Mozart Edition - complete this time.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

I've only seen the photos on the Amazon site - I think the size of the box when (yes; when!) it arrives might cause a moment of surprise!

So, 87p per disc, plus all those extra goodies. Even more "Nuts", then?!

[teamsaint]

Order a couple of extras as pressies, and you can pay on easy terms too.......

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Order a couple of extras as pressies, and you can pay on easy terms too.......

During a career in teaching, I quickly learned that there's no such thing as "easy terms"!

I didn't actually particularly want this box, not least since I still have big chunks of the Brilliant Classics 170 CD box ( £30 used) to work through, but I'm feeling a bit left out now....

Some stonkingly good performances in that box - and, at £30 for 170 CDs (under 18p each!), I don't think that it should be you who should be "feeling a bit left out", ts!

[teamsaint]

During a career in teaching, I quickly learned that there's no such thing as "easy terms"!


Some stonkingly good performances in that box - and, at £30 for 170 CDs (under 18p each!), I don't think that it should be you who should be "feeling a bit left out", ts!

I hadn't worked it out at 18 p each, but as you say there is some excellent stuff in the Brilliant box, some excellent opera performances ,and a bunch of very good recordings of concert arias just for starters.

The new box does look terribly tempting though........Look at it in terms of groceries or diesel, and its not that much really..........

[Ferretfancy]

The man from Amazon left a massive parcel at my neighbour's house this afternoon. It was, of course the Mozart box. Wow!

Inside the huge cardboard carton there is a twelve inch cube containing four smaller boxes labelled Chamber, Orchestral, Theatre and Sacred, each box containing various additional supplements. There is a full contents listing CD by CD with performers and recording details in a thick booklet accompanying each box.

There are two hardback books, beautifully produced and illustrated, the first an introduction in the form of a new biography by Cliff Eisen, the second a survey of the works. There is also a series of prints suitable for framing.
Finally there is a pasteboard panel containing a slender booklet listing all the K numbers

I took the whole thing upstairs and put it on the bathroom scales .It weighs in at approximately one and a half stone. ( You can do the conversion to kilos!)

I decide to sample at random, and came to CD 17 containing the Sonata in B flat for piano & violin K454 played by Lambert Orkis and Anne-Sophie Mutter. A small note mentions that there is
an alternative original instrument performance on CD 40, using Mozart's own violin and fortepiano. This is where a slight snag appears.

Supposing you want to survey all the piano & violin sonatas? They are spread across several discs with different performers, but there is no separate listing showing them in sequence. You just have to search the booklet. All the performing details and supplements are there but it is a bit of an awkward search.

In spite of having a large Mozart collection already, I am already noting performances that I have not heard until now and looking forward eagerly

What do I think so far ? Well, try asking me in a few years! At 81 I'd better get stuck in!

There's no doubt in my mind that this massive collection will be rewarding indeed, but it will have to have a special place in the house to guard against shelf collapse!

[Bryn]

The 4 CD containing cubes may easily be removed and shelved in sequence, and the large books etc. shelved separately, the main box being stored away somewhere convenient.

[Ferretfancy]

The 4 CD containing cubes may easily be removed and shelved in sequence, and the large books etc. shelved separately, the main box being stored away somewhere convenient.

Agreed, Bryn, but that would be rather like breaking up a work of art. Perhaps it should be displayed on a pedestal with fresh flowers decorating it every day!

[Retune]

Looks like the party is over, at least for now. Cheapest 3rd party trader on Amazon is currently £258, and Amazon itself is only selling it via the other more expensive listing (£345). I hesitated at the weekend (there's something a bit crazy about buying a 10kg box of 200 CDs in 2016 when the music would fit on a micro SD card!) but eventually went for it, and now it's on the way.

[Retune]

I decide to sample at random, and came to CD 17 containing the Sonata in B flat for piano & violin K454 played by Lambert Orkis and Anne-Sophie Mutter. A small note mentions that there is
an alternative original instrument performance on CD 40, using Mozart's own violin and fortepiano. This is where a slight snag appears.

Supposing you want to survey all the piano & violin sonatas? They are spread across several discs with different performers, but there is no separate listing showing them in sequence. You just have to search the booklet. All the performing details and supplements are there but it is a bit of an awkward search.

I thought the searchable PDF that Bryn posted on the first page of this thread would solve this problem, but it's not that straightforward - e.g., K545 is 'Sonata in Bb for piano and violin K454' / 'Violin Sonata K454' on CD17, but is called 'Sonata in Bb for fortepiano and violin K454' / 'Works for fortepiano and violin' on CD40. There's no good common search term except the Koechel number itself. I suppose someone with some scripting knowledge and time could extract the text from the PDF and turn it into a spreadsheet or database (and eventually someone will rip all 200 CDs to stick on their phone or iPod! - I wonder if the track data is in the Gracenote database used by iTunes, etc. yet?).

[Parry1912]

Agreed, Bryn, but that would be rather like breaking up a work of art. Perhaps it should be displayed on a pedestal with fresh flowers decorating it every day!

I'll suggest that to my wife when mine arrives.

[mikealdren]

I thought the searchable PDF that Bryn posted on the first page of this thread would solve this problem, but it's not that straightforward - e.g., K545 is 'Sonata in Bb for piano and violin K454' / 'Violin Sonata K454' on CD17, but is called 'Sonata in Bb for fortepiano and violin K454' / 'Works for fortepiano and violin' on CD40. There's no good common search term except the Koechel number itself. I suppose someone with some scripting knowledge and time could extract the text from the PDF and turn it into a spreadsheet or database (and eventually someone will rip all 200 CDs to stick on their phone or iPod! - I wonder if the track data is in the Gracenote database used by iTunes, etc. yet?).

Sadly this is the issue for those of us who use computers to store our recordings. I have standardised on the format 'Violin Sonata No.32 in B flat major K.454' but every new recording is subject to the vagaries of the internet databases. I use Musichi to edit the data, it's very flexible and has a classical database.

[Stanley Stewart]

My set arrived this morning and @ £174 - 29, a real treasure trove. Spent the first hour ensuring by spot-check that there was no duplications and the disc matched the cover specification. Magnificent presentation and, as mentioned earlier by others, so many additional attractive features. Fortunately, I made provision for extra shelving during renovations and the awesome collection should command its stately placement. Now planning a listening schedule with such an embarrassment of riches.

[MickyD]

Much as I am happy for all of you new owners of the big box, I must say I actually feel quite relieved that I didn't buy it and don't have to find the hours to listen to it. I am already only about an eighth through the Callas box which I bought some months ago, so heaven knows how long the Mozart one would take me! But I hope you all have a wonderful time working your way through it.

[Cockney Sparrow]

I'll suggest that to my wife when mine arrives.

(Suggestion - Display on a pedestal)

Amazon needs to improve its customer experience in these deliveries - the option to deliver in boxes marked "Screwfix" or "XXXX Garden supplies..." (weedkiller?). The box could then be whisked straight into the shed as a staging post...

[hafod]

(Suggestion - Display on a pedestal)
The box could then be whisked straight into the shed as a staging post...

…and then clandestinely smuggled into the house when the management is preoccupied elsewhere. Yes, a challenge given the size (and weight) of the box but worth a try.