Bargains

[Bryn]

THe Harmonia Mundi 30 CD " Music of the Enlightenment" set is £15 plus P and P direct from HM on tax dodgers market place.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/La-Musique-Lumi%C3%A8res-Music-Enlightenment/dp/B005BZBY1I/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1395595221&sr=8-1&keywords=music+of+the+enlightenment

I am assuming from the listings that it is quality stuff.
It had better be......

.

Thanks for that. I decided against it at the earlier price due to too many duplicates. It now makes more sense to get it and maybe dispose of the duplicates some way.

[Madame Suggia]

Go for it Teamsaint!

It's a truly wonderful set

I got it for the same price a while ago.

[teamsaint]

Go for it Teamsaint!

It's a truly wonderful set

I got it for the same price a while ago.

Thanks, I just did !!
same price as 45 mins of footy........

[Petrushka]

Amazing CD Box Set bargains at Presto Classical to suit every taste and budget.

http://www.prestoclassical.co.uk/ More drain on the finances!

Amazing indeed! There are lots of boxes there that cost me many, many ££££ more when originally issued. Rather think we were ripped off in the 1980s. For example, the Karl Bohm Ring is offered here at £32.72. In 1986 the original CD issue of each of the three last constituent operas cost £43 with Rheingold at £26. That turns out to be £155 for a set I can now get for just £32.72.!! Aaaaarggghh!!!

Might get one or two boxes for shelf saving reasons and get rid of the duplicates (thus spending money on them all over again!). In one or two cases you really are talking pennies.

[Bryn]

Amazing indeed! There are lots of boxes there that cost me many, many ££££ more when originally issued. Rather think we were ripped off in the 1980s. For example, the Karl Bohm Ring is offered here at £32.72. In 1986 the original CD issue of each of the three last constituent operas cost £43 with Rheingold at £26. That turns out to be £155 for a set I can now get for just £32.72.!! Aaaaarggghh!!!

Might get one or two boxes for shelf saving reasons and get rid of the duplicates (thus spending money on them all over again!). In one or two cases you really are talking pennies.

Is that the '67/'71 Böhm Ring?* If so, it was also issued a few years back as part of a Decca "Wagner: The Great Operas" set which went for around £35 for the 33 CDs in HMV Oxford Street. I was so taken by the low price that I swallowed my distaste for the conductor's past and bought it. It can still be had "New" for under £40.



[*I think the set I have may wrongly attribute Das Reingold and Siegfried to 1971 since he did not conduct those works at Bayreuth in that year. Seems to have exactly the same cast as the current Ring issue.]

[Petrushka]

Is that the '67/'71 Böhm Ring?* If so, it was also issued a few years back as part of a Decca "Wagner: The Great Operas" set which went for around £35 for the 33 CDs in HMV Oxford Street. I was so taken by the low price that I swallowed my distaste for the conductor's past and bought it. It can still be had "New" for under £40.



[*I think the set I have may wrongly attribute Das Reingold and Siegfried to 1971 since he did not conduct those works at Bayreuth in that year. Seems to have exactly the same cast as the current Ring issue.]

They all date from 1967 and those original CD boxes take up a disproportionate amount of space. I find the difference in price utterly unbelievable now but back in 1986 thought nothing of it.

[Dave2002]

I just picked up the Thomanerchor 8 CD set for £6 on amazon:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B007LKHOWE/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3A72FJ03Q9CJT

An historically interesting set. Further acquisitions to follow.

I bought this recently as I needed a filler in order to get the free p&p following Amazon's recent policy change. I will now start looking for a list of cheap items which I might want as order fillers for the future to avoid having to do this again at short notice.

Some of the recordings here are really not good - the earliest dates from 1941, and the opening of the Magnificat from 1944 sounds very dull. The most recent recording is from 1959. Apart from sounding dull, distortion is clearly evident in some of the discs. The 1954 recording of Johannespassion is not terrible - some parts are probably close miked - which reduces distortion and the performance as a whole seems acceptable. The St Matthew Passion also dates from 1941, though doesn't sound as dull on first listen as the slightly later recording of the Magnificat, which also has some (thankfully) closer mike placement for soloists. It is perhaps remarkable that any recordings were successfully made in 1941 and 1944.

Does the quality of the performances offset the poor sound quality sufficiently? I'd say probably not, but if one accepts the sound quality for what it is, then some of the tracks can be enjoyed. The full orchestra and chorus sections often present a muddled mess of sound.

It seems, perhaps oddly, better to play these discs loud, as some details start to emerge. At low levels they are less involving and the overall impression is poor. I would not recommend these to anyone wanting to get to know this music for the first time - there must be many other better recordings, certainly as regards the sound quality. As historical documents they may have some value.

[Dave2002]

Following our earlier discussion, I've now tracked down a source for the Bach cantata collection of 11CDs conducted by Hans-Joachim Rotzsch from a European source - jpc - http://www.jpc.de/jpcng/classic/deta...n/hnum/8253857

11 CDs for 19.99 Euros. This seems good value to me, and the recordings are good - currently listening to some via Spotify.

Buying from Germany avoids any import problems - a quick search would reveal sources in the USA (Amazon US) - it takes more work to locate European sources.

[gurnemanz]

Following our earlier discussion, I've now tracked down a source for the Bach cantata collection of 11CDs conducted by Hans-Joachim Rotzsch from a European source - jpc - http://www.jpc.de/jpcng/classic/deta...n/hnum/8253857

11 CDs for 19.99 Euros. This seems good value to me, and the recordings are good - currently listening to some via Spotify.

Buying from Germany avoids any import problems - a quick search would reveal sources in the USA (Amazon US) - it takes more work to locate European sources.

Sorely tempted. Rotszsch died last year aged 84 (German obit). I heard him with the Thomaner quite often at the Thomaskirche - as singer and conductor - and I also met him once. He seemed to be a delightful chap and was totally devoted to the Choir. He was dismissed in 1991 when it was shown that he had worked as a Stasi informer. He claimed he had no option. It's impossible for me to comment meaningfully on his treatment. The City Council probably had no option. There are plenty of examples of how basically decent people allow themselves to be compromised by authoritarian regimes. Many Leipzigers had sympathy with him. Thousands signed a petition of support and there was a standing ovation at his last concert. Graffiti appeared on the wall at the Choir School.: "Wir wollen unseren Thomaskantor wiederhaben" (We want our Thomaskantor back).

[Dave2002]

The Leipzig City Council has made weird decisions over the years, such as blowing up churches with a very long history.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paulinerkirche,_Leipzig

[Dave2002]

The Brilliant CPE Bach Edition has dropped to just above £39 - http://www.amazon.co.uk/C-P-E-Bach-V...words=cpe+bach

[gurnemanz]

I know that I have seen the Barshai set of Shostakovich Symphonies touted here before, but I am at present on a long train trip and I downloaded the set of 15 with the Cologne Orchestra in mp3 sound for $8.00. So far I've only listened to 5 & 10 but this is truly a breathtaking bargain.

You prompted me to follow suit and download it (for about the same price as the two pints of beer I enjoyed after tonight's choir practice). So far, I've only listened to No 1 which was terrific. It seems to be an essential purchase.

[Radio64]

Shostakovich - 5CDs ... any good?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Shostakovich-Piano-Chamber-Sonata-Preludes/dp/B000FG4KBE/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1395738953&sr=8-2&keywords=Shostakovich%3A+Piano+%26+Chamber+Music

[Roehre]

Shostakovich - 5CDs ... any good?
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Shostakovich...+Chamber+Music

Excellent set

[richardfinegold]

Shostakovich - 5CDs ... any good?
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Shostakovich...+Chamber+Music

I have the Ashkenazy Op. 87 (which probably cost me at the time of it's release what this 5 disc set is going for). I was somewhat disappointed by it--it seemed rather matter of fact, missing a lot of depth that Nikoleyva, Richter, and Gilels find in this music. I haven't heard it for years so perhaps I would think differently now.