Bargains

[antongould]

Haydn, Beethoven, Brahms - Choral Music 1972-1976 (Karajan Official Remastered Edition) 5CD : £5.79 new in AmUk marketplace.
I was astounded by the improvement in the sound quality compared with the transfers in the large EMI Karajan vocal box (especially the German Requiem) - and at this price......
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00JX4IDFS/

Cheers as ever Hafod duly ordered ......

[Stanley Stewart]

My thanks, too, hafod Set delivered this morning!

[Dave2002]

My thanks, too, hafod Set delivered this morning!

In the interests of quality monitoring now ordered the Karajan vocal/choral set. I already have the large box, so will be interested to hear if this one sounds different. I don't think I'll be duplicating all the Karajan recordings in a quest for higher quality though, but newcomers may like some of the remastered releases. Note though that some of those Karajan recordings in the earlier EMI large box sets are of some considerable vintage - some are even in mono and a few maybe even from the pre-LP era, and it is perhaps doubtful whether they can be freshened up enough to justify an extra purchase.

The Maria-Joao Pires now appears to have risen in price significantly at am.xx, sadly - as that was the one I was beginning to fancy. That is, however, now available from Presto for £28.92 - http://www.prestoclassical.co.uk/sea...e+Erato&page=2

The Messiaen box mentioned a short while back looks like the one I had on order from the Grocers for a long while which never was fulfilled, though I'm not sure I'll bother now. That's one advantage of leaving purchases for a long while, eventually the "need" to buy them dissipates!

[vinteuil]

The Maria-Joao Pires now appears to have risen in price significantly at am.xx, sadly - as that was the one I was beginning to fancy. That is, however, now available from Presto for £28.92 - http://www.prestoclassical.co.uk/sea...e+Erato&page=2
!

... amazon italy still worth investigating -

http://www.amazon.it/dp/B00JJONQKY

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

In the interests of quality monitoring now ordered the Karajan vocal/choral set. I already have the large box, so will be interested to hear if this one sounds different. I don't think I'll be duplicating all the Karajan recordings in a quest for higher quality though, but newcomers may like some of the remastered releases. Note though that some of those Karajan recordings in the earlier EMI large box sets are of some considerable vintage - some are even in mono and a few maybe even from the pre-LP era, and it is perhaps doubtful whether they can be freshened up enough to justify an extra purchase.!

Not in the set hafod links to (as the "1972-76" makes clear): these are from Karajan's Second EMI period and contains his only recording of Haydn's The Seasons as well as superb versions of the Missa Solemnis and German Requiem. At just over seven quid (less than I paid for the Requiem on cassette in 1976) it's a very real bargain indeed.

[Dave2002]

... amazon italy still worth investigating -

http://www.amazon.it/dp/B00JJONQKY

Thanks - £18.91 at current prices.

fhg - re the quality of the CDs I was referring to some of the other boxes which are now being offered - see the "what other people have bought" sections in the online pages re the Karajan remastered at amazon. I haven't checked many, but some of the CDs in the very large boxes (both orchestral and vocal) were in mono and some may have been truly vintage. I'm not doubting that the particular set pointed out is good quality and value.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

The vintage Karajan German Requiem VPO, Schwarzkopf & Hotter and the VPO Metamorphosen are stunning achievements - the intensity of the sound just leaps out from the limitations of the 1940s recordings. If ever they turn up at £7 .... !

[HighlandDougie]

I think that we might have been here before (and I have an idea that they are about to be or have been repackaged) but, even allowing for the P&P from France, at about £18 for 12 SACDs and with some decent performances in good sound, this is a good buy:

http://www.amazon.fr/gp/product/B001GZ011Q/ref=ox_sc_saved_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A1X6FK5RDHNB96

[hafod]

I think that we might have been here before (and I have an idea that they are about to be or have been repackaged) but, even allowing for the P&P from France, at about £18 for 12 SACDs and with some decent performances in good sound, this is a good buy:
http://www.amazon.fr/gp/product/B001...A1X6FK5RDHNB96

Yes, indeed we have (#5548):

Shostakovich: Symphonies - Kitajenko (Capriccio) 12 sacds for £17.41 delivered. This appears to be a flip top box not the earlier jewel case .
http://www.amazon.fr/gp/product/B001GZ011Q/

Mine arrived 3 weeks ago and is the flip top box. My backlog combined with a holiday has prevented me from giving a disc or three a spin.

[johnb]

The Decca Wiener Philharmoniker box is currently 67.45 Euros on Amazon Italy. This makes the total cost £52.63, including delivery to the UK, compared to £75 on Amazon UK (goods only).

http://www.amazon.it/Wiener-Philharmoniker-Edition/dp/B00M8PBQT4/ref=pd_sim_15_79?ie=UTF8&refRID=18Q6RN5K2DP3EC78396V

I couldn't resist snapping up a set (even though I had promised myself not to buy any more mammoth boxes).

[hafod]

Opéras Français - 38 cd: Michel Plasson: £28.97 delivered

http://www.amazon.es/gp/product/B008NIS38C/

UPDATE: AmDe is now in on the act at €27 - £22.90 delivered.
http://www.amazon.de/Plasson-Lopera-.../dp/B008NIS38C

Now down to £19.90 delivered - from AmDe.

[visualnickmos]

The Decca Wiener Philharmoniker box is currently 67.45 Euros on Amazon Italy. This makes the total cost £52.63, including delivery to the UK, compared to £75 on Amazon UK (goods only).

http://www.amazon.it/Wiener-Philharmoniker-Edition/dp/B00M8PBQT4/ref=pd_sim_15_79?ie=UTF8&refRID=18Q6RN5K2DP3EC78396V

I couldn't resist snapping up a set (even though I had promised myself not to buy any more mammoth boxes).

We've all been there! (My last such extravagance was the 30-CD Vaughan Williams EMI set on the well-known tax-dodgers Italian arm at 4,50€)

[johnb]

We've all been there!

The problem with these bog boxes is that it takes me years to get round to listening to all the discs, and even then there are always some discs that never see the CD player. I think there is a lot to be said for restricting one's purchases to one CD at a time.

[visualnickmos]

The problem with these bog boxes is that it takes me years to get round to listening to all the discs, and even then there are always some discs that never see the CD player. I think there is a lot to be said for restricting one's purchases to one CD at a time.

I quite agree; that's why I really never really even consider "bargain buckets" but the RVW 30-CD set is exceptional, in that there were many works that I had heard of, but never heard - namely, operas, choral and vocal works, plus a few of his chamber works, all of which make up the bulk of this collection.... and at about £3,50 who could say no!

[gurnemanz]

I quite agree; that's why I really never really even consider "bargain buckets" but the RVW 30-CD set is exceptional, in that there were many works that I had heard of, but never heard - namely, operas, choral and vocal works, plus a few of his chamber works, all of which make up the bulk of this collection.... and at about £3,50 who could say no!

The term "bargain bucket" already presupposes something most likely to be not worth considering, but here are so many different types of bargain box, a huge number of which don't match that description. I am quite choosy but still own lots of them which have given me huge pleasure. A few from my collection come to mind: Hyperion Schubert complete songs, EMI Composers in Person, Wagner's Vision - historic Bayreuth performances. Most recently, the Brilliant Classics Eisler and Dessau editions - both exciting voyages of discovery.