Classical music bargains

[king ubu]

Thanks!

[ejp626]

This is a little different - Boult from Bach to Wagner. All non-English fare on EMI. The Amazon price is kind of steep, but there are plenty of market sellers selling for under $20. I can't tell how essential any of this is, but I am curious to hear him doing the Brandenberg Concertos. Also, some reviewers highly praise his Brahms.

There is another Boult set coming out of him conducting Vaughan Williams, but unless you are a completist, it is hard to justify. I felt more than sated with a cheaper box of Boult conducting the symphonies and then a stand-alone CD with some of the major orchestral pieces (Lark, Greensleeves, Serenade, etc.).

[Д.Д.]

Ligeti Projects box on Teldec for €15.52 at Spanish amazon: http://www.amazon.es/Ligeti-Project-Box-Set-Gy%C3%B6rgy/dp/B0016A8E1K/ref=lh_ni_t?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[king ubu]

Got the Ligeti for a bit more (18 or 19€) from amazon.it, which has it for 50€ now ... don't quite understand the rationale behind these price changes on amazon ... and of course haven't yet started digging into the box ... buying fast, but moving ahead slowly, trying to really listen before I move on.

[jazzbo]

Got my Van Cliburn box in today. Nice set!

[David Ayers]

Got the Ligeti for a bit more (18 or 19€) from amazon.it, which has it for 50€ now ... don't quite understand the rationale behind these price changes on amazon ...

Amazon looks more like ebay these days, the prices never stay still. I cannot understand how their algorithm works and I hate how you pop something in the basket to think about and a day later it costs 30% more.

[king ubu]

Indeed! I missed out on the Jochum ICON like that ... and twice already on the Gilels Beethoven sonatas.

But I'll just keep waiting until prices drop again.

[ejp626]

Indeed! I missed out on the Jochum ICON like that ... and twice already on the Gilels Beethoven sonatas.

But I'll just keep waiting until prices drop again.

If you are lucky, two of the Zsellers or whatever they are called now will have it in stock, and you kind of watch the automatic price adjustment at work. (Granted this is more common on Amazon.com than the other Amazons.) The De Larrocha set went down 2 or 3 dollars over a week (a few pennies at a time) until it was back where I was willing to buy it. But you do need some patience, and if one of them sells out, the price shoots back up...

[David Ayers]

Today's price change on an item in my basket. Crazy.

Suk: Prague/ Summers Tale (Orchestral Works) (BBC Symphony Orche... has increased from £11.47 to £18.24

They have six in stock.

The only reason it is still in the basket is that it went up by £2 after I put it in...

[Bigshot]

Got my Van Cliburn box in today. Nice set!

Seconded enthusiastically!

[StarThrower]

Presto Classical has some incredible deals this month.

http://www.prestoclassical.co.uk/promo.php?promo=401&blurb=401&page=1

[king ubu]

amazon.es has the Cortot box for 45€:

http://www.amazon.es/Anniversary-Edition-Chopin-Schumann-Beethoven/dp/B008V1IR4Q/

[king ubu]

coming up end of March:

The Heifetz Piatigorsky Concerts

best description I found so far from amazon.es:

Lista de canciones:

1. Piano Trio in A Minor

2. Modéré

3. Pantuom - Assez vif

4. Passacaille - Très large

5. Final - Animé

6. Piano Trio, Op. 49 in D Minor

7. Molto allegro e agitato

8. Andante con moto tranquillo

9. Scherzo: Leggiero e vivace

10. Finale: Allegro assai appassionato

Disco 2

1. Piano Trio, Op. 50 in A Minor

2. Pezzo elegiaco: Moderato assai

3. A. Tema con Variazioni: Andante con moto

4. Variation I

5. Variation II: Più mosso

6. Variation III: Scherzando: Allegro moderato

7. Variation IV: L'istesso tempo

8. Variation V: L'istesso tempo

9. Variation VI: Tempo di valse

10. Variation VII: Allegro moderato

11. Variation VIII: Fuga: Allegro moderato

12. Variation IX: Andante flebile, ma non tanto

13. Variation X: Tempo di Mazurka

14. Variation XI: Moderato

15. B. Variation Finale e Coda: Allegro risoluto con fuoco

Disco 3

1. Trio, Op. 9, No. 1, in G

2. Trio, Op. 9, No. 3, in C Minor

Disco 4

1. Trio, Op. 3, in E-Flat

Disco 5

1. Serenade, Op. 8 (Trio in D)

2. Duo, Op. 7

Disco 6

1. Trio, Op. 9, No. 2, in D

2. Sinfonia No. 4, BWV 790, in D Minor

3. Sinfonia No. 9, BWV 795, in F Minor

4. Sinfonia No. 3, BWV 789, in D

5. Trio No. 2, D. 581 in B-Flat

Disco 7

1. Concerto in A Minor for Violin and Cello, Op. 102 - RCA Victor Symphony Orchestra

2. Allegro - RCA Victor Symphony Orchestra

3. Andante - RCA Victor Symphony Orchestra

4. Vivace non troppo - RCA Victor Symphony Orchestra

Disco 8

1. Quintet, D. 956/Op. 163 in C

Disco 9

1. Quintet in F Minor

2. Sextet, Op. 36, in G

Disco 10

1. Octet, Op. 20, in E-Flat

2. Quintet, K. 516 in G Minor

Disco 11

1. Trio, Op. 1, No. 1, in E-Flat

2. Divertimento for Cello and Orchestra

3. Sinfonia concertante, Op. 29 - Chamber Orchestra

Disco 12

1. Trio No. 1 Op. 32 in D Minor

2. Concerto, RV 547/Op. 22, No. 2/P. 388 in B-Flat - Chamber Orchestra

3. Preludium: Andante moderato

4. Rondo: Allegro con brio

Disco 13

1. Violin Concerto No. 5, K.219, in A "Turkish" - Chamber Orchestra

2. Piano Trio No. 1, Op. 35

Disco 14

1. Quintet, Op. 81, in A

2. Trio in C

Disco 15

1. Piano Quartet, Op. 60, in C Minor

2. Sonata in D

3. Divertimento, Op. 37, No. 2

Disco 16

1. Quintet, K. 515, in C

2. Trio No. 2, Op. 66, in C Minor

Disco 17

1. Double Quartet, Op. 65 in D Minor

2. Trio, Op. 90 "Dumky" in E Minor

3. Dumka I - Heifetz, Jascha

4. Trio, Op. 90 "Dumky" in E Minor

5. Dumka II - Heifetz, Jascha

6. Trio, Op. 90 "Dumky" in E Minor

7. Vivace

8. Dumka III - Heifetz, Jascha

9. Trio, Op. 90 "Dumky" in E Minor

10. Dumka IV - Heifetz, Jascha

11. Trio, Op. 90 "Dumky" in E Minor

12. Dumka V - Heifetz, Jascha

13. Trio, Op. 90 "Dumky" in E Minor

14. Dumka VI - Heifetz, Jascha

15. Trio, Op. 90 "Dumky" in E Minor

Disco 18

1. Trio, Op. 65 in F Minor

2. Suite italienne

3. Prelude, Op. 39, No. 1

4. Passacaglia No. 6 (Harpsichord Suite No. 7) in G Minor

Disco 19

1. Quintet No. 2, Op. 111, in G

2. Trio, Op. 70, No. 2, in E-Flat

Disco 20

1. Trio No. 2, D. 929/Op. 100

2. Trio No. 2, Op. 87 in C

Disco 21

1. Piano Quintet in A, Op. 81

2. I. Allegro ma non tanto

3. II. Dumka: Andante con moto

4. III. Scherzo (Furiant): Molto vivace

5. IV. Finale: Allegro

6. Souvenir de Florence, Op. 70

Descripción del producto

Jascha HEIFETZ - Gregor PIATIGORSKY

The Heifetz-Piatigorsky Concerts

La première intégrale des légendaires concerts en duo de Heifetz et Piatigorsky

Le violoniste Jascha Heifetz avait fait, depuis ses études au conservatoire de Saint-Pétersbourg avec Leopold Auer, de la musique de chambre sa spécialité.

Il commence à se produire en concert à New-York dès 1922, mais ce n'est qu'à partir de 1961 que débuteront officiellement les concerts Heifetz-Piatigorsky, afin de partager avec le public leur amour pour la musique de chambre, alors que les deux acolytes étaient déjà en pré-retraite et amis de longue date.

Ces concerts ont eu pour but de faire entendre des duos, trios, quintettes, sextuors et octets rares, avec des invités prestigieux tels Arthur Rubinstein, Israel Baker, William Primerose, Leonard Pennario, ou encore Jacob Lateiner.

Le duo parcourra les salles de concerts de tous les Etats-Unis jusqu'en 1974, ce que propose de retracer pour la première fois ce magnifique coffret très attendu, qui offre des prestations live, uniques et toutes atypiques.

I guess this is no news to many of you, but as I missed the big Heifetz Collection, it looks mighty nice to me!

[ejp626]

Presto Classical has some incredible deals this month.

http://www.prestocla...lurb=401&page=1

No kidding. I've gotten a good price on a lot of these sets on sale, but, wow, in a few cases, I wish I had held back. The Mackerras EMI set for under $10! Ogdon for $32 (maybe not that much lower than I paid).

They even have a good deal on the The Heifetz Piatigorsky Concerts RCA set that Ubu is thinking of (and I may spring for as well).

It looks like the sale will go until the very first days of April, so I have a little while to make up my mind.

[alankin]

Presto Classical has some incredible deals this month.

http://www.prestocla...lurb=401&page=1

No kidding. I've gotten a good price on a lot of these sets on sale, but, wow, in a few cases, I wish I had held back. The Mackerras EMI set for under $10! Ogdon for $32 (maybe not that much lower than I paid).

They even have a good deal on the The Heifetz Piatigorsky Concerts RCA set that Ubu is thinking of (and I may spring for as well).

It looks like the sale will go until the very first days of April, so I have a little while to make up my mind.

Have any recommendations?

[alankin]

Presto Classical has a page of EMI Icon sets on sale:

http://www.prestoclassical.co.uk/emi-icons.php

[ejp626]

Presto Classical has some incredible deals this month.

http://www.prestocla...lurb=401&page=1

No kidding. I've gotten a good price on a lot of these sets on sale, but, wow, in a few cases, I wish I had held back. The Mackerras EMI set for under $10! Ogdon for $32 (maybe not that much lower than I paid).

They even have a good deal on the The Heifetz Piatigorsky Concerts RCA set that Ubu is thinking of (and I may spring for as well).

It looks like the sale will go until the very first days of April, so I have a little while to make up my mind.

Have any recommendations?

Honestly, I have been happy with all the EMI Icon box sets I've picked up. Well, the recording quality on the first couple of disks of the Kreisler were off-putting and I ended up de-accessioning that one. I do think the Toscanini is redundant if you have the big shoebox set, but maybe not a bad idea if you don't.

I'm not that interested in the Jochum set because I already have his Bruckner cycle and I don't need another Beethoven cycle, but if you are looking for those symphonies (paging Dr. Ubu!), this is a good way to go.

I like the John Ogdon set because he goes into a lot of rarely recorded pieces.

I also really like the Melos Ensemble box. (This is on sale, but doesn't seem reachable through the EMI sale page, but you should be able to find it here.)

Let's see, I have the Richter, De Larrocha, Sir Colin Davis, Mackerras, Vernon Handley, Heiffetz, Guido Cantelli, and Silvestri boxes.

I don't think I have the Fournier. I will double check and possibly order that.

[king ubu]

The Fournier is worth having, if only for the Beethoven cello sonatas with Schnabel!

Wonderful box, in my opinion!

I got lots of piano, violin and singer ICON boxes, the Jochum was always a bit too pricey so far, and the Kempe, too ... but I got the Schuricht, which has the Beethoven symphonies, and I got them from Toscanini and from Zinman, too - so whenever I start digging into symphonies, I'll have some recordings handy! (Actually I've had the Zinman for ages and gave the entire cycle a few spins, but only one since I started digging into classical music for real.)

Favourite ICONs include:

- Michael Rabin

- Alexis Weissenberg

- Jascha Heifetz

- Dinu Lipatti

- Solomon

- Fritz Wunderlich

- Janet Baker

- Lucia Popp

- Emil Gilels

Also enjoy:

- Nathan Milstein

- Fritz Kreisler

- Edwin Fischer

- Claudio Arrau (though I've not played all of it yet)

- Walter Gieseking

- Sviatoslav Richter (again I'm not through with all of it yet)

- Montserrat Caballé

- Mirella Freni

- Beniamino Gigli (I really need to dig deeper there, though)

Then, I've got a few where I've barely scratched the surface (John Ogdon, Giuseppe di Stefano, Hermann Prey, Hans Hotter, Elly Ameling, Tito Gobbi, Jussi Björling, Elisabeth Schumann) and a few that haven't been touched yet at all (Mackerras, Schuricht).

A few that are surely of interest I can skip since I've got the music elsewhere (Schnabel, Rubinstein, François ... also even though the new Toscanini isn't entirely in the big box, the repertoire is all or mostly there, in some cases in multiple versions even, so that's good enough for me ... and I will get the big Cortot box, so ...)

The one I got that I could live without, I think, is the one by Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli ... not sure what all the fuss is about him, I don't seem to get it.

The Melos box looks tempting, and I definitely will get the Fassbaender from the new ones, too. Also, I might eventually get the Kempe and the Jochum, and maybe the Franco Corelli and Elisabeth Schwarzkopf (again, I don't get the fuss quite yet, there). Too bad EMI isn't updating the website any longer.

[Chuck Nessa]

The Kreisler set is the favorite so far. I had some of this stuff in the ' 60s and '70s on German lps. I could never catch up to the Japanese lp reissues of the Beethoven sonatas. This package answers many old wishes.

The Heifitz is dandy as well.

The Bruno Walter is a decent start but they need to do a second box with his Beethoven, Brahms, Schubert, Haydn, Berlioz, etc.

I am dreaming of a Szigeti bundle.

Much of the other material is already in my collection so I have not purchased the Schnabel, Fischer and many other sets. Some of the artists are not of interest for me but it is nice to have the opportunity.

Edited February 26, 2013 by Chuck Nessa

[ejp626]

Much of the other material is already in my collection so I have not purchased the Schnabel, Fischer and many other sets. Some of the artists are not of interest for me but it is nice to have the opportunity.

That's my feeling as well. I don't have a lot of the earlier recordings and some is of no interest to me (all the operatic stars) but I'm glad they are putting it out there. Probably my single favorite EMI box is the Melos Ensemble.

It's interesting how much overlap there is between the Milstein and Steinberg sets. I am leaning a bit towards the Steinberg, just because I like a bit of orchestral variety rather than violin or piano concertos over and over.

I probably will get the Fourier, but just program it so I only hear one disc at a time.

[king ubu]

To me, coming all innocent and new into classical music just a few months ago, they were most welcome!

The Heifetz and the Rabin first ... the later is amazing and compiles most of Rabin's recordings, as I understand - there are far too few!

The Heifetz I prefer over the two Sony/RCA sets I've got - there's plenty of duplication in music, but I seem to be more drawn to the earlier ones in most cases.

I ultimately also found my way into singers mostly via ICON boxes, getting started with Wunderlich, Gigli, and shortly after Baker, de los Angeles, Freni ... which again led to the desire to check out entire operas, which is one of my main listening pleasures these past weeks (and I've ordered a dozen or so more recordings just now, mainly Mozart, multiple versions of some operas even ).

[Larry Kart]

I bought the Richter, even though I have a lot of those recordings, just to get his Berg Chamber Concerto, a recording I've never been able to track down and that I've been told is superb.

[king ubu]

Skip the Händel ... sounds like Keith Jarrett doing his schtick mid-70s (less moaning with Richter though) .... don't understand the fascination these recordings seem to evoke with some people. I found the Schumann great (though admittedly I still feel I'm not familiar much, although having heard some of Arrau's and Horowitz' and more recordings of piano works) and also enjoy the sh*t out of "Die schöne Magelone" (though I recently got the Prey LP from Orfeo, which is why I love it - that LP was played very often during my childhood and I still know the entire story by heart, it seems).

[alankin]

VAN CLIBURN - THE COMPLETE ALBUM COLLECTION (28 CD + DVD)

49.95 today from pop market.

http://www.popmarket.com/details/28107584?feature_id=28100343

Edited March 11, 2013 by alankin

[T.D.]

Sony's excellent 60 CD Vivarte box of HIP recordings is on preorder sale at Amazon.de for just over $75 shipped to the US.

http://www.amazon.de.../dp/B00AOTZ156/

Or if you prefer, you can spend 300 euro on it!

http://www.amazon.de.../dp/B004FTOU6W/

Probably going to pass on this, but here is more info on the set: Vivarte. Looks like it ships in March, and probably prices will stabilize around then.

I just took the plunge on this. Preordered from CD Universe for $85.89 shipped.