big box ...
My team has a big Brazil contingent. A couple of months ago, one of the managers visited the US at a trade show we attended in Orlando, FL. His wife and daughter made up an extensive shopping list before he left, and made sure he had a lot of spare room in his suitcase (but not TOO much). My manager placed the orders via his Amazon Prime account, and Márcio was able to go home with many presents.
Claudio Abbado & Wiener Philharmoniker - The Complete Recordings on Deutsche Grammophon 58CD's € 99.99 + Beethoven: 9 Symphonies (Nos. 7 & 8 in two recordings); Choral fantasy op. 80; Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage; Leonore Overtures No. 1-3; Fidelio Overture; The creatures of the Prometheus Overture (in two recordings); Egmont Overture; Coriolan Overture; The ruins of Athens Overture + Berg: 3 orchestral pieces op. 6; Lulu Suite; 7 early songs; The wine; Altenberg Lieder; 3 pieces from Lyric Suite + Brahms: Symphony No. 1; Piano Concerto No. 2; Hungarian Dances No. 1-21 + Bruckner: Symphonies No. 1, 4, 5, 7, 9 (No. 1 in two recordings) + Debussy: Pelleas et Melisande + Mahler: Symphonies No. 2-4, 9; Symphony No. 10 (Adagio) + Mozart: Piano Concert Nos. 14, 20, 21, 25-27; Missa solemnis KV 139 "Orphanage Fair"; Le nozze di Figaro + Mussorgsky: Khovanschina + Rossini: L'Italiana in Algeri + Schönberg: Gurre songs + Schubert: Symphonies No. 5 & 8; Mass D. 950 + Verdi: Requiem; Quattro Pezzi sacri + Wagner: Lohengrin Label: DGG, ADD/DDD Release date: 31.1.2020 Claudio Abbado & Wiener Philharmoniker - The Complete Recordings on Deutsche Grammophon (58 CDs) – jpc
To answer my own question, I just ordered several discs from ICA Classics, and VAT was NOT deducted from the purchase price when I paid for the items with a USA address. ICA Classics did not answer two emails I sent asking about removing VAT for items shipped to an American address. Incidentally, for those considering ordering the 20 CD BBC Legends vol 2 box, be aware that there's a hefty shipping charge for overseas delivery: ICA Classics normally charges 2 pounds plus an additional 1 pound per items for delivery to the USA. However, the BBC legends box incurs a 10 pound additional shipping charge. This plus the lack of a VAT refund led to my not getting the box; while there are a number of discs that I'd like to hear there's nothing on it that I really need to have, and several discs I have no interest in. Last, note that VAT charges are completely unrelated to recent court findings that online retailers must collect sales tax charged by various American states. VAT is levied by the country in which the retailer is located, and does not apply to items shipped overseas. If VAT is not refunded to the overseas purchaser, the money simply goes to pad the retailer's bottom line, or in some cases may be used to subsidize shipping (Eureka, a UK video distributor roughly equivalent to Criterion here in the US, once told me that they don't refund VAT because they offer free shipping to the US and the non-refunded VAT roughly covers the shipping charges).
