Saw this interesting read from the NYT on the Sony Classical issue of the 67-CD (!) set of recordings that Boulez made for the Columbia label back in the day. David Allen does dwell on the New Philharmonia recording of LvB 5 on a micro-level, but it's also interesting to read this as the rationale for issuing such a set, which seems to be the case with many 'compleatist' classical issues these days:
I must acknowledge that I haven't bought this set yet, although on Amazon, its sales rank under 'Classical' is 62, as of this moment. I've certainly heard a number of PB's past Columbia recordings on Sony CD issues, as well as the odd LP.
"Bogdan Roscic, the president of Sony Music Masterworks, said that with Mr. Boulez’s 90th birthday approaching next March, 'we wanted to present as complete a picture as we could of his work as a conductor."......
Lumbered with long back catalogs and shrinking demand, record companies have let loose a deluge of boxed sets, often covering the complete careers of conductors, pianists, singers and everything in between. These are niche products, but often successful ones. Mr. Roscic said that the target audience for such sets is the collector’s market, 'people who appreciate an authoritative career overview,' listeners who already have many but not all of the recordings in a new box — or none at all."
Lumbered with long back catalogs and shrinking demand, record companies have let loose a deluge of boxed sets, often covering the complete careers of conductors, pianists, singers and everything in between. These are niche products, but often successful ones. Mr. Roscic said that the target audience for such sets is the collector’s market, 'people who appreciate an authoritative career overview,' listeners who already have many but not all of the recordings in a new box — or none at all."
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