I noticed that as well but it was available from other sellers for about $5 more than the price I originally ordered. Ordered it again and it arrived today. Looks like a nice package.
That may well be. I purchased the Serkin box in February 2018, and then took a break from purchasing many mega boxes until fairly recently. Part of this was COVID related. US amazon suddenly had very, very few boxes I wanted available, and amazon.de and amazon.it wouldn't ship to Maryland. In very early 2020 I ordered the Salonen and Walter boxes because I feared both would go out of print soon--I was right in the case of the Salonen box but the Walter one is still available everywhere. I really wanted the Ormandy box, but I know the price always drops after the initial release, so I waited until it was out a week or two before ordering it--it's a 120 CD box and I got it for about $200--roughly $1.70 per disc. I am sure someone got a much better deal than that, but I don't care. If a set I want is below $2 per disc, I always buy.
There was no down vote but I voted correct (incorrectly) which in turn has started a thread. Since I’ve put in a lot of time on creating box set entries — I consider it part of my classical education — I should be of help. On performer box sets. Apart from having too many boxes to start, I've always hesitated on performer collections, simply because I cannot tell the difference between the merely excellent and the transcendent. Getting a passel of early stereo era Sony boxes does mean I have more than a few of the big names of the 50s as they made their rounds through Chicago, Cleveland and Boston (Rubinstein, Heifetz, Serkin, Stern, Milstein, Fleisher, Gilels, etc.). Interesting to see who they play with - “Columbia Symphony Orchestra” or Cleveland or Chicago? Obviously the session orchestras were less expensive, but the accompanist and the Name are the same. Who decided whether to use the house band and why? From what I have heard of more recent (my lifetime) Names, Ashkenazy, Argerich, Perlman and Brendel come to mind... but not enough for me to get.
Your approach isn't wrong, but it isn't mine. I've purchased mega boxes for about 15 years--I started when the label boxes were big. I bought them. If I have any regrets in buying them, it would be because they contain a lot of music that I not only don't like, but find practically unlistenable. I am not making any judgement about the quality of either the compositions or the performance--I simply don't like it. With dollars and space being limited commodities, I would rather have purchased other boxes. I have listened to classical music for over 50 years, and purchased and collected it for about 45. I prefer the conductor/performer boxes because that tends to be how I think about/classify music. I cannot think of a thing Rubinstein recorded that I don't at least like. Much of it I love. Horowitz was certainly his equal, but I don't like his style and thus don't like his records. The conductor boxes . . . . I have a really soft spot for the big five American orchestras because that is what I listened to as a child (really, all that was available in the Midwest) up through when I graduated from high school. It's what was played on the radio. Szell and Cleveland sounded different than did Munch and Boston. Both are incredible, but different. I don't remember if we are or are not supposed to link to YouTube, and if we aren't please delete. But if you listen to this: and then this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IPgwwoxSbU they sound very, very different. Ormandy and Bernstein were going for very different sounds, and emphasized very different things in the score. Both are terrific, and I am astonished I can own practically everything either recorded. But it's how I think of music, so it makes sense to me.
Or 117 Euro at Amazon.fr - someone needs the Keepa browser addon. Clicking on it, it was actually 97 (!) Euro, but out of stock, hah.
Randomly saw this mini box: 100 Piano Masterpieces - 6 CDs for 7,99 Euro. Harmonia Mundi and such, though I am passing on this one - so many piano boxes to listen to.
No bullying involved and, as cartologist said, no incorrect vote. Sure, it annoyed me a bit for various reason, but the comment's author is still technically correct, so the fault is on my part. That said, adding such a box the proper way should be more of a collaborative effort than a solo work, in my opinion. No problem for the Grumiaux thread, take your time. I've had no new information in those days. Thank you for your vote, I really appreciate your help in this matter. I plan to work on a temporary workaround, such as adding links to the single releases (provided all of them are on Discogs, which I doubt) or adding scans of the tracklisting and then doing it the proper way with time. I should say that I find Discogs to be inefficient in assisting the creation of a release; some of the work should be automated, i.e. let me add a batch of empty tracks instead of me having to add every track manually. Adding the info should be done manually, but adding the basic elements could be made quicker and easier. Such a thing as stopped me from adding more, since my free time is more and more limited. Anyway, this is not the place to discuss this.
I have the other similar box and is great (The Family Spirit), so I assume this is also great, since they were released at the same time. I always say that you can hardly go wrong with Harmonia Mundi. The only problem with this box is possible duplication if you, like me, own other Harmonia Mundi boxes and/or CDs. At that price is a steal. I might get it, duplication or not.
I have this box and the other one too (the blue one). Both are great boxes, with plenty of amazing stuff if you (like me) have little (or none) of the recordings inside. For this price is a no brainer.
The Amazon France price for the forthcoming Warner Riccardo Muti Complete Symphonic Recordings box is almost half of the price elsewhere. It is 97.45 euros, vs 180 euros at Amazon.de and JPC. I have been trying to order at this price for over a month but Amazon would not allow with the excuse that it cannot be shipped to your location (USA). I was finally allowed to place the order today for $132 including expedited shipding. Could be they do not allow preorders more than 90 days in advance, as it is exactly 90 days away now. https://www.amazon.fr/gp/product/B08WPG53XD/
Many thanks, despite Amazon fr 33 eur shipping charge. Still cheaper than anywhere else... I added Deja Vu 50th anniversary set to the order for 4 Eur additional shipping charge...
I got a similar thing when I was starting out and it really helped me with finding composers and cool pieces.
Isn’t this the Muti box at FNAC? https://www.fnac.com/a15743872/Hect...-Symphonic-Recordings-CD-album#omnsearchpos=1 If so it is €62.99!
I had to use a lot of Google Translate, but it should be heading to Australia in June for about $89 USD!
Well, at under $80 with shipping to USA, I took a chance with FNAC... I had a preorder in place with US Amazon at $178 + tax that is now canceled.
Thanks for sharing, about to order, as I already have only 12 CDs from that box, so it's way less than 1€ per (new) CD. Wonderful price. There's a "Prix Bas Garanti" that should equal Amazon's lowest price guaranteed. Someone who is familiar with Fnac can confirm? And how does it work to cancel an order? I can't find anything in the help pages on fnac.com. I'd like to be prepared for every contingency.
Thanks for the Amazon and Fnac links. I've made both purchases, because I fear Fnac will cancel these orders due to wrong price. In my case 63 €, with free shipping.
Having just read the reviews on Trust Pilot I would be wary of placing an order with FNAC: Fnac is rated "Bad" with 1.3 / 5 on Trustpilot I have pre-ordered the Muti box with Amazon.fr - which at Euro 97.45 is at a much lower price than on other Amazon sites. Thanks for the info.
Harmonia Mundi seems to have repackaged a lot of material that I believe originated (in anthology form at least) as a well-considered series of 20 CDs (pictured below). These also were available as two 10-CD boxes, Century 1 and Century 2, both of which I have. The material has appeared in other boxes, such as Harmonia Mundi's Sacred Music and the above-pictured set. The original 20 CDs present a history of classical music. To cover as much ground as possible in 20 CDs, the performances typically are incomplete (e.g., a single movement of a symphony), but the music, performances and SQ are excellent. It's a very satisfying overview of music thoughout the centuries. That said, I'm not entirely sure what Harmonia Mundi is trying to accomplish with the above. The set is titled The Age of Revolutions, yet the date range is 1958-1988. Perhaps they are trying to catch the eye of unwary Baby Boomers. And the music ranges from the "ancient music" of the Greeks, Romans and Gauls (included in Century 1) through the 20th Century (presented in a more coherent form in Century 2). An "Age of Revolutions" lasting for more than two millennia? OK, if that's the way one chooses to look at history (and many do), but as a period of classical music? The set strikes me as an unfocused hodgepodge of what I'm sure is well-performed and nice-sounding music. The former bugs me enough that I wouldn't consider it worth 15 euro.
