Don't want to spoil the party and I know lots of people here like or even love Documents, but every time I see one of their releases I start running in the opposite direction. I find the sound quality of the Membran/Documents releases that I've had and heard abysmal, they suffered from noise reduction overload and I suspect some funny EQ was also applied. Truth be told, I haven't listened to their more recent sets, so maybe those sound better, I have no idea. Your mileage may vary, of course
It's clear to me that that is a documents/membran set. I've many of them and I enjoy them very much, but I dont have this. I suppose to have many of the contents of this in other sets dedicated to the single conductors. So you can find here all the best and sure its a worth buying!
The 10 CD Donizetti box I have arriving today is from Membran so I will check out the sound. It only cost me $7.50 delivered so a nice inexpensive sample to try
The Membran/Documents set Wagner’s Vision is quite good (so far). I have a piano box that includes some harsh SQ, though I’m not sure if that was M/D’s fault.
I bought it by 8 € some time ago. I've only listened one or two cds yet. But some days ago I made a spectrogram comparison between Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique by Markevitch edited by DG and this. This is the result (left Membram, right DG The Originals): Both seem the same. Maybe Membram only copies official editions of recordings without copyright... maybe.
Thanks. I now have the box on order. The Donizetti I listened to sounded very good (particularly for a live recording). I figure these are worth a punt at the price.
I doubt that membran does not have the authorization of the owner company. In some cases (hoelscer box) it was specified that the original tapes were used. However in various circumstances I have had confirmation of the high quality of the remastering, even if it is not necessarily a constant. For example, as previously mentioned, the martinon box which includes almost all of the decca recordings tracks from the master series
I have wondered whether the issue in at least some cases is not the performance per se, but which recorded version M/D is allowed to use. For example, I was somewhat disappointed in the SQ of Die Walkure in the Wagner’s Vision box. I think if they merely wanted to lift one from another source, they would have (and easily could have) chosen something better.
My favorite Membram/Documents set is the Furtwängler Legacy box. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004JC16LC/ Bought it for $80 in 2012. Most of the sonics are at least satisfactory when compared to the most preferred versions of the same recordings. Has my favorite mastering of the Rome Ring cycle, though I've never heard the exhorbinantly price Japanese SACDs.
Bit jealous you got to hear him live - I was born too late and on the wrong continent, it seems. That set was on eBay last week for $199.99 starting price, someone cleared out a classical music collection with many other usual suspects - not only from bonehead (bubhead?) who asks 700 dollars for it. It's a BUYERS' market, after all. Point in case: I got mine in March for 298.38 dollars, not sure if it was eBay or Discogs. Bit painful price wise, yet at $4.74 still under $5 a pop ... and these sets are really so so so well done. Now, about Montreux, Serkin, Bream and Rubinstein ... As they say in a podcast that I'm listening to: I'm giving you "Clip of the day for this one". Review post will follow eventually, once I've finished the four boxes I'm listening through right now - my coffee table can't fathom another open box at the moment. And the shelf that would save me is still OOP at my local IKEA ...
Wait, the set is gone already? How many did they make of this one?! Universal is now stripping the 2018 $1000 Appetite for Destruction mega box and selling its parts individually - and they only made 10,000 of that monstrosity. Hard to believe that classical music boxes have a smaller print run.
It's still available from overseas dealers. Seems like maybe it's more of a supply problem stateside than it being OOP already. In fact I hadn't even thought about Bull Moose before for some of these releases, I thought they didn't carry classical, for some reason.
The Sony / RCA / Columbia boxes really set the standard for this type of a thing. I just got the Walter box and it's just brilliant.
Walter’s sound is just so visceral to me... It seems like he gives us the beating heart of the music. In some way I feel he is bringing us closer to the intent of the composer. His vision is so clear. The Walter box is maybe my favorite of the mega boxes I have so far. It made me so crazy I went for the Walter Mahler and Beethoven Japanese import SACD boxes also. Surely he must be one of the great conductors of all time.
My post may not have scanned as well as I would have liked it to - I never saw Reiner live as I myself was also much too young to have had the opportunity to do so and once he died in 1963 his conducting appearances afterwards became somewhat sporadic to put it mildly and he had a tendency to erratically cancel appearances more often than Pavarotti and Argerich combined - I meant that I saw the CSO several times - Solti, Abbado, Barenboim, and Muti... Glad you're enjoying your new sets - give us a review when you're able to, eh?
I am watching with interest what I hope will be a price war between ImportCDs and Amazon over the Glenn Gould Bach Box. Right now, Amazon is down to $80 and ImportCDs (on eBay) is at about $72 (not including tax, but including shipping). Others, like Deep Discount, are in the running. Let's go guys! Who'll dip down below $60?
This is a good opportunity to get this discontinued box: Itzhak Perlman - Complete Recordings on Deutsche Grammophon (and Decca, I think). 52 € at Amazon Canada. Shipped from UK by Rarewaves. I bought it, and soon will buy the RCA/Sony box to complete the Perlman's collection. https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B00TXZM2R2/r And Amazon USA for a little more: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00TXZM2R2
Karl Richter - Complete Recordings on Archiv Produktion & Deutsche Grammophon 97 CDs, 3 Blu-ray Audio €199.99 Release date: 6.11.2020 Karl Richter - Complete Recordings on Archiv Produktion & Deutsche Grammophon (97 CDs und 3 Blu-ray Audio) – jpc
The "sound quality" is going to vary from disc to disc as this was not a "curated collection" but rather a 2013 re-packaging of whatever Gardiner discs were collecting the most dust on the shelves at the time... They're all DG and Archiv and are thus are quality releases but they haven't been "remastered" - whatever they were when they were originally released is what they are now... It's a "representative sampling" of Gardiner's career which again, means whatever discs they had at the warehouse that were collecting dust on the shelves at the time.. The entire point of the release was probably to see just how many copies of Monteverdi's "Vespro della Beata Vergine" they could trick us into buying... I must have about 75 copies of it by now - they include it in everything - it's even in boxes released by other companies... Is is "thematically coherent"? - about as "coherent" as I am when I start ranting about what a jerk Wolverine of the X-men for like fifteen different reasons ranging from hitting on Jean Grey when she was married to Cyclops to killing both his parents and his children and worst of all - calling everyone "bub" which frosts me to an extent in which I greatly fear that my head will explode - don't get me started - I'm still kind of pissed off about every toy shop owner in Ottawa refusing to sell me a drone... And so the box is about as "thematically coherent" as that last sentence... caveat emptor...
The Art of Eduard van Beinum This vast collection of orchestral works provides a valuable portrait of van Beinum The set includes a wide-ranging selection of his Decca, Philips, and live recordings Van Beinum was especially renowned for valuing the mental health of his orchestra, encouraging a cheerful and friendly atmosphere amongst the musicians who adored him for this different and humble style His nurturing approach to conducting, combined with his solid musicianship, reaps tangible rewards to delight the listener I did an extensive search (Editor's Note: I'm lying, I didn't even try, too lazy...) and can't find any track information. I've never heard of "Scribendum" - Someone else will need to provide a critique of the label... I like van Beinum - thought the Decca/Philips "Original Masters" sets were quite good - got into quite a few scraps defending him at a different forum which I do not wish to name (it was TalkClassical - longest two weeks of my life - I can get along with just about everyone here and no one there...)
Brilliant Classics is going to release this 20 CD set - • Bach’s music is often described as indestructible, in the sense that no matter how it is performed or in whichever arrangement, its essential spirit survives. In the Baroque period the practice of arranging one’s own music or that of other composers was common place, and Bach himself was an indefatigable transcriber and arranger, using his own music to multiple purposes. Besides saving time and creative energy it gave the opportunity to other instrumentalists to play music of such high quality and universal value. • This set contains 20 CDs with arrangements and transcriptions of Bach’s works, for a wide variety of instruments or instrumental combinations: recorder quintet, guitar, string trio, saxophone and even a full symphony orchestra! • In whatever way we hear music of Bach, his genius and universal message of beauty, truth and humanity shines through! Just reading the description was enough to convince me that 20 discs of Bach transcriptions is probably about 19 and a half more than I'm interested in hearing... but to each his own, eh? I couldn't find any track information and this time I really tried (Editor's Note: I am once again lying, I didn't try, too lazy...) and so someone else will have to do that which I am unwilling to do...
Of course, this is announced AFTER I picked up the "Revealing Bach" and "Bach Sacred Works" sets. Hoping for a better itemized list of contents at some point. I do tend to like what I've heard of Richter in general.