Bargains

[cloughie]

I ordered a Rachmaninov set from Presto and only got part of it, they offered money back and said they would chase the manufacturer for the rest but I never heard backfrom them.

I had a similar problem this week with Presto when only half a double was downloaded - they offered refund and to chase the manufacturer - a few hours later it had been downloaded! Clearly it worked for me but not you!

[gurnemanz]

Apologies to those who had problems with that Märzendorfer/Haydn download from 7Digital. It is probably good practice to try a download first myself before drawing attention to it.
Update: 7Digital were very prompt in acknowledging the error and refunding via my credit card. I duly got the Presto download at an only slightly higher price. It is complete and with much better metadata and I am really enjoying the recordings.

[Dave2002]

Apologies to those who had problems with that Märzendorfer/Haydn download from 7Digital. It is probably good practice to try a download first myself before drawing attention to it.
Update: 7Digital were very prompt in acknowledging the error and refunding via my credit card. I duly got the Presto download at an only slightly higher price. It is complete and with much better metadata and I am really enjoying the recordings.

Interesting - but is the set worth having? I already have several other sets. It does seem modestly priced so could be worth a punt - but I just wonder what Märzendorfer brings to the party which others may not.

Streaming enthusiasts may find it on Tidal - https://tidal.com/browse/album/181426705 - it may not be on Qobuz.

[Joseph K]

Apologies to those who had problems with that Märzendorfer/Haydn download from 7Digital. It is probably good practice to try a download first myself before drawing attention to it.
Update: 7Digital were very prompt in acknowledging the error and refunding via my credit card. I duly got the Presto download at an only slightly higher price. It is complete and with much better metadata and I am really enjoying the recordings.

Yes, exceptionally prompt.

I've just downloaded the set off Presto and did not regret it, since now I can actually see what number each symphony is!

[gurnemanz]

For what it's worth, a little more grist to this download discussion. A few years ago I downloaded Warner's 3CD Galina Vishnevskaya: Songs & Opera Arias from Amazon. One track was missing and in its place was Boris Christoff (without Galina) singing an aria from Rimsky-Korsakov's The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh. When I pointed this out to Amazon they duly refunded me. Annoying, but of course I still had the rest of the download free of charge + the Boris Christoff aria as a small bonus. For completeness' sake I then downloaded the missing aria from Presto (who I see are still offering it). Amazon withdrew the download and now only have the CDs.

Moral: Stick to Presto where you have the option?

[Pianorak]

Benjamin Grosvenor: All Liszt recital on Decca - £4.99 - ASIN : B08QLNSL82

[Rolmill]

Benjamin Grosvenor: All Liszt recital on Decca - £4.99 - ASIN : B08QLNSL82

An excellent bargain - here is the link.

His Chopin piano concertos disc for £5.99 is also easy to find from the above link.

Thanks for the pointer!

[visualnickmos]

I take it that you have missed out on the problem of missing discs from boxed sets and, indeed, wrongly labelled discs containing music from a totally different genre from that denoted.

You take it correctly.

[Barbirollians]

I have only ever had the latter problem with second hand purchases and never the former with boxes.

Occasionally, there have been bonuses like when I ordered one secondhand Reiner Strauss CD and another came in the same box !

[Bryn]

I have only ever had the latter problem with second hand purchases and never the former with boxes.

Occasionally, there have been bonuses like when I ordered one secondhand Reiner Strauss CD and another came in the same box !

Second-hand does not really count. I was referring to, admittedly rare, cases when a pop record has somehow got printed on its label side with details of, say, a Mahler Symphony when there is a changeover in the albums being stamped and the print stage gets out of synch. When it comes to missing or duplicate discs in boxed sets, Brilliant Classics has tended to be the worst offender.

[Dave2002]

Second-hand does not really count. I was referring to, admittedly rare, cases when a pop record has somehow got printed on its label side with details of, say, a Mahler Symphony when there is a changeover in the albums being stamped and the print stage gets out of synch. When it comes to missing or duplicate discs in boxed sets, Brilliant Classics has tended to be the worst offender.

Years ago I had a GROC CD (EMI) - think it should have been Beethoven's 9th but was clearly one of Faure's Requiem or Bach B minor Mass. The label was clearly wrong. I did have a replacement which had the correct music on. My original Brilliant set (40CD?)of Mendelssohn works had one duplicate and one missing CD. Once I noticed it was rectified quite swiftly.

More often I'm afraid that the CDs are correct when bought, but then I put them back in the wrong boxes. I have a set of Scarlatti sonatas and CD4 has been AWOL for quite a long while. There was only one CD which to my knowledge seemed to have disappeared permanently - possibly due to cleaners or a house move.

[Dave2002]

Christmas CDs - mp3

For anyone who doesn't want to spend a lot on Christmas CDs, that well known US site at CSW has a good freebie this week of Christmas music - some of which is completely unknown over this side of the pond.

The mp3 quality is not bad - and anyway - who actually listens to this stuff anyway while having a drink, or sleeping!

I'd never heard the versions of While Shepherds Watched before.

Note - it looks like a compilation of several CDs as several "tracks" have the same number. Don't worry about it!

Also, I love the pronunciation - sound - of some of the choirs. Harvard Glee Club in the French song - Bring a torch.

[mikealdren]

Years ago I had a GROC CD (EMI) - think it should have been Beethoven's 9th but was clearly one of Faure's Requiem or Bach B minor Mass. The label was clearly wrong. I did have a replacement which had the correct music on. My original Brilliant set (40CD?)of Mendelssohn works had one duplicate and one missing CD. Once I noticed it was rectified quite swiftly.

More often I'm afraid that the CDs are correct when bought, but then I put them back in the wrong boxes. I have a set of Scarlatti sonatas and CD4 has been AWOL for quite a long while. There was only one CD which to my knowledge seemed to have disappeared permanently - possibly due to cleaners or a house move.

The recent Grumiaux box came with the Van Beinum Beethoven duplicated rather than the Davis version, I finally received my correct CD from Decca a couple of weeks or so ago.

[Steerpike]

Qobuz yesterday provided me with the misssing four Haydn symphonies from their "complete" symphonies offer.

I must say that I've had very few faulty or missing sound files from Qobuz, or from Presto, and both have always put problems right reasonably quickly.

[TBuckley]

Ades conducts Ades (DG) - £5.99 on AUK

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Thomas-Ad%C3%A8s-conducts/dp/B07ZWBF1G7/ref=sr_1_20?crid=2YHJJWJVR5BBF&keywords=ades&qid=1640270528&s=music&sprefix=ades%2Cclassical%2C61&sr=1-20