Bargains

[mathias broucek]

Channel Classics on reduction at Qobuz. Lots of good I Fischer material

(Can't link as I'm at work and Qobuz thinks I'm in the US....)

[Dave2002]

It being Black Friday, Amazon France are doing a 3CDs for €15 deal. No idea what the postage would be to the UK but there are some good bargains to be found, if you don't mind scrolling through about 40 pages of CDs. Filtering by price is possible - and by format - but patience is needed. The discount only works in multiples of three - and is shown at the last page before you click the button to place the order. Anyway, see:

https://www.amazon.fr/gp/promotion/AONVQ6U2JUW2U/ref=gbps_img_m-5_71c3_0c8864fe?smid=A1X6FK5RDHNB96&pf_rd_p=d4c2a0b1-93f5-4f9a-9ad8-1764bbad71c3&pf_rd_s=merchandised-search-5&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_i=8372000031&pf_rd_m=A1X6FK5RDHNB96&pf_rd_r=8QTV2AVS25PCEYYBBY5W

and click Musique Classique. It includes stuff like the box of Kubelik's Dvorak symphonies, Frans Brüggen's Schubert symphonies, Keilberth's Ring (probably in some dodgy transfer but 12 CDs for €5 isn't bad) and a good smattering of 20th century pieces - Feldman, Tristan Murail, Lachenmann and so on. In fact, something for everyone.

I had a look at that - and it does seem that there's some really good stuff there. Presumably it's possible to get 3 x boxes for 15 Euros - the Kubelik Dvorak boxes look good for example (though I've probably got most of the material already). It looked to me as though the offer was going to work for some considerable time - haven't checked again today. I didn't trawl through too many of the pages to find "everything".

[mathias broucek]

I had a look at that - and it does seem that there's some really good stuff there. Presumably it's possible to get 3 x boxes for 15 Euros - the Kubelik Dvorak boxes look good for example (though I've probably got most of the material already). It looked to me as though the offer was going to work for some considerable time - haven't checked again today. I didn't trawl through too many of the pages to find "everything".

I bought some stuff through this offer. Six items for about £31 including postage.

You can filter by price to find the best bargains...

[vinteuil]

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... this 14 CD box of historic Bruckner recordings from the 1940s and 50s might be attractive -

http://amzn.eu/iSpWusJ

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https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bruckner-Symphonies-messes-discoth%C3%A8que-Diapason/dp/B077K18J66/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1512672445&sr=8-1&keywords=bruckner+diapason

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[Conchis]

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... this 14 CD box of historic Bruckner recordings from the 1940s and 50s might be attractive -

http://amzn.eu/iSpWusJ

.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bruckner-Symphonies-messes-discoth%C3%A8que-Diapason/dp/B077K18J66/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1512672445&sr=8-1&keywords=bruckner+diapason

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That looks to be a strange mixed bag of vintage and the occasional modern performance: some second-rank (at best) orchestras and some famous performances. The best of it can be had very cheaply elsewhere.

[Stanfordian]

That looks to be a strange mixed bag of vintage and the occasional modern performance: some second-rank (at best) orchestras and some famous performances. The best of it can be had very cheaply elsewhere.

The set looks like a right dog's breakfast given the high quality available elsewhere.

[vinteuil]

The set looks like a right dog's breakfast given the high quality available elsewhere.

... perhaps - but for some £20 I will get quite a lot of stuff I don't have and would quite like - the 1949 Abendroth 4th, the 1951 Jochum 5th, the 1952 Adler 6th, the 1943 Jochum 7th, the 1956 Beinum 9th, various Masses and the Creed Motets. (I already have the other symphonies included here.)



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[Stanfordian]

... perhaps - but for some £20 I will get quite a lot of stuff I don't have and would quite like - the 1949 Abendroth 4th, the 1951 Jochum 5th, the 1952 Adler 6th, the 1943 Jochum 7th, the 1956 Beinum 9th, various Masses and the Creed Motets. (I already have the other symphonies included here.)



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Hiya vinteuil,

Hmm! I'm still not sure. But you may be right. I suppose 20 quid might be worth a punt. In truth I tend to prefer newer recordings. The choral works look more to my taste.

[HighlandDougie]

Jean-Claude Hulot and his six Diapason colleagues make a strong case for their choices in the December issue, fully recognising that some of them might raise some eyebrows: "moins connus ou injustement oubliés". They are a fairly "sérieux" bunch of writers so, were I in the market for historic Bruckner, I wouldn't hesitate. Alas, like, Stanfordians, I also prefer more modern recordings (like the glorious Jukka-Pekka Saraste/WDR SO 8th which I'm listening to as I type).

[gurnemanz]

I notice jpc have the complete Perahia Mozart Concertos for Euro 14.99 - bit of a giveaway for 12 CDs even if you already have a couple of them individually, as I do.

[Cockney Sparrow]

DOWNLOAD - Today only.
Rameau: Castor et Pollux; Raphaël Pichon, Ensemble Pygmalion (Harmonia Mundi) ($ 10.42 at CD quality; Hi-Res at higher cost)
One of the eclassical Advent sale offers (with booklet)

http://www.eclassical.com/harmonia-mundi/rameau-castor-et-pollux.html

[Pianorak]

I notice jpc have the complete Perahia Mozart Concertos for Euro 14.99 - bit of a giveaway for 12 CDs even if you already have a couple of them individually, as I do.

Thanks, gurnemanz. Duly ordered!

[Cockney Sparrow]

Fans of Alexander Gibson might be tempted by this live performance from Opera Depot (cat no: OD 11697-3) (In Mono. 2 minute sample on the webpage). 50% sale at the moment - not long left to run (see below).
https://operadepot.com/products/wagn...eid=b4aab3bb23
Wagner: Tristan und Isolde - Nuotio, Barlow, Howard, Bailey, McCue; Gibson. Glasgow, 1973
"Sale End in 2 days, 17 hours". $10.98. for CD +mp3 (plus delivery) $7.98 for FLAC download (mp3 for less).

Per the Opera Depot website - "Pros:
• This performance of Tristan und Isolde marks a remarkable achievement for the Scottish Opera.
• Alexander Gibson maintained a home base throughout his career in his native Scotland save for the occasional excursion to Covent Garden. However, his musical gifts were far from provincial as demonstrated by this deeply-felt performance of Tristan und Isolde.
• Klara Barlow brings a degree of youth and glamor to the role of Isolde. At times she struggles a bit with the upper range, but nonetheless delivers an extactic Liebestod at the end of the evening.
• If you don't know Finnish Heldentenor Pekka Nuotio you are in for a real treat. Although never reaching the height of operatic stardom, Nuotio enjoyed a very active career singing on most of the world's great opera stages (he sang Tannhäuser at the last performance of a complete opera at the Old Met.) His voice has a very pleasing lyric quality that is all too rare in Wagner, and he is able to maintain that lyricism in the face of Wagner's daunting orchestration.
• Ann Howard as Brangäne and Norman Bailey as Kurwenal help to elevate the evening to nothing short of world-class.
Cons:
• None to mention."

A word about Opera Depot, I have had some physical CDs from them - not all are available as FLACs. They arrive with an ink printed surface (not paper) in sturdy vinyl pockets and a 4 sided leaflet/cover. You can get the leaflet as a PDF with the downloads I'm pretty sure. So, if one does FLAC downloads, there wouldn't, to my mind, be any great loss in choosing that. I'm not sure, but presume that the CDs must be burnt and not physically pressed. (Fine for me - I ripped and stored the ones I bought in FLAC form….)
Their FAQ page link isn't working, but this page gives some info about them:
https://operadepot.com/pages/about-us

[mathias broucek]

That looks to be a strange mixed bag of vintage and the occasional modern performance: some second-rank (at best) orchestras and some famous performances. The best of it can be had very cheaply elsewhere.

Hiya vinteuil,

Hmm! I'm still not sure. But you may be right. I suppose 20 quid might be worth a punt. In truth I tend to prefer newer recordings. The choral works look more to my taste.

It's cheaper on Qobuz and lossless (although the gains will be marginal with recordings of this age). The Jochum, van Beinum and Furty performances are all outstanding....

[hafod]

The 60cd Abbado Opera Edition can be had from Amazon Spain for €39.

https://www.amazon.es/Edición-Ópera-Claudio-Abbado/dp/B073VFDZNF/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&qid=1513606828&sr=8-1&keywords=abbado&linkCode=sl1&tag=bonsplanscl05-21&linkId=76b87df74655f215ad1b060a8266fc76