Classical "Mega" CD Box Sets

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by dajokr, Jan 28, 2012.

  1. J.A.W.

    J.A.W. Music Addict

    I wouldn't wait too long with the Walter box, it could be gone before you know it - as was the case with the Szell box and some other Sony boxes. I doubt the price will go down any further than it already did, when it was first announced the pre-order price was a whopping 300 euros, and it's now around 200 euros at some EU stores - in the US it's much cheaper, but the US prices are not attractive for EU customers because of the high overseas shipping rates and the customs charges.
     
  2. dafnis

    dafnis Forum Resident

    Location:
    Bologna
    Not all books are piano-related, though all are music-related. But this one particularly is, about THE BEST, THE GOAT: "Sviatoslav Richter", by Bruno Monsaingeon (Faber & Faber).
     
  3. Rmihai0

    Rmihai0 Thread Starter

    Location:
    Toronto
    bluemooze, Al Gator and ClassicalCD like this.
  4. gardibolt

    gardibolt Forum Resident

    Location:
    Madison, Wis. USA

    Good lord, I think you're right, fogalu. They have the Grosse Fuge op.133 on CD 53 in place of the finale to op.130. I don't see it lurking anywhere else on a quick scan. If this is right, yes, this is a titanic screwup on Warner's part.
     
    Rmihai0 likes this.
  5. fogalu

    fogalu There is only one Beethoven

    Location:
    Killarney, Ireland
    I think I'd better stop checking out these sets. I'm putting a hex on them! :D
     
    gardibolt and Rmihai0 like this.
  6. Salvatore Massaro

    Salvatore Massaro Forum Resident

    Location:
    Bloomington, IN
    FWIW, I ordered the Walter box from Target last weekend after Amazon had repeatedly postponed shipping of my summer-time pre-order. For the same price as Amazon, Target shipped the Walter box securely inside Sony's original packing box, and all within an outer Target box that arrived safely today. Never thought I would buy serious music from Target, but there it is. I must say that Sony's box sets from big (Szell, Walter, Serkin, Previn, Rubinstein, Casadesus) to smaller (Rose, Entremont, Richter, Browning, Firkusny) are beautifully done. And the remastering has generally been excellent.
     
  7. hvbias

    hvbias Midrange magic

    Location:
    Northeast
    I ordered Casadesus last week. I usually prefer more modern styles of pianism in French music but I feel this is one I might have regretted passing up.
     
    Rmihai0 likes this.
  8. Rmihai0

    Rmihai0 Thread Starter

    Location:
    Toronto
    Just ordered this - I was not aware of it at thr time - is the best price I could find

    Deutsche Harmonia Mundi 100 Great Recordings Import, Box set

    [​IMG]


    Just 1 more available - https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B0765S8NY4


    in Europe the prices jumped hugely as of late
     
    crispi, cdgenarian and bluemooze like this.
  9. Salvatore Massaro

    Salvatore Massaro Forum Resident

    Location:
    Bloomington, IN
    I had the same feeling about piano styles, but over the years, I've enjoyed Casadesus more and more. I happily traded the incomplete Scribendum box for the more complete, remastered Sony--one of the better moves I've made. I hope you enjoy it.
     
    hvbias and Rmihai0 like this.
  10. Rmihai0

    Rmihai0 Thread Starter

    Location:
    Toronto
  11. Rmihai0

    Rmihai0 Thread Starter

    Location:
    Toronto
    cdgenarian, bluemooze and Torran like this.
  12. Torran

    Torran Forum Resident

    Location:
    Italy
    As I said, even the eye wants its part... Money well spent!
     
    Rmihai0 likes this.
  13. Ed Casey

    Ed Casey Forum Resident

    Location:
    Passaic
    Received the Walter box yesterday. I was going to wrap it and place it under the tree as a X-mas gift to myself but could not resist. Have listened to the NY Philharmonic Brahms Symphonies and am very happy. The sound is greatly improved in comparison
    to any CD version I've heard.
     
  14. croquetlawns

    croquetlawns Forum Resident

    Location:
    Scotland
    Rmihai0 likes this.
  15. gardibolt

    gardibolt Forum Resident

    Location:
    Madison, Wis. USA
    It's a mixed bag. Harnoncourt and Leonhardt were pioneers in historic performance, and that kind of exploration meant that some of the earlier cantata recordings are not up to the bar of more recent historically-informed performances (strings can be very harsh and tuning is occasionally dodgy; brass instrument players are sometimes clearly struggling with an unfamiliar variant on what they were trained upon). But there is also some wonderful stuff there. Leonhardt's harpsichord performances are still considered classic. The box is generally on the whole better regarded than the Brilliant Classics Complete Bach (especially for the cantatas), which is around the same price point. It's a good way to dip your toe into a LOT of Bach without breaking the bank, and give yourself a sense of what you like so you can dig deeper.

    For more in-depth opinions, see the discussions about Harnoncourt & Leonhardt's Bach at the Bach-Cantatas.com site:

    Harnoncourt & Leonhardt - Bach Cantatas - General Discussions - Part 1
     
  16. croquetlawns

    croquetlawns Forum Resident

    Location:
    Scotland
    Thanks for that!
     
  17. jimsumner

    jimsumner Senior Member

    Location:
    Raleigh, NC, USA
  18. Pigalle

    Pigalle Forum Resident

    Location:
    United Kingdom
    Has anyone managed to securely rip this set? I have had three or four copies of it and of the first three discs in it, the second one is the only one that eventually yielded a secure rip. Disc One just gets stuck after about twelve hours, disc three similarly. This is on a Plextor PX 230 CD drive which has never encountered this type of issue with any other box set, let alone two of the first three discs.
     
    deus62 likes this.
  19. 6138

    6138 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Miami, USA
    I had a little problem only with the first CD, if I recall correctly it's filled with music to the maximum, but I was able to rip it. With the rest, no problem at all.
     
    Rmihai0 and bluemooze like this.
  20. deus62

    deus62 Mega everything.

    Location:
    Germany
    These past many years, there have always been "end-of-the-year" or "Christmas" boxed set sales (3 for 2, 50% off, etc.) on several of the various Amazon sites (especially Italy) around Europe. This year, nada, niente, zip, zilch, nothing. I have the distinct feeling that those kinds of sales will be very few and far between from here on (I hope I am wrong).

    Still, I held back on some purchases and it doesn't look like I will actually buy any of the box sets I would still like to have because, having been spoiled in the past many years, I think several of them are too expensive (yes, the research and work that went into them is certainly worth more than what I'm willing to pay, but, still, ... call me cheap-skate if you like). Besides that, I have music coming out of my ears. ;-)

    I'm posting this today because I will be offline until the New Year (a personal preference for December and January) and wanted to leave a comment on the one single thread I still follow around here and, altogether, pretty much the only thread I still follow on any forum anywhere and whatsoever.

    Thanks for everyone's (massive) input this year and I'm looking forward to 2020.

    P.S.: Where are all the spaceships, robots, interstellar travel etc. that were promised to us in 70s, 80s, and 90s fiction and films? I guess we have to add a decade or two ... or five
    Cheers!
    :-D
     
  21. deus62

    deus62 Mega everything.

    Location:
    Germany
    I've had problems with two discs (can't remember which ones exactly, but they were among the first 10) but, as I don't care, Exact Audio Copy (a program which, I think hasn't been updated in ages ... at least I have an age-old copy) beat those CDs into submission after a whole bunch of hours of reading, re-reading, re-reading again, etc. But, AccurateRip failed (the passages sound absolutely fine though ... I stream the ripped CDs onto my Marantz PM/SA14 main stereo).
     
  22. Sunburst Finish

    Sunburst Finish Forum Resident

    [​IMG]

    Sir John Barbirolli - The Complete RCA and Columbia Album Collection

    Due for release on 21st Feb 2020

    The young John Barbirolli was hardly known in America when the New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra chose him to be Arturo Toscanini's successor starting in 1937. The 36-year-old Londoner's first season was a triumph with both players and audiences, and although his years in New York would be increasingly marred by unfair rivalry with Toscanini - lured back to lead a specially created NBC Symphony - and by partisan hostility from two influential critics, Barbirolli's tenure can now be looked back on as a real success. From 1938 until 1943 Sir John made a series of recordings in New York for American Columbia and RCA Victor which are still essential for a full appreciation of this revered conductor's career, "performances that are as competitive today as they were when initially released" (Fanfare). Sony Classical is pleased to reissue them in a newly remastered six-CD set.

    Works

     
  23. Sunburst Finish

    Sunburst Finish Forum Resident

    [​IMG]

    Claudio Abbado & Wiener Philharmoniker: The Complete DG Recordings

    Due for release on 31st Jan 2020

    Works
     
  24. Sunburst Finish

    Sunburst Finish Forum Resident

    [​IMG]

    Herbert von Karajan - Complete Decca Recordings

    Due for release on 17th Jan 2020

    Works
     
  25. Sunburst Finish

    Sunburst Finish Forum Resident

    [​IMG]


    [​IMG]

    György Sándor - The Complete Columbia Album Collection

    Due for release on 3rd Jan 2020

    Sony Classical is pleased to release the first ever release of György Sándor’s complete Columbia and Sony recordings from 1945 to 1996 in a single 17 CD edition. This stunning box set includes 11 LPs appearing for the first time on CD on Sony Classical, remastered from the original analog masters using 24 bit / 192 kHz technology. Included in this must-have collection are breath-taking performances of works by Bach, Bartok, Schumann, Rachmaninoff and Chopin. György Sándor was born in 1912 in Budapest, where he studied the piano with Bartók for four years at the Liszt Academy as well as composition with Zoltán Kodály. He made his public debut in 1930 and, after performing widely throughout Europe, made his Carnegie Hall debut in 1939. The following year he decided to settle in the US, where he took citizenship, taught at two universities before moving in the 1980s to New York’s Juilliard School, where his students included Hélène Grimaud and Malcolm Bilson. He continued to perform right up to 2005, the year of his death.

    Works
     

Share This Page

molar-endocrine