Milestones of a Legend

[mikealdren]

Has anyone tried this series? The content and price are both great, is the sound quality ok?

[Barbirollians]

Has anyone tried this series? The content and price are both great, is the sound quality ok?

I thought the Campoli box was OK but pastoralguy thought the Elgar VC was terrible .

I have bought the Szigeti box but not yet listened to any of it.

[Bryn]

I think the kindest assessment would be "variable". Some of the transfers are pretty acceptable to my ears, others are rather less so. For the price, it feels a bit harsh to look these 'gift-horses' in the mouth.

[Barbirollians]

Agreed - actually I also have a box of Erica Morini's recordings and they are all perfectly serviceable recordings.

[mikealdren]

I've just ordered Kogan and Prihoda, I'll report back.

[pastoralguy]

I thought the Campoli box was OK but pastoralguy thought the Elgar VC was terrible .

I have bought the Szigeti box but not yet listened to any of it.

I hasten to add the recording - not the performance! I did a side by side comparison with the cd I have of this performance and found the 'Milestone...' sound quality to be quite inferior.

[mikealdren]

I guess they've taken it off poor originals or not taken enough care. I've bought all the Eloquence recordings and Decca have the big advantage of the original masters.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

I think the kindest assessment would be "variable". Some of the transfers are pretty acceptable to my ears, others are rather less so. For the price, it feels a bit harsh to look these 'gift-horses' in the mouth.

I've not bought any of the issues in the Milestones series, but I have a few of the company's other cheap boxed sets, and Bryn's comment here matches exactly my own reaction. (Barbirollians' description "perfectly seviceable", too.)

[mikealdren]

Thanks all.

Ferney, what is the company, I can't find much on-line? They don't seem to have a website with any details of the performances.

[Bryn]

Thanks all.

Ferney, what is the company, I can't find much on-line? They don't seem to have a website with any details of the performances.

I look forward to seeing how fg answers that one. It appears to have traded under quite a few names. The parent label is Membran.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Thanks all.
Ferney, what is the company, I can't find much on-line? They don't seem to have a website with any details of the performances.

I think that they're currently trading under the The Intense Media/Documents/mcps label, mike - if you compare the Gioconda de Vito box with the Cluytens Wagner box, they have the same "10 CD Collection" logo on the front cover, and, on the bottom right of the back cover the same "Intense", "Documents", and "mcps" logos. (Amazon just have "Documents" under the "Label" heading.) I've just had a look at a coupke of the boxes I have, and they have the same presentation.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Wagner-Bayreuth-Live-Andre-Cluytens/dp/B00N9JC9US

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Her-Complete-Recorded-Masterworks-Violin/dp/B072Q2HC7S

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

I look forward to seeing how fg answers that one. It appears to have traded under quite a few names. The parent label is Membran.

Dang! I had a lonely braincell calling out "Membrane" (sic) forlornly in my memory, and decided to ignore it. Thanks, Bryn.

[gurnemanz]

I have bought the Szigeti box but not yet listened to any of it.

I got the Szigeti when it was warmly recommended on R3 Record Review a few months ago. I did not have that many Szigeti recordings and it has proved a great opportunity to get to know a broad selection from 1932 to 1954. I certainly have no regrets, especially at the price and have greatly enjoyed working through them. Presentation is minimal but the transfers seem generally pretty acceptable to me. Couple of highlights for me from memory: The 1928 Brahms Concerto with the Hallé under Hamilton Harty. Brahms Chamber music from the 1954 Casals Festival at Prades with Myra Hess and Paul Tortelier. (Very good sound of CBS origin).

[cloughie]

There are some interesting mixes in Membran boxes. There is a Beethoven Klemperer set of live recordings, from around 1960, topped up with a set of very good Kempe Brahms Symphonies with the Munich PO from the 70s - I guess some his last recordings? Were they on BASF originally?

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

There are some interesting mixes in Membran boxes. There is a Beethoven Klemperer set of live recordings, from around 1960, topped up with a set of very good Kempe Brahms Symphonies with the Munich PO from the 70s - I guess some his last recordings? Were they on BASF originally?

Some of the boxes have off-air recordings, previously released on "unofficial" labels. I presume that any copyright issues have been sorted in these releases.