Bargains

[oliver sudden]

That's here - I assume - https://www.hdtracks.com/#/album/66d...cdc216539e3cd9

I've never knowingly used that site. Is it easy to use, and does it bill in UK Pounds? I don't want to try it and find that my credit card gets lots of extra charges due to foreign currency or other reasons.

What download format does the set come in? FLAC perhaps?

I just used PayPal in euros and it came through as €14.80. There’s a conversion fee in there of course but nothing else is going to come on top of that.

That’s about 1.4 cents per minute…

Mine are coming in as flacs, I forget if there were other options, it was all a bit of a whirl!

[Dave2002]

Of course there's also the "never mind the quality feel the width issue"! Are these actually any good?

I may invest. Were you previously a member of HD Tracks, or as I would be, simply a new arrival?

[Dave2002]

.
The recordings sound decent enough. Sometimes it's quite enjoyable and fun to listen to recordings which may otherwise have been forgotten - though it is less fun if the audio quality is really poor.
I'm trying Schuricht's Schubert 9 right now. I got to know that from Klemperer's EMI recording, which not everyone liked, but I loved it anyway.

Continuing with the Schuricht Schubert 9 - the sound is a bit rough in places - and maybe the performance is not one I'd want to listen to every day, but it has some distinctive features and playing. Worth a listen, unless you have anything better to do!

[oliver sudden]

Of course there's also the "never mind the quality feel the width issue"! Are these actually any good?

I may invest. Were you previously a member of HD Tracks, or as I would be, simply a new arrival?

New arrival. I’ve seen various Brucknerian friends recommend enough instalments on Twitter or bluesky that I thought it was worth making the tiny investment.

[Jonathan]

From the Bruckner Journal

For those who have not been collecting the Poschner recordings as they have been released, the "complete" collection has been released today.
It is available on HDTracks in hi-def for the LOW PRICE of $20.98!
Add discount code "ListenHD25" for an additional 25% off...
That's A LOT of Bruckner for under $16!

Just downloading this now - with my initial 20% off your first order discount code! Total was £13.33 (including PayPal fees). Many thanks for flagging this - hours of Bruckner to listen to now

[mathias broucek]

That Bruckner is a HUGE find. Some rare editions and some (but not all) have had excellent reviews in Gramo. And there are some rare editions!

[mathias broucek]

Am pleased with the Poschner Bruckner. The 1887 8th is VERY good as is the 7th (if you don't mind a fairly brisk speed). 5th is very good albeit the coda is not as overwhelming as, say, 1986 Jochum. The one performance I struggled with was the 3rd which struck me as too fast in the first two movements. He manages the long 1873 version in 55 minutes which is shorter than many performances of 1889... Sound is v clear revealing lots of inner parts (helped by the divided violins). Recommended, especially at that price!

[Maclintick]

From the Bruckner Journal

For those who have not been collecting the Poschner recordings as they have been released, the "complete" collection has been released today.
It is available on HDTracks in hi-def for the LOW PRICE of $20.98!
Add discount code "ListenHD25" for an additional 25% off...
That's A LOT of Bruckner for under $16!

Thanks for the heads-up on this, Bill. I've embarked on a bit of a download marathon today. This morning the Kammerakademie Potsdam/Manacorda complete Beethoven Symphonies in Hi-Res from Presto for £22.99. Having already sampled yesterday's BAL winner of the 4th Symphony in this set, I have high hopes for the rest -- strikes me as a pretty good bargain. Poschner Bruckner set is still downloading. The 25% discount code ListenHD25 has expired, but 20% discount is available with code HDWELCOME20. Thanks to FOR3 members for their recommendations, as well.

[crb11]

The Skrowaczewskip 90th birthday collection is available at Qobuz for $10 currently. https://www.qobuz.com/us-en/album/90.../4260034860902 Worth it for the complete Bruckner, but you get all of Beethoven and Brahms as well, and probably some non-B music, but I haven't checked!

[Dave2002]

Presto are having yet another box set sale - which finishes shortly. At least there are some physical discs, including also some SACDs.

Probably most aren't of interest to me - and one which caught my eye was the Mahler set - but looking into it I either have most of the included versions , or they don't interest me enough to buy yet another set and get more duplications.

Might be good value for anyone who doesn't already have most of Mahler's works in recordings.

[cloughie]

Chandos downloads at Presto at low prices!

[Roger Webb]

The Skrowaczewskip 90th birthday collection is available at Qobuz for $10 currently. https://www.qobuz.com/us-en/album/90.../4260034860902 Worth it for the complete Bruckner, but you get all of Beethoven and Brahms as well, and probably some non-B music, but I haven't checked!

Do you know if it is the Saarbrücken version? This has been on a couple of cheaper labels, Oehms etc. I had it in the back of my mind that Skrowaczewski did a set with Hallé, and this is the set that had his own arrangement of the slow movement of the String Quintet on it...I heard it only once and thought it was the best I'd heard.

Edit: just found it on Qobuz, and it was Saarbrücken, and it does have Skrow's arr. of Str. Qnt.......and it is on Oehms!....but is there a Hallé as well?!

[Barbirollians]

I am permanently put off Skrowacewski by the number of routine concerts I saw him conduct with the Halle in Sheffield in the 1980s. The orchestra was at a lowish ebb I suppose but he seemed uninterested much of the time .

[Gargoyle]

I am permanently put off Skrowacewski by the number of routine concerts I saw him conduct with the Halle in Sheffield in the 1980s. The orchestra was at a lowish ebb I suppose but he seemed uninterested much of the time .

Give him another chance as an adult listener, they really are good performances and at such a great price. If you were only about 12 in 1980 (you posted that you were a toddler when Barbirolli died in 1970), a reappraisal is definitely worth it.

[cloughie]

On Presto today complete Shostakovich Syms and Concerti BostonSO / Nelsons - downloads from £11.49for mp3 or 19CD set for£59.

Also any recommendations for good. Marker pens for writing on CDRs - My trusty TDK 4 colour set after over 20 years are failing andother cheap replacements are not good - faint and dry up quickly - particularly any double-ended stuff!