Bargains

[Petrushka]

Many sellers prefer to underplay the quality of their goods - on quite a few occasions, I've bought a "Used - good" and received what seems to be an item in pristine condition (in fact, in better condition than some items I've bought new from shops).

This has been my experience as well. I'm frequently surprised at how good the quality is of items described as "used". Books are a different matter, though.

[Dave2002]

Even cheaper today - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Vivarte-Coll...EYPK6GYHBMQJAC - under £40.

Also, La Clemenza di Tito by Gluck is a 4 CD opera set so if value is measured by cost/CD then it's a good buy at £13.20 - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Gluck-clemen...emenza+di+tito

Just also found this - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Baroque-Mast...iv+baroque+box for £38 - not sure if there's overlap with some of the other boxes - but doesn't seem too bad to me. Note the comment by one reviewer that some of the items are excerpts, rather than complete works. I don't know how much of a problem that will turn out to be.

[Dave2002]

I hadn't realised that Malcolm Bilson's set of Mozart concertos had been released again. I thought it was out of print - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mozart-Piano...+bilson+mozart £36.13 today, or less if you buy from the marketplace, though looks as though there can be delays in satisfying orders, particularly if from abroad.

Probably not everyone will like these fortepiano versions. They're also on Spotify - for example - http://open.spotify.com/track/02Sz425sKSmolAWWhjaCzU

I don't know of any other particularly good versions which use similar instrumentation, though I'm hoping that someone will point a few out.

Levin and Hogwood have versions, but right now their versions seem very expensive. Even single CDs may cost almost as much as Bilson's set.
Some of Levin/Hogwood can be sampled on Spotify - http://open.spotify.com/track/4QUpUOkN2j6oRWcPHjw8xT

[MickyD]

I hadn't realised that Malcolm Bilson's set of Mozart concertos had been released again. I thought it was out of print - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mozart-Piano...+bilson+mozart £36.13 today, or less if you buy from the marketplace, though looks as though there can be delays in satisfying orders, particularly if from abroad.

Probably not everyone will like these fortepiano versions. They're also on Spotify - for example - http://open.spotify.com/track/02Sz425sKSmolAWWhjaCzU

I don't know of any other particularly good versions which use similar instrumentation, though I'm hoping that someone will point a few out.

Levin and Hogwood have versions, but right now their versions seem very expensive. Even single CDs may cost almost as much as Bilson's set.
Some of Levin/Hogwood can be sampled on Spotify - http://open.spotify.com/track/4QUpUOkN2j6oRWcPHjw8xT

The sad thing about the Levin/Hogwood cycle (which in my opinion was very good) is that it suffered the same curse as the same group's Haydn cycle - namely the brutal axe wielded by Decca which meant that neither project was completed.

I've always liked the Bilson/Gardiner set, but since then we have various other interesting fortepiano cycles, such as the ongoing one by Brautigam - and I like what I have heard of that.

[Dave2002]

The sad thing about the Levin/Hogwood cycle (which in my opinion was very good) is that it suffered the same curse as the same group's Haydn cycle - namely the brutal axe wielded by Decca which meant that neither project was completed.

I've always liked the Bilson/Gardiner set, but since then we have various other interesting fortepiano cycles, such as the ongoing one by Brautigam - and I like what I have heard of that.

Agreed about the first point. How incomplete is the Hogwood/Levin series - how many of the concertos were left out?

How many of the concertos are now available in Brautigam's series?
Some of those are on Spotify - for example - http://open.spotify.com/track/2R1pnuBVZAYbN91FyiJoCy Search "brautigam mozart concerto" within Spotify for more. The other factor is cost - each of Brautigam's discs is currently typically over £10 - though they are as far as I can see mostly SACDs from BIS, and presumably have 3 layers - CD, SACD 2 channel and SACD multi-channel. Maybe the Bilson set is a bit mannered, but it is relatively cheap at its current price level.

One reviewer on Amazon seems to prefer "ancient" recordings by Edwin Fischer - not sure that I agree at this time.

[MickyD]

By my reckoning, there were 6 discs issued by Hogwood and Levin, so they had got quite a way through the cycle. I think Brautigam is on about the fourth disc by now, if I am not mistaken.

[Mark Meldon]

I like Edwin Fischer!

Anyway, from free access to the 100,000+ recordings on the Naxos Music library, go to www.tso.ca, subscribe to the orchestra's newsletter then click on "Beethoven on Demand" which, voila, brings up the NML. My thanks to Philip Amos via a note on the On An Overgrown Path blog (the best music blog of all? - have a look!)

Have fun!

[vinteuil]

By my reckoning, there were 6 discs issued by Hogwood and Levin, so they had got quite a way through the cycle. .

... I have eight of these




.

K37, K39-41
K456 & 459
K488 & 482
K271 & 414
K413 & 415, K386
K450 & 537
K453 & 466
K175/382, 451, & 449
.

[Bryn]

... I think Brautigam is on about the fourth disc by now, if I am not mistaken.

Six SACDs of solo keyboard concertos with Willens (9, 12, 17, 18, 19, 20, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26 and 27) to date, plus an earlier one directed by Huss, of the two versions of KV 365, and KV 242, (Lubimov being the second fortepianist in KV 242 and the 2 fortepiano version of KV 365, the pair of them joined by Huss for the three fortepiano version of KV 365).

[richardfinegold]

I hadn't realised that Malcolm Bilson's set of Mozart concertos had been released again. I thought it was out of print - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mozart-Piano...+bilson+mozart £36.13 today, or less if you buy from the marketplace, though looks as though there can be delays in satisfying orders, particularly if

Probably not everyone will like these fortepiano versions. They're also on Spotify - for example - http://open.spotify.com/track/02Sz425sKSmolAWWhjaCzU

I don't know of any other particularly good versions which use similar instrumentation, though I'm hoping that someone will point a few out.

Levin and Hogwood have versions, but right now their versions seem very expensive. Even single CDs may cost almost as much as Bilson's set.
Some of Levin/Hogwood can be sampled on Spotify - http://open.spotify.com/track/4QUpUOkN2j6oRWcPHjw8xT

Does anything stay out of print these days?

[Roehre]

Does anything stay out of print these days?

Yes, unfortunately, especially if something is not interesting enough to find a place in the jumbo-boxes for a couple of pennies per CD.

[Roehre]

Six SACDs of solo keyboard concertos with Willens (9, 12, 17, 18, 19, 20, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26 and 27) to date, plus an earlier one directed by Huss, of the two versions of KV 365, and KV 242, (Lubimov being the second fortepianist in KV 242 and the 2 fortepiano version of KV 365, the pair of them joined by Huss for the three fortepiano version of KV 365).

Surely you mean it the other way around (2 versions of 242 and 1 of 365)

[Dave2002]

Presto currently have a half price offer on DG/Decca (many of these look the same as the earlier Philips Duos) twofers - http://www.prestoclassical.co.uk/deccadg.php
Many (most) at £5.75.

Some good things there, for anyone who wants to look. Mozart's Magic Flute - Östman, Haydn's Creation (in English) Hogwood, Mozart's String trios by Grumiaux et al, Tosca cond. Davis, Elgar symphonies from both Solti and Sinopoli, a handful of Sibelius from Davis (Boston) and Ashkenazy etc. There's also JEG's War Requiem, which I've heard is quite good.

Worth a look.p&p is £1.50 for the first item, then 50p for each additional one after that, so probably want to buy 4 or more to keep the overall cost/CD down.

I'd be interested to hear which, if any, others particularly like the look of.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Does anything stay out of print these days?

MTT's Ruggles;
the ACCORD Ferneyhough disc

... to name my two particular annoyances.

(On the positive side, Birtwistle's Gawain has just been reissued by NMC. There is always hope.)

[teamsaint]

Yes, unfortunately, especially if something is not interesting enough to find a place in de jumbo-boxes for a couple of pennies per CD.

I would think that one of the reasons that things stay out of print is lack of resource at the record company rather than an inability to reissue profitably in small quantities.

Companies with large out of print backlists have to choose where to focus resource, and even if they can produce, say, 100 copies at a good price, there may well be other more urgent projects that are profitable more quickly.
I dont know how small print runs can be in the CD world, but modern techniques in publishing can often mean keeping a book in print even with demand as low as perhaps 20 copies a year.

Obviously there are rights issues too.