Bargains

[HighlandDougie]

Hey, is that me?

Mais oui! And, while shading just ever so slightly above the 99p threshold (£1.13 per CD), I've just bought the Mercury box as an Amazon "Warehouse Deal" (whatever that is but I suspect returned by someone else). I don't even like the Mercury house style for recordings very much. Somehow I have to cure myself of this craving for big boxes, duplicating CDs galore. And, no, the answer is not a third house (been there, seen it, got the multiple recordings ....).

[Parry1912]

How about the DG Karajan box just coming out? No, I must resist, must resist.

Are you thinking about the 1960s DG recordings? Important to remember that these are straight reissues of the LPs so some of them are very short measure (35-40 mins). Perhaps Dave's got an algorithm that takes this into account.

[PJPJ]

Are you thinking about the 1960s DG recordings? Important to remember that these are straight reissues of the LPs so some of them are very short measure (35-40 mins). Perhaps Dave's got an algorithm that takes this into account.

That's the one - Keep calm and......

[Dave2002]

How about the DG Karajan box just coming out? No, I must resist, must resist.

I think we should meet in the sin bin - I mean CDs Anonymous!

[PJPJ]

Absolutely right! My squirrel mentality applies to off-air concerts, too. Is there any connection to my compulsion and Imelda Marcos and her shoes?

[PJPJ]

By the way, Dutton's Summer Sale started the other day.



So far, I've resisted browsing.

[Roehre]

By the way, Dutton's Summer Sale started the other day.



So far, I've resisted browsing.

Seen the state of my finances I've so far as well

[Ferretfancy]

Perhaps this is a digression, but I'm rather puzzled by the thinking that lies behind the BBC Music Magazine choice of items for their cover discs. The latest one is what looks like an interesting combination of two favourite pieces of Rachmaninov, the Symphonic Dances and 2nd Piano Concerto. The Dances come from a BBC National Orchestra of Wales concert in the Brangwyn Hall this January, conducted by a newcomer, Olari Elts, a nice performance with plenty of energy, and well recorded. The Concerto comes from an Ulster Orchestra concert in Belfast in 2010 with Barry Douglas as the soloist, conducted by Michael Dworzynski. I was looking forward to this, but it's a flaccid performance very mushily recorded with important orchestral threads buried behind the piano in a wodge of generalised sound.

What prompted this programming? There have been fine broadcast performances of the concerto in recent years, why pick this one which does no service to the musicians ? I can see that there is wish to display the talents of new conductors, but in the case of the concerto it might have been better if somebody had listened to the result. The performance of the Dances by the Ulster Orchestra and Elts is well worth hearing, why saddle it with poor company ?

[hafod]

Scarlatti : Complete Keyboard Works: Scott Ross - £53.98

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Scarlatti-Complete-Keyboard-Works-Domenico/dp/B0009MWAVQ?SubscriptionId=AKIAIVGTH525N57WM2NQ&tag=galenicom-21&linkCode=xm2&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=B0009MWAVQ

[amateur51]

Scarlatti : Complete Keyboard Works: Scott Ross - £53.98
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Scarlatti-Co...SIN=B0009MWAVQ

A wonderful set hafod - I paid about £50 for it in HMV yonks ago & have never regeretted it

[MickyD]

Interesting to see that the Ross Scarlatti set is now such a steal - I am still working my way through the Jan-Pieter Belder set on Brilliant which I got for 29 euros and am very pleased with it.

[cloughie]

A wonderful set hafod - I paid about £50 for it in HMV yonks ago & have never regeretted it

I assume played on migraine-inducing harpsichord not a good modern piano!

[Parry1912]

I assume played on migraine-inducing harpsichord not a good modern piano!

[Dave2002]

I assume played on migraine-inducing harpsichord not a good modern piano!

OK - I've got some Horowitz and others doing these, but harpsichord is definitely the way to go - except in the hands of a master pianist. I'd hoped the days when there were jokes about copulating skeletons were long gone.

The Scott Ross is very good, but if someone has Belder already and hasn't got all the way through I'd recommend hanging on to see if the prices go lower. I managed to get the SR set for a price not dissimilar to the price for the Belder set. Maybe it'll never happen again. I have both.

[PJPJ]

Scott Ross is well recorded - some others are not, and listening then does become a chore. However, unless you're allergic to the h'chord, Ross's survey is a remarkable collection deserving consideration. I'm sure there are lo-fi samples on the net for people to try out.