I'd rather have a disc, not the download. I could settle for it only if there's no other choice, as a last resource. The fact that @Aslak's copy has no duplicate make me think that the issue could be more delimited than what seemed at first (and therefore more easy to solve perhaps?)
I'm reminded of an issue with a Mosaic Stan Kenton set issued many years ago. Many sets with faulty discs were issued, and Mosaic issued replacements. When I inquired regarding a set bought on the secondary market - which I was able to return for another reason - the response was that they (Mosaic) was no longer authorized to issue and/or no longer had any replacement discs. I guess the moral of the story is to open and check all of your new sets when you get them.
Discs 44 (Alceo Galliera and Bernard Haitink) and 45 (Colin Davis and Edo de Waart) are correctly labelled in my set, but they have the same content. I hope they will replace the duplicate disc; I am not going to return the box for just one disc. And I don't do downloads.
I used to have a subscription (digital only) with archive access, but it was pitched too high for this old (I was at the largest outdoor classical (including Stars and Stripes Forever) concert ever, in 1976) new (2018) classical listener.
I was kind of surprised to read that Gramophone review, since I had always found those London recordings to be among his best. Dave Hurwitz said as much in his video review. I wonder if that critic was too focused on the London orchestral politics of the time?
Mailing. Why do I buy a physical box with physical disks if I then get a download and have to burn this download on a CD that won't last nearly as long as a pressed one?
I've just done the math with current exchange rates: with CA sales tax and shipping, Amazon.com is a bit over $3 cheaper than JPC. I might go with the latter because their shipping boxes and padding are above and beyond those that Amazon is using - the European outlets have thinner cardboard than Amazon.com, crazy as it might seem.
Ah, I had misunderstood the Grumiaux problem and had only done a visual inspection as I haven't had a chance to listen to those discs yet. Apologies for any confusion. I will listen to discs 44 and 45 today and will report back but expect I will have the same duplication from the posts above.
I agree with Petrouchka that it's much worse with his later LSO Live recordings. I don’t find it a problem with his excellent Phillips Symphonie Fantastisque recording for example. I also agree that there's not much the recording team can say to a seasoned conductor with decades of experience. However, I suspect an experienced producer might take a different approach if a young conductor at the start of their career hoping for a long term recording contract was doing it! I also guess it's true that you have to accept it with certain performers. Glenn Gould is of course another extreme example! However, with so many inexpensive and excellent Sibelius cycles to choose from, I have ended up acquiring several and I'm afraid it does relegate Davis' LSO Live box down my list when I am deciding which one to listen to. Berglund, Vanska or Maazel without humming or Davis with humming? No contest!
Today my Grumiaux box from amazon.it arrived. Unlike other users, mine had double packaging, the internal one sealed with Universal tape, so it arrived in perfect condition and I could be very happy with this. Unfortunately he has the same problem as the others regarding the missing CD and I am unsure whether to return it or not. As I said, I already own this cd apart, so only the two romances directed by edo de waart are missing.
I have now listened to both discs and checked the running times of the tracks. Unfortunately, though not surprisingly, I also have the same duplication issue - disc 45 has the disc 44 (Galliera and Haitink) recordings on, instead of Davis and de Waart. Poetic justice perhaps - I am now finding myself missing Davis' humming!
The big article "Claudio Abbado and the LSO" may turn up online before long - accessible as a cached copy rather than directly.
I'm a tremendous Abbado fan, but his performances could end up in the doldrums - some of his Berlin offerings could be quite dull (the live recordings proved more reliably exciting).
This is the missing cd ... https://www.amazon.it/Beethoven-Violin-Romance-Major-Op-50/dp/B009AIUVTS/ It seems to be unavailable in cd version, so i will acquire it from amazon music in 24 bit by connecting alexa to my pc and creating my own cd . What has already been done in the past with surprising results ...
Surprisingly I discovered that I also own this CD, purchased about 20 years ago in the economic series eloquence which, at that time, was the only one I could afford .... so, even if I ask for a copy of the missing CD, I can be satisfied (until it turns out that they made some other mistake)!
I saw a blooper last night I will share since many have acquired the big Karl Richter box. I watched the 1983 epic movie The Right Stuff last night. I waited until the end of the credits to confirm my recollection that selections used from The Planets was the Philips Ozawa recording. Saw the credits there for the Hallelujah chorus from Handel's Messiah, for which they used Richter's DG (not Archiv) recording with the London Philharmonic Orchestra. But, the credits named the conductor as Carl Richter. I wish I was still in community with software developer whose name is Karl. Would be curious to know how often he gets named Carl, and if that creates issues of missed communication/ etc.
Grumiaux b0x - I received this from Amazon.fr in original manufacturers box so it arrived like new, I was willing to take the risk for 111 Euro and cheap shipping shared with the mega Kempff. I've listened to random works from Faure, the second recording of Lalo Symphonie Espagnole (sorry not sorry David Hurwitz, I like Lalo's Symphonie Espagnole!) and Bruch Scottish Fantasy and the mastering is excellent. I have a duplicate disc 44 and 45 as well. I tweeted Decca's main account and I'll try emailing them. On the last page of the booklet it says you can download a digital booklet from Home - Decca Classics Booklets , but there is no Grumiaux booklet at that link. Has anyone been able to find this elsewhere, like Qobuz or something? I like to access these booklets from my server because I listen to them at various locations.
Sorry, assuming that in the Grumiaux box the CD 44 and 45 are the same, has it been shown that it is the 45 that is a copy of the 44 and not vice versa?
This is why I am all for standardized spelling! --- Having chosen English as the preferred language in the EU, the European Parliament has commissioned a feasibility study on ways of improving efficiency in communication between Government departments. European officials have often pointed out that English spelling is unnecessarily difficult -- for example, cough, plough, rough, through and thorough. What is clearly needed is a phased programme of changes to iron out these anomalies. The programme would, of course, be administered by a committee staff at top level by participating nations. In the first year, for example, the committee would suggest using 's' instead of the soft 'c'. Sertainly, sivil servants in all sities would resieve this news with joy. Then the hard 'c' could be replased by 'k' sinse both letters are pronounsed alike. Not only would this klear up konfusion in the minds of klerikal workers, but typewriters kould be made with one less letter. There would be growing enthusiasm when in the sekond year, it kould be announsed that the troublesome 'ph' would henseforth be written 'f'. This would make words like 'fotograf' twenty persent shorter in print. In the third year, publik akseptanse of the new spelling kan be expekted to reash the stage where more komplikated shanges are possible. Governments would enkourage the removal of double letters which have always been a deterent to akurate speling. We would al agre that the horible mes of silent 'e's in the languag is disgrasful. Therefor we kould drop thes and kontinu to read and writ as though nothing had hapend. By this tim it would be four years sins the skem began and peopl would be reseptiv to steps sush as replasing 'th' by 'z'. Perhaps zen ze funktion of 'w' kould be taken on by 'v', vish is, after al, half a 'w'. Shortly after zis, ze unesesary 'o' kould be dropd from words kontaining 'ou'. Similar arguments vud of kors be aplid to ozer kombinations of leters. Kontinuing zis proses yer after yer, ve vud eventuli hav a reli sensibl riten styl. After tventi yers zer vud be no mor trubls or difikultis, and evrivun vud find it ezi tu understand ech ozer. Ze drems of the Guvermnt vud finali hav kum tru.
We have a similar one in German. It's about percentage calculations in math and how an example is being simplified more and more. The example is about a farmer and his potato yield. In the last version of the example, the task is to write down the word potato and to discuss it. More often than not, my first name is not pronounced correctly, even though Roland is pretty straightforward. But for some reason people think it's Ronald. Regarding them mega boxes, I did pull the trigger with Grumiaux at the aforementioned JPC price, $3 above the Amazon one - supporting independent shops with stellar packaging and customer service.
