ejp626 Posted December 13, 2013 Report Share Posted December 13, 2013 There's a second Living Stereo collection scheduled for February. Amazon UK has it on preorder for £53.99 (60 discs). No idea what's in it.I believe these are the contents (didn't verify beyond a quick search though): http://www.jpc.de/jpcng/classic/detail/-/art/RCA-Living-Stereo-Vol-2/hnum/3793157Definitely tempting. I have the Reiner already (but there is not that much -- Box 1 is more Reiner heavy). A bit more Munch and Leinsdorf. I'd definitely listen to this more than the Decca #2 set, which I think I will pass on.It just slays me that there are 5 CDs devoted to Rubinstein doing the Beethoven Piano Concertos (w/ Krips), as I just picked this up in a different set. Oddly enough they packed that (along with three other concertos) onto 4 CDs, so not quite sure what is going on here with 5 CDs (and if there is bonus material or not). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
king ubu Posted December 14, 2013 Report Share Posted December 14, 2013 I went for the EMI Wagner box ... seems Domingo is intelligible on his two operas ... and generally the most appealing thing about the DG box to me was the inclusion of librettos, but just for the sake of that I really didn't feel like buying it Had doubts about the EMI, too ... haven't started exploring any of it yet ... but got another big sucker, the Solti box, which seems to contain one of the best ever "Rings" (I've also got the Furtwängler around, the 1953 one (Radio Italiana) ... and then one more, the "Great Operas from the Bayreuth Festival" (Decca, but recorded for Philips) which is mostly Sawallisch, but also has the Levine "Parsifal", which seems to be one of the not-to-miss Wagner recordings. In addition, there's also a "Great Operas" or "Great Recordings" box from Sony, in the style of their Verdi box (which I got), but that one didn't appeal to me as much either (neither did, btw, the Verdi box released by EMI - there I went for the Sony, the Sony/Met, the Great Operas from La Scala by DG ... and although that one has three of the six Abbados, I guess I'll also get the Abbado box ... as well as the very recent Domingo Verdi box ... and hey, I've actually listened to plenty of the Verdi already, and am enjoying it a lot). Not sure when the day for Wagner will come ... not too soon, I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
king ubu Posted December 16, 2013 Report Share Posted December 16, 2013 more goodies from naïve ... probably the regular discs with a new slipcase added and for less $$: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
king ubu Posted December 16, 2013 Report Share Posted December 16, 2013 on we go: might go for the Piau, Otter and Say ... not sure the listing is complete ... anyway, they're 10€ each on amazon.fr Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Ayers Posted December 16, 2013 Report Share Posted December 16, 2013 Good price on those naïve. I see DG are doing similar 3CD artist anthologies next year. The details are on their website. None of them for me, probably, as I boiught ones I wanted at the time. Although you never know... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T.D. Posted December 16, 2013 Report Share Posted December 16, 2013 Complete Wagner operas, DGG, 43 CDs, $74.58. Are the performances any good? http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00980IA3M/ref=pe_183950_89393130_pe_epc__1p_3_ti I own and enjoy the Sinopoli Tannhauser and Solti Lohengrin, and once owned the Levine Ring, so will vouch for those performances. I also expect that the Kleiber Tristan, Jochum Meistersinger and Sinopoli Dutchman would be good to excellent. Levine conducts the Ring beautifully, though some cognoscenti might not rave about the voices and others might prefer a more "muscular" approach; I decided to trim down to one Ring and kept Solti instead. I have some misgivings about Solti's Parsifal (came to find his conducting rather loud and strident, and I like Kna '61 on Philips), but I'm sure it's not bad. I've never heard the early operas (Feen and Liebesverbot), don't consider them worth purchasing outright, but probably OK as throw-ins. I've only heard the oft-anthologized Rienzi overture, no ambition to hear complete recording. Overall, a pretty good set. Few if any would be classified as "the ultimate version", but a solid way to get all the operas cheaply. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T.D. Posted December 16, 2013 Report Share Posted December 16, 2013 (edited) Complete Wagner operas, DGG, 43 CDs, $74.58. Are the performances any good? http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00980IA3M/ref=pe_183950_89393130_pe_epc__1p_3_ti I own and enjoy the Sinopoli Tannhauser and Solti Lohengrin, and once owned the Levine Ring, so will vouch for those performances. I also expect that the Kleiber Tristan, Jochum Meistersinger and Sinopoli Dutchman would be good to excellent (esp. Kleiber). Levine conducts the Ring beautifully, though some cognoscenti might not rave about the voices and others might prefer a more "muscular" approach; I decided to trim down to one Ring and kept Solti instead. I don't know what to expect from Solti's Parsifal (came to find his conducting rather loud and strident, and I like Kna '61 on Philips), but I expect it's not bad. I've never heard the early operas (Feen and Liebesverbot), don't consider them worth purchasing outright, but probably OK as throw-ins. I've only heard the oft-anthologized Rienzi overture, no ambition to hear complete recording. Overall, a pretty good set. Few if any would be classified as "the ultimate version", but a solid way to get all the operas cheaply. Depending on how much you really want the whole oeuvre, it might be possible to piece together an excellent package of, say, Ring + Parsifal + Tannhauser + Lohengrin (or whatever your personal preferences are) at a comparable to cheaper price. Edited December 16, 2013 by T.D. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Ayers Posted December 16, 2013 Report Share Posted December 16, 2013 Re. Wagner, these sets aim not to give away the shop. There are probably some better versions in the Universal catalogue - the Bohm Ring and Tristan (some prefer the Solti Ring but uh not me), the Thielemann Parsifal, the Abbado Lohengrin. So first choices which are probably strong sellers do not necessarily feature. I think that is why most of us here do not own more than one or two of these (it seems). I'd say the issue with Wagner is finding the time to listen, and the time investment probably could be matched by more careful cash investment. But what the heck, it's Wagner.For me, the only ones I *actually* listen to are the Ring, Tristan and Parsifal.PS you do get a big chunk of DFD in this set; you also get a big chunk of Domingo who is a great singer but whose German is not very German-sounding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
king ubu Posted December 17, 2013 Report Share Posted December 17, 2013 another big sucker announced: http://www.amazon.it/Solo-Recordings-33-Richter-Sviatoslav/dp/B00GYHSYW4/ not sure I'll need it ... got his EMI box and am about to order the Brilliant Concertos box (in prestoclassical's box-set sale) ... also have had the DG box on the wishlist for a while ... too much stuff around, too much overlap, me losing overview ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Ayers Posted December 17, 2013 Report Share Posted December 17, 2013 Yeah loss of overview is why in the main I go one disc at a time. You can score thousands of CDs for pennies these days but, for me at leasst, it is bad feng shui. That said I have been thinking of changing tack since with most stuff one hearing is enough for me. That's where spotters comes in, I suppose... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
king ubu Posted December 17, 2013 Report Share Posted December 17, 2013 I do lots of repeated listening .... but Richter is so far not one garnering those honours ... I mean I can hear that some his stuff is amazing (Schumann! and there's quite some of it on this new box), but so far he's not a favourite, so this might indeed be too much of a good thing ... Btw, interesting observation you made about the DG Wagner box not containing their best offerings ... would you think similarly about the EMI box? That one seems to be a pretty mixed bag just as well ... but would they have had many alternatives? Their choices for the new Strauss box seem to be almost exclusively immaculate, so ... (but then their Verdi was uninteresting again to me, but maybe that's just me). Oh, and the Boehm "Ring" is in that Bayreuth Decca box that has mostly Sawallisch and consists of - all or mostly - Philips recordings ... maybe they wanted to keep that separate, I think apart for the two early ones, the DG box actually contains DG recordings (and not just Universal holdings)? In light of that, could they still have done better? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Ayers Posted December 17, 2013 Report Share Posted December 17, 2013 The Solti recording are Decca. Haven't checked EMI. And you're right about the Bayreuth box - the objective will be to make them complementary. In any case, it's all good - no-one will become less informed about the world by working through that DG box! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Ayers Posted December 17, 2013 Report Share Posted December 17, 2013 You don't want them , of course, but Rattle's Beethoven Symphones are going for 13.44 on amazon.co.uk http://www.amazon.co.uk/Beethoven-Symphonies-Sir-Simon-Rattle/dp/B008MB2B3S/ref=sr_1_4?m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1387282342&sr=1-4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stefan Wood Posted December 18, 2013 Report Share Posted December 18, 2013 $60 shipped from Amazon (resellers): Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stefan Wood Posted December 24, 2013 Report Share Posted December 24, 2013 Bargains? Perhaps not, but I bought these at the lowest prices I've seen: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.A.W. Posted December 24, 2013 Report Share Posted December 24, 2013 (edited) I have many of the Sviatoslav Richter "Authorised Recordings" sets that Philips put out years ago. Assuming the new Decca box contains this stuff, it's highly recommended - but I know that some find his playing hard to stomach; I'm not one of them The Clifford Curzon box is wonderful, even though it contains a few questionable orchestral performances. As I've said ad nauseam here he's one of my all-time favourite pianists. You don't want them , of course, but Rattle's Beethoven Symphones are going for 13.44 on amazon.co.uk http://www.amazon.co.uk/Beethoven-Symphonies-Sir-Simon-Rattle/dp/B008MB2B3S/ref=sr_1_4?m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1387282342&sr=1-4 You're right, I don't want them Edited December 24, 2013 by J.A.W. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stefan Wood Posted December 24, 2013 Report Share Posted December 24, 2013 I have many of the Sviatoslav Richter "Authorised Recordings" sets that Philips put out years ago. Assuming the new Decca box contains this stuff, it's highly recommended - but I know that some find his playing hard to stomach; I'm not one of them The Clifford Curzon box is wonderful, even though it contains a few questionable orchestral performances. As I've said ad nauseam here he's one of my all-time favourite pianists. You don't want them , of course, but Rattle's Beethoven Symphones are going for 13.44 on amazon.co.uk http://www.amazon.co.uk/Beethoven-Symphonies-Sir-Simon-Rattle/dp/B008MB2B3S/ref=sr_1_4?m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1387282342&sr=1-4 You're right, I don't want them Yeah, you partially influenced me in checking out Curzon, among many others who speak highly of his playing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Ayers Posted December 25, 2013 Report Share Posted December 25, 2013 You don't want them , of course, but Rattle's Beethoven Symphones are going for 13.44 on amazon.co.uk http://www.amazon.co.uk/Beethoven-Symphonies-Sir-Simon-Rattle/dp/B008MB2B3S/ref=sr_1_4?m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1387282342&sr=1-4 You're right, I don't want them There's talk that old perm-head might be replacing Gergiev at the LSO. Not sure that's something I could easily get used to... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.A.W. Posted December 25, 2013 Report Share Posted December 25, 2013 You don't want them , of course, but Rattle's Beethoven Symphones are going for 13.44 on amazon.co.uk http://www.amazon.co.uk/Beethoven-Symphonies-Sir-Simon-Rattle/dp/B008MB2B3S/ref=sr_1_4?m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1387282342&sr=1-4 You're right, I don't want them There's talk that old perm-head might be replacing Gergiev at the LSO. Not sure that's something I could easily get used to... I don't care for either of them. Sold all my Gergievs and the only perm-head I still have is his Mahler 10 (the Deryck Cooke version) with the Berlin Philharmonic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ejp626 Posted December 26, 2013 Report Share Posted December 26, 2013 okay ... guess I'll mul it over for a while and maybe cancel my order then ... and I guess I'll take a pass on the Hantaï, too The Hantai was a bit cheaper on Amazon.ca ($30 rather than 30 Euros). But there was some moment in time when it dipped down to $20, and I managed to get it at that pre-order price. Not bad... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
king ubu Posted December 26, 2013 Report Share Posted December 26, 2013 I'm still eyeing it ... I think I want it too, eventually! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Д.Д. Posted December 26, 2013 Author Report Share Posted December 26, 2013 (edited) I have two Hantai's records from the set - Goldberg Variations are so-so, together with Leonhard's it's the least favorite harpsichord version I own. His Scarlatti disc (recommended way back when by mikeweil), on the other hand, is excellent. Edited December 26, 2013 by Д.Д. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Van Basten II Posted December 26, 2013 Report Share Posted December 26, 2013 (edited) Another upcoming mammut box - can't find it on any other amazon site yet: http://www.amazon.it/Complete-Chicago-Recordings-Limited-Edition/dp/B00BT70J0Y/ Guess the end of days is approaching fast Well, I probably don't need this, as I have an awful lot of it in the Living Stereo Box, but I may get weak and go for it. It depends on just how low it goes, I guess. On Amazon.ca it is being sold for 105 $ Edited December 26, 2013 by Van Basten II Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
king ubu Posted January 1, 2014 Report Share Posted January 1, 2014 Good price on those naïve. I see DG are doing similar 3CD artist anthologies next year. The details are on their website. None of them for me, probably, as I boiught ones I wanted at the time. Although you never know... I got the three I ordered yesterday - they're straight repackings of the previous releases ... i.e. the Piau is two jewel cases in cardboard, the Otter is a 2CD digipack plus a jewel case plus a separate booklet the size of a jewel case, the Say is a CD+DVD digipack and a jewel case ... great value for money indeed, if you don't have them yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Д.Д. Posted January 15, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 15, 2014 Giardino Armonico 10-CD Baroque box on Teldec for eur 20 at amazon.de: http://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B000FQITXE/ref=ox_sc_imb_mini_detail?ie=UTF8&smid=A3JWKAKR8XB7XF Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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