Bargains

[notnerb]

Hyperion sale now on: a selection of discs at £2.50 a pop. See various categories under 'Please someone buy me'

[Cockney Sparrow]

Hyperion sale now on: a selection of discs at £2.50 a pop. See various categories under 'Please someone buy me'

Sorry to seem picky**. I check out the Hyperion site maybe weekly. In latter years there has always been the heading "Please, someone buy me....". (Often acres of Liszt - just displaying my personal prejudice here, I gave up with Liszt a long time ago - too high a "razzle dazzle" quotient for me**).

But Yes, there are more Categories below the one you cite, with a selection of recordings under five headings - physical CDs at £2.50(no doubt + delivery) whereas the FLAC downloads cost more - for the regular discs (not Helios, etc) - at least £5. So it seems they want to reduce stocks of CDs.......

Until a few years ago Hyperion ran a summer sale giving a discount of about 30% (IIRC) which for a FLAC download combined with their pre-pay discount made choosing from the catalogue very attractive. My cup ranneth over - the limitation proved to be the time in choosing what to buy, and then finding and checking I didn't have the CD or download already (not having an organised music manager/player program) - before I hit my spending limit. That sort of sale has not been repeated since - so we get the occasional sale by theme - e.g Isserlis or Stephen Layton recordings, or the "Please someone buy me" of the neglected slow to sell ones.

** Oh dear, I feel I'm in danger of adopting the traits of many a member here - needing to correct a slight misportrayal, and then a need to say composers whose music I don't like. I'll carry on resisting the temptation as much as I can.

[Parry1912]

The Giuseppe Verdi Great Recordings box on Sony (30CDs) now £16.99 on Amazon.

[Dave2002]

The Giuseppe Verdi Great Recordings box on Sony (30CDs) now £16.99 on Amazon.

I should have bitten on that one - now around £22 - but perhaps still a good buy. I do have quite a lot of other Verdi though, so not "essential".

[Conchis]

I should have bitten on that one - now around £22 - but perhaps still a good buy. I do have quite a lot of other Verdi though, so not "essential".

It was around at that price for quite a while: what put me off was the inclusion of excerpts discs from complete sets, some of them from major operas that should have been included in their entirety (RCA has an outstanding Ballo with Price and Bergonzi). And why on earth would anyone want an excerpts disc of Ballo in German?!?

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

It was around at that price for quite a while: what put me off was the inclusion of excerpts discs from complete sets, some of them from major operas that should have been included in their entirety (RCA has an outstanding Ballo with Price and Bergonzi). And why on earth would anyone want an excerpts disc of Ballo in German?!?

My reaction entirely. I was attracted to the box, as it was inexpensive, contained performances of works I do not have in my collection (with some first-rate performers involved), and might have helped bridge the chasm between me and this composer. The unwelcome extras made me dither - the increased price put me off completely.

[Dave2002]

My reaction entirely. I was attracted to the box, as it was inexpensive, contained performances of works I do not have in my collection (with some first-rate performers involved), and might have helped bridge the chasm between me and this composer. The unwelcome extras made me dither - the increased price put me off completely.

So are we giving that a thumbs down, then? Actually it's not just £22 now, but there is also postage to pay on top.

For me it's not as if I haven't got any other complete or near complete Verdi sets.

It probably is still a bargain for anyone who hasn't got much Verdi already. It's no cheaper at am.it - in fact more, thogh there is a Membran set which is moderately cheap there - https://www.amazon.it/Verdi-Great-Op...Verdi+complete

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

So are we giving that a thumbs down, then?

Well, I am, yes - if it re-emerges at around a tenner I might go for it. As it is there are other items that excite me much more that I'd want to buy before Verdi. For anyone wanting a quick, inexpensive Verdi collection (albeit lacking Otello, Falstaff, and Aida) or to supplement existing recordings, this looks very recommendable.

[Conchis]

Well, I am, yes - if it re-emerges at around a tenner I might go for it. As it is there are other items that excite me much more that I'd want to buy before Verdi. For anyone wanting a quick, inexpensive Verdi collection (albeit lacking Otello, Falstaff, and Aida) or to supplement existing recordings, this looks very recommendable.

Otello, Falstaff and Don Carlo are widely considered to be Verdi's greatest achievements; and Aida is (equally arguably) his most popular.

A Verdi box that offers complete recordings of I Vespri Siciliani and Simon Boccanegra but no Otello or Falstaff and only excerpts from Don Carlo is a strange venture indeed. I wonder whom exactly this box is aimed at? Possibly for the distant family relative whom you know 'likes opera' but that's about it.

Sony's Wagner Bicentennial box of a few years back had similar issues (no Tristan, no Tannhauser) but there Sony had an excuse (Columbia never recorded much Wagner, possibly for political reasons). With access to the RCA catalogue and its plentiful Verdi pickings, no excuse can be made for this box.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

A Verdi box that offers complete recordings of I Vespri Siciliani and Simon Boccanegra but no Otello or Falstaff and only excerpts from Don Carlo is a strange venture indeed. I wonder whom exactly this box is aimed at? Possibly for the distant family relative whom you know 'likes opera' but that's about it.

I think that it's aimed at ... me! (Somebody who already owns Falstaff, Otello, and Aida - and the Requiem - but who otherwise doesn't like Verdi at all, but nonetheless feels that s/he ought to at least try some of the chea ... err ... earlier works to see if the fuss that other people make about this repertoire finally "clicks".) At the lower price, I did feel that I ought to take the opportunity (and with Leinsdorf, Schippers and others providing even greater immediate attraction for me than the works on offer) - but other pleasures took priority over the sense of duty.

Sony's Wagner Bicentennial box of a few years back had similar issues (no Tristan, no Tannhauser) but there Sony had an excuse (Columbia never recorded much Wagner, possibly for political reasons). With access to the RCA catalogue and its plentiful Verdi pickings, no excuse can be made for this box.

[Dave2002]

This set of performances by Arthur Grumiaux from jpc.de could be worth having - https://www.jpc.de/jpcng/classic/det...s/hnum/6400856

[Bryn]

This set of performances by Arthur Grumiaux from jpc.de could be worth having - https://www.jpc.de/jpcng/classic/det...s/hnum/6400856

In the UK it works out rather cheaper via an amazon.co.uk marketplace supplier.

[Dave2002]

In the UK it works out rather cheaper via an amazon.co.uk marketplace supplier.

I looked, but couldn't find a link.

[Bryn]

I just searched the CD section for Grumiaux.

[Parry1912]

DG's Tchaikovsky Masterworks Edition (27CDs) on Amazon.it for EUR 32.29.

Also the Decca/DG Verdi Complete Works (75CDs) for EUR 101.90