Classical music bargains

[jazzbo]

My youngest brother and sister-in-law (both musicians and classical music lovers) will be receiving the Rubinstein box for Xmas thanks to that great importcds deal, got it in yesterday and it made me dig mine out and spin a few discs until way too late last night.

[mjzee]

Just snagged some great box bargains at ImportCD:

The Rubinstein for $90.11

Haydn Complete Symphonies (Dennis Russell Davies) for $18.74

The Living Stereo box for $72.79.

It was instructive to see how much lower these prices were than on Amazon. I'll definitely look here again in the future.

[T.D.]

I've bought a lot of recordings from importcd, most notably Black Saint / Soul Note boxes.

Funny thing: they also sell on Amazon, but there can be big differences (not always in the same direction) between their own site's price and their price on Amazon. So it pays to check the site.

[king ubu]

That Rubinstein/Krips K 491 is magnificient! Havne't come around to their Beethoven cycle, but that Mozart, gee!

[Д.Д.]

Complete Sweelinck psalms on Glossa (12 CDs) for €23: http://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B007IJKKV0/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3JWKAKR8XB7XF

[king ubu]

kewl ... just ordered, should be mighty interesting!

[Д.Д.]

Complete Sweelinck psalms on Glossa (12 CDs) for €23: http://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B007IJKKV0/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3JWKAKR8XB7XF

kewl ... just ordered, should be mighty interesting!

Me too, although I am not sure whether I really need more vocal Sweelinck. I have this 3-CD set already: http://www.amazon.de/Chorwerke-Vol-1-3-Christie/dp/B004M8F4CU?SubscriptionId=AKIAIVGTH525N57WM2NQ&tag=galenicom06-21&linkCode=xm2&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=B004M8F4CU

It's all good stuff, I am sure, but 12 CDs...

[king ubu]

Not sure I've got any choral stuff of his ... if at all, it's very little, so this is most welcome to me. I might of course still make up my mind in that it is really overkill, eventually ...

[TedR]

My youngest brother and sister-in-law (both musicians and classical music lovers) will be receiving the Rubinstein box for Xmas thanks to that great importcds deal, got it in yesterday and it made me dig mine out and spin a few discs until way too late last night.

Lon, I was reading some amazon reviews and they are somewhat unclear if this set includes the Living Stereo SACDs. The quote was transfers were "taken from" the SACDs which is different than these are SACD. Do you know if this set does include SACD? The price does seem to good to pass up.

[jazzbo]

No SACDs in this set, all Redbook cds. But I believe they use the mastering that is on the hybrid Living Stereo cds for the appropriate discs.

Sound is really good on this set, the earliest material sounds here (to me) as if it were actually recorded a decade or two later.

Edited November 1, 2013 by jazzbo

[T.D.]

Got e-mail yesterday - Berkshire has the Regis 9-cd box of Kempff's Beethoven sonatas (mono version, originally on DG) for $26.91. I like that set (granted, I have notably poor taste).

[mjzee]

I've bought a lot of recordings from importcd, most notably Black Saint / Soul Note boxes.

Funny thing: they also sell on Amazon, but there can be big differences (not always in the same direction) between their own site's price and their price on Amazon. So it pays to check the site.

I know! Right now, I'm looking at the Jazz on Vogue box set. It's $59.49 on the ImportCDs site, and $41.91 on Amazon Marketplace - sold by ImportCDs!

[alankin]

The Sony Perahia collection is now only $69 at Amazon. Great deal for 68 CDs plus 5 DVDs. I bought it in the Spring and am about 1/3 of the way through. Good set.

http://www.amazon.com/Murray-Perahia-The-First-Years/dp/B008NBEY3C/ref=pd_sim_m_14

[jazzbo]

I agree Alan. I bought this this spring as well, and my Dad and I have been enjoying listening to the discs and watching the excellent DVDs.

[ejp626]

So this is on the edge of being a bargain, depending on whether you go for a reseller or not: http://www.amazon.com/Original-Album-Classics-Isaac-Stern/dp/B002K8BJM8/ref=sr_1_12?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1383507731&sr=1-12

I kind of go back and forth on the OJC and Original Album approach. Sometimes it seems the resulting albums are quite short, as they are here, but I am increasingly finding that shorter but more focused CDs works pretty well for classical. Anyway, while I have a bit of duplication (Stern doing Beethoven with Barenboim) I can live with it.

I'm actually quite intrigued by the Boulez Original Album set (including the marketing behind it ), but it will have to come down quite a bit in price before I get reeled it with that.

[king ubu]

What about this one?

http://www.amazon.it/gp/product/B00EYPQ4SY/

I've only heard very little of Richter's Bach, but this looks interesting to me!

[Leeway]

Got e-mail yesterday - Berkshire has the Regis 9-cd box of Kempff's Beethoven sonatas (mono version, originally on DG) for $26.91. I like that set (granted, I have notably poor taste).

I guess I do too, as I quite like Kempff in the German piano repertory.

[David Ayers]

What about this one?

http://www.amazon.it/gp/product/B00EYPQ4SY/

I've only heard very little of Richter's Bach, but this looks interesting to me!

If I ever get a set of the cantatas it will be a more modern one.

Cheap, though, I'll grant you that

[king ubu]

Yeah, it's just that I like what little I've heard ... some of those singers are great (Ernst Haefliger, Hertha Töpper, Peter Schreier).

As far as sets go, I just ordered the Gardiner coffin ... no idea how it will fit into any shelf and how many years it will take me to listen, but the temptation was just too big and I'm convinced by whatever I've heard by Gardiner so far.

[jazzbo]

My Dad and I are listening to this set today. Though temporarily out of stock, it's only 22 dollars on amazon for 37 discs. Wow. They sound good too.

http://www.amazon.com/Joseph-Haydn-Complete-Symphonies-Franz/dp/B001NBS5NE/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1383660315&sr=1-1&keywords=complete+haydn+symphonies

Edited November 5, 2013 by jazzbo

[alankin]

My Dad and I are listening to this set today. Though temporarily out of stock, it's only 22 dollars on amazon for 37 discs. Wow. They sound good too.

http://www.amazon.com/Joseph-Haydn-Complete-Symphonies-Franz/dp/B001NBS5NE/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1383660315&sr=1-1&keywords=complete+haydn+symphonies

Less than 25¢ per symphony isn't bad.

[jazzbo]

Indeed.

I'm not a connoisseur, there are probably better renditions, but this is giving us a lot of listening pleasure. I think I paid a little more but still quite a bargain.

Edit to add: I paid 27 about six weeks ago.

Edited November 5, 2013 by jazzbo

[alankin]

I actually ordered it a few weeks ago from importcds and paid about 24...

[jazzbo]

So cheap!

[David Ayers]

There probably *aren't* better editions, just different ones, though I think the way forward is to make a selection from the existing offerings on the London Symphonies and other later ones and then maybe go for the unfinished and incomplete Hogwood for everything up to 75 plus a smattering of others. Still missing a few but - hey...