Bargains

[MickyD]

and boxes and boxes and shelves and shelves and piles and piles of cds are such eye candy too

I agree...what a lovely, comforting feeling it is to know that they are all around us, available to hear at any time! We are so lucky to live at this time.

[Petrushka]

I, too, have a 'little Alp' of boxed sets that I have barely dipped into. For instance I have the Karajan 1960s, 70s and 80s boxes that look absolutely wonderful but I doubt if I've played as much of 10% of each box, ditto the Warner boxes devoted to Karajan and Klemperer. The problem for me is that the way I listen, that is by building my own CD concert programmes, does not really lend itself to boxes of this nature in that it can make it a very slow process to get round to much of the contents.

I do have momentary feelings of panic that I never will listen to all I have once never mind twice. Perhaps I ought to dip in a bit more and just enjoy what's there.

[teamsaint]

Loving the vision you conjure up of a 'small Alp(!)' of CDs! The beauty of exploring - you never know what you might find..... Fricsay - Volume 2! I hadn't realised he'd made that many recordings for a Volume 1! Would I be correct in thinking that many of them are early 1950s mono? Not a conductor whose recorded output I am very familiar with. I have his Verdi Requiem - DG, in excellent mono, actually. His isn't a name that crops up often on these boards...

I must admit, I'm still working through Haydn's complete symphonies (Adam Fischer) in the 30-something Brilliant box set - I acquired the set in Superdrug about 100 years ago! for £1,99 - but I have to keep a listeing checklist of them.... otherwise I'll never finish. So I am still employing my 'dipping in' philosophy.

Vinny was spot on with his term "resources."

I'm in the same process as you with the Haydn Symphonies. I'm listening in order.
I'm at no 54 right now.



And no 5


And no 76.........

( they work rather well on train journeys, IMO. I think there is a thread to be had on what works well in cars, trains walking, etc.)

[visualnickmos]

I'm in the same process as you with the Haydn Symphonies. I'm listening in order.
I'm at no 54 right now.



And no 5


And no 76.........

( they work rather well on train journeys, IMO. I think there is a thread to be had on what works well in cars, trains walking, etc.)

My Haydn is purely random - hence the checklist.

Solti's "Siegfried" shoe-horns perfectly into Coventry to London by train... or it did the only time I did it in about 1990 something!
Come to think of it, it might have been Wigan to London.... who cares anyway?!

[Pianorak]

If Books Do Furnish a Room, the novel by Anthony Powell, then what's wrong with CD Boxes Do Furnish a Room?

[silvestrione]

I agree...what a lovely, comforting feeling it is to know that they are all around us, available to hear at any time! We are so lucky to live at this time.

Exactly. when I first took an interest in Elgar, there were hardly any recordings around. Then Edmund Rubbra: how exciting when a new recording of the Masses came out, and my stock of Rubbra LPs increased 50%! The Boult Lyrita 7th Symphony was the other. Now of course there's an amazing amount of Rubbra available, even some of his obscure (and less convincing!) pieces (e.g. all the piano music on a disc, etc.)

[Dave2002]

Sometimes bargains run away.

A few years vint I think it was alerted us to the imminent arrival of a Julian Bream box. It did come eventually, and I think it was available for under £100 (by at least a fair margin ..) A few years on and even the used sets are over £200, with new sets being advertised for over £500. Perhaps if I get a big win on the lottery (unlikely as I hardly ever "play"....) I'll buy it anyway.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Julian-Bream/dp/B00BCCEBRI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1476727709&sr=8-1&keywords=Julian+Bream+box+set

This is now making me wonder if I should get the John Williams box before that suffers the same fate - https://www.amazon.co.uk/John-Willia...ustomerReviews Maybe hafod or another member can beat the prices.

Currently I'm listening to the RCA recording (actually Decca studios I think) of Julian Bream in Giuliani and Arnold concertos - CD 25 in the Living Stereo Box 2. I think I've had this before on individual CDs, thought the mastering might be better in the latest reincarnation. I was surprised to note that it dates from 1959.

There is ambient LF noise which is a feature of so many CDs (at least some reissues) - in the Giuliani work - it's a very clean recording otherwise. LF problems are a lot less in the Arnold concerto - there may just be a little. I always wonder why no-one seems to notice that - perhaps they don't turn up the volume enough! I can't hear much HF noise (hiss) in that recording, though perhaps my hearing doesn't go high enough these days. I'm tempted to digitise one or two tracks, to see if I can remove it, or reduce it. I suspect I can, though sometimes the tradeoffs don't work out too well. Of course it isn't only CDs which suffer - too often noisy air conditioning or heating kicks in during concerts, and that can be a pain.

[vinteuil]

Sometimes bargains run away.

A few years vint I think it was alerted us to the imminent arrival of a Julian Bream box. It did come eventually, and I think it was available for under £100 (by at least a fair margin ..) n.

... don't think I can take credit for that one - I suspect it was Richd: Tarleton....

EDIT - or perhaps Cockney Sparrow -

Julian Bream edition from Amazon de.
£57.59 delivered to UK. It has been around £70, rising to £77 recently.
http://www.amazon.de/The-Complete-Al.../dp/B00BCCEBRI

.... £58 delivered

Why did I not press the button at the time???




.

[Dave2002]

Why did I not press the button at the time???

indeed!

I think it was Richard on reflection. Shame to have missed that one.

And CS's post was only two and a half years ago - that's a very short period of time for the set to have been easily obtainable.

I shall spend the rest of the year buying lottery tickets.

[Dave2002]

PS: A comparison of different Amazon sites suggests very different values for the Euro - Germany has this - https://www.amazon.de/Julian-Bream-C...lian+Bream+box Over 1360 Euros.

Wow!

It's cheaper in Italy, then Spain costs quite a bit more, but Germany takes the biscuit.

[Bryn]

PS: A comparison of different Amazon sites suggests very different values for the Euro - Germany has this - https://www.amazon.de/Julian-Bream-C...lian+Bream+box Over 1360 Euros.

Wow!

It's cheaper in Italy, then Spain costs quite a bit more, but Germany takes the biscuit.

Much cheaper, though still no bargain, without the "box".

[Cockney Sparrow]

Apropos #6308

Julian Bream edition from Amazon de.
£57.59 delivered to UK. It has been around £70, rising to £77 recently.
http://www.amazon.de/The-Complete-Al.../dp/B00BCCEBRI

.... I have to report I haven't listened to it enough.... I am beginning to think I need to plan a divestment of some of the big boxes I have bought - at least in the next 10/15 years or so. (Prompted by uncomfortable questions posed by going to a financial advisor post retirement - they want me to turn my/our mind to downsizing - when, where, what form? (I won't go on, all very sensible issues we should have some sort of plan for). And as part of that, I don't imagine that my children will have the space for such things (given current house prices) even if they had the interest.

It might be a good thing that the absolute bargains have slowed down latterly, albeit not completely - the EMI (ok, Warner) complete Karajan box - still holding off; and the forthcoming Handley box. I'm trying hard to make use of the streaming services - hence my enthusiasm for the Naxos Music Library - if only I was reassured it wouldn't disappear at the stroke of a "commercial decision".

If I'm going to sell the Bream, I'll do the decent thing and offer it on these boards first! (But don't hold your breath - I did say 10/15 years!).

[Dave2002]

Apropos #6308


.... I have to report I haven't listened to it enough.... I am beginning to think I need to plan a divestment of some of the big boxes I have bought - at least in the next 10/15 years or so. (Prompted by uncomfortable questions posed by going to a financial advisor post retirement - they want me to turn my/our mind to downsizing - when, where, what form? (I won't go on, all very sensible issues we should have some sort of plan for). And as part of that, I don't imagine that my children will have the space for such things (given current house prices) even if they had the interest.

Thinking about downsizing, restructuring, whatever is not a terrible idea, but I think people shouldn't be pushed into this by financial "advisors", who may claim to have your interests at heart - but the main interest that most of them have is their own.

A lot depends on whether you want to stay living where you are. Decluttering might be a useful pastime.

Some people decide they want to move, so then decluttering plus relocation, possibly with some form of "downsizing" might work. Though I hate the word "downsizing" - it seems to suggest fitting people into boxes, rather than having the boxes to match the people.

Some people do decide to move/downsize (whatever) in order to release capital, which they can then use for the remainder of their retirement or to pass on to relatives, either before or after they pop their clogs.

Quite a lot of big CD or DVD boxes will fit in one or two standard size removal boxes. The volume occupied by other stuff, such as chairs, sofas, beds etc. can easily be a lot more.

Given that you (and I) are hoping to go for at least another 15 years, should we still go for the John Williams box, before that also shoots off into the stratospheric heights - or becomes streaming only?

[Cockney Sparrow]

Downsizing - usefully conveys what is meant. I gave the wrong impression, the advisors have nothing to gain, they are paid time and rate, only. It would have been more accurate to say, planning for the future in general terms - what do we want, so we can ensure we can achieve it and given it is at retirement, making choices, in even a preliminary way definitely means when at some future date we find our present house too big and too much hard work to cope with, we will need to move. I do have to agree - a rough plan is something to amend or reschedule, but better than not thinking about it**. A relative was a shining example - he divested himself of belongings progressively slightly ahead of events, and thus was never a burden to his children.

**However, definitely enough of that today! I sang in The Sea Symphony at the weekend and am heavily involved in reading the RVW Symphonies thread (so far I'm much taken with the Bryden Thomson recording, although I have a number of others). And it will probably result in a few more CD purchases.

As to John Williams - well, for some reason, I have never been as enthusiastic about John Williams, and with much more to hear from the Bream set, I'll give that boxed set a pass. (BTW, I suppose we should restrain ourselves or the thread drift deterrence prefects will be along..... I would have to plead guilty, of course).

[Dave2002]

As to John Williams - well, for some reason, I have never been as enthusiastic about John Williams, and with much more to hear from the Bream set, I'll give that boxed set a pass. (BTW, I suppose we should restrain ourselves or the thread drift deterrence prefects will be along..... I would have to plead guilty, of course).

I used to prefer John Williams, but now my views are changing. Other things - there are so many things we aren't allowed to "talk" about, but what the heck! Compared with some other boards this one has a very low throughput now.