Favourite Big CD Boxes

[richardfinegold]

Ah yes, that Real Chopin box is wonderful - and some of us got it for a snip when Amazon made a mistake with the price when it came out. About £10, if I remember correctly!

I purchased the Decca Complete Chopin box for around $12 (and an 'auto rip' to my phone when Amazon made a similar flub

[Ferretfancy]

I was always interested in the Mercury Living Presence LPs back in the early sixties, and have since bought all three bumper boxes plus the RCA Living Stereos, even though there's a lot of duplication. On the other hand, especially with the RCA's there are some recordings that have not been round for quite a while, the Rubinstein Beethoven concertos for example.

My Meridian 561 system has several playback options, including one that is designed for 3 microphone stereo, giving excellent results, although by modern standards the soundstage is very close and toppy.

What others? Well, I am really enjoying the DG Fricsay box set, mostly mono but with some vintage performances. The complete Mozart edition is suitably enthroned and gradually yielding its secrets. I have been very surprised at how little duplication there has been so far, even though I have a very large Mozart collection. I tended in the past to bypass the original instrument issues and now I'm finding many of them a revelation.

[Dave2002]

Crumbs! You've reminded me that I also have the Brilliant Classics 40CD boxes each devoted to Bach, Mendelssohn, and Schubert! Some very good performances and recordings in those boxes - but I don't play the contents of the Mendelssohn box nearly as often as those of the other two.

Possibly depends which version you have. The cello sonatas in the Mendelssohn box are very good, as also the piano trios. I got an extra, though slightly different, version a year or so back, as the contents had changed, and it was very cheap. The symphony performances change from time to time depending on the issue. Probably not worth paying a high price for, but on offer those are good.

[Parry1912]

The String Symphonies in that box (Markiz, from BIS) are superb.

[BBMmk2]

Bernard Haitink, The Phillip's Years. Great box set this. Lots of variety too.

[richardfinegold]

Bernard Haiotionk, The Phillip's Years. Great box set this. Lots of variety too.

I had bought that set because I wanted the Schubert Great C Major, which had been an lp favorite making it's first digital appearance, but I have been happily playing the entire
box set for the past several months. terrific recordings and areal bargain. The Debussy is especially good, the refinement of the Concertgebouw in this repertoire has to be ehard to be believed

[BBMmk2]

I had bought that set because I wanted the Schubert Great C Major, which had been an lp favorite making it's first digital appearance, but I have been happily playing the entire
box set for the past several months. terrific recordings and areal bargain. The Debussy is especially good, the refinement of the Concertgebouw in this repertoire has to be ehard to be believed

Concur. I already had the Debussy but in this guise, well worth acquiring.

The other set is the Mariss Jansons box, The Radio Years

[ardcarp]

I've got the complete Kings College Cambridge/Willcocks as recorded by Decca. This is mainly because our LPs are wearing out!
My fave, though, is more a Big Book than a big box...Le Royaume Oublie [accent on final e], being Jordi Savall's compilation of music from the time of the Cathars. Great music to relax to.

[Barbirollians]

Sony RCA Brahms and Chopin - Rubinstein boxes

The four EMI Boult boxes - From Bach to Wagner , complete Elgar, Complete VW and from Tchaikovsky to Gershwin

Icons- Silvestri, Cantelli and Annie Fischer

[pastoralguy]

And how could I forget the RCA boxed of the complete recordings of Mr. Jascha Heifetz?! I missed this set first time around which, since I was a student, I couldn't stretch to. I did manage to pick up individual discs but always hankered for the real thing. It's still available on eBay where it seems to reach eye-watering prices.

So it was inevitable that I would snap up the re-issue when it was re-released about 9 or 10 years ago. I'm sure Rob Cowan commented in 'Gramophone' that the newer set sounded better since it had been re-mastered so I'm glad I waited. I do remember seeing about 60 sets in a music shop in Milan that had been knocked down in price. I really wish I'd picked one up since they do go for a lot on the internet. (Presumably, someone made a mistake in the ordering process!)

Every disc is a joy and whilst one could make the claim that whilst other violinists could be more interesting in certain repertoire, the violin playing itself is peerless. A genuine treasure trove.

[Sir Velo]

I must of already possesed about 405 ofthe Phillips box,

I would of agreed with you and I could of said the same if I had not caught the download bug of late.

[underthecountertenor]

I would of agreed with you and I could of said the same if I had not caught the download bug of late.

Of you downloaded loads off of the internet?

[underthecountertenor]

Sir John Barbirolli - The Great EMI Recordings
Dame Janet Baker - The Great EMI Recordings (despite the Hammer House of Horror box cover (see link below), and a really terrible duet, live at the RFH, with Fischer-Dieskau, Tua Jesu Dilectio, in which Dame Janet makes a rare and alarming misstep at one point. Or perhaps in part because of that!)

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/71OFTrU4PrL._SL1200_.jpg

[richardfinegold]

And how could I forget the RCA boxed of the complete recordings of Mr. Jascha Heifetz?! I missed this set first time around which, since I was a student, I couldn't stretch to. I did manage to pick up individual discs but always hankered for the real thing. It's still available on eBay where it seems to reach eye-watering prices.

So it was inevitable that I would snap up the re-issue when it was re-released about 9 or 10 years ago. I'm sure Rob Cowan commented in 'Gramophone' that the newer set sounded better since it had been re-mastered so I'm glad I waited. I do remember seeing about 60 sets in a music shop in Milan that had been knocked down in price. I really wish I'd picked one up since they do go for a lot on the internet. (Presumably, someone made a mistake in the ordering process!)

Every disc is a joy and whilst one could make the claim that whilst other violinists could be more interesting in certain repertoire, the violin playing itself is peerless. A genuine treasure trove.

I've acquired most (probably all) of the Heifetz discs through the years, as they have been reissued multiple times. Another reason why I have been able to resist ordering the "Living Stereo" sets

[Alain Maréchal]

I was always interested in the Mercury Living Presence LPs back in the early sixties, and have since bought all three bumper boxes plus the RCA Living Stereos, even though there's a lot of duplication.

You might consider this, which contains some items not originally published by Mercury but by Philips. It is a tidy way of obtaining Dupré recordings (the tidiness is the principal benefit of these collections).

https://www.amazon.fr/Marcel-Dupr%C3%A9-Mercury-Presence-Recordings/dp/B0113A5ANW/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1480523823&sr=1-1&keywords=dupre+mercury