Bargains

[gurnemanz]

Europadisc currently have good prices in their homage to Boulez -

the ten discs of le Domaine Musicale for £26.95

the fourteen discs of the complete Erato recordings for £23.97

I decided to get that Erato 14Cd set at Amazon de. Only 21.83 Euro, less than £20 with postage.

[HighlandDougie]

I think you can use paypal, although on the $6 I think the proprietor has said the charges are quite high, and if the customer doesn't mind, he'd rather it was paid by card. I think the prices there are very fair - priced by the minute, so any margin on currency (not by eclassical but one's payment method) wouldn't be too much to bear.

I use e-classical quite a bit - in particular their deals, either 'daily' or of new releases, which are often at very keen prices for 24 bit Hi-Res files. The fee charged by my bank (the execrable HSBC) for a Visa debit card transaction is about 20p for a $10 purchase, which is, as Cockney Sparrow points out, not too much to bear. Notes/artwork are included and one can go back and re-download at any time. My one - minor - gripe is that their metadata (file names and details) usually needs a bit of editing but, given the quality on offer at what is approaching a bargain price, that is no great hardship. The site is based in Sweden and I've always assumed without looking into it that it is an offshoot of BIS.

[Beef Oven!]

qobuz have the 6-disc Messiaen orchestral set conducted by Boulez for £3.19. It's downloading as I type.


16 bit, CD quality


Set list, lifted from Amazon review......


CD 1-2 [36:44 + 63:13]
La Transfiguration de Notre Seigneur Jésus-Christ (1965-1969)
Yvonne Loriod, (piano)
Arturo Muruzabal, (cello)
Martine van der Loo, (flute)
Harmen de Boer, (clarinet)
Peter Prommel, (marimba)
Ruud Stotÿn, (vibraphone)
Henk de Vlieger, (xylorimba)
Ludwig van Gijsegem, (tenor)
Reiner Holthaus, (baritone)
Choir of the BRT, Brussels; Groot Omroepkoor
Radio Symphonie Orkest, Hilversum/Reinbert de Leeuw
rec. live, Great Hall, Concertgebouw, Amsterdam, 29 June 1991.

CD 3
Visions de l'Amen (1943)[48:55]
Amen de la Création [7:18]; Amen des étoiles, de la planète à l'anneau [5:46]; Amen de l'Agonie de Jésus [7:53]; Amen du Désir [10:54]; Amen des Anges, des Saints, du chant des oiseaux [7:06]; Amen du Jugement [2:43]; Amen de la Consommation [7:08]
Maarten Bon; Reinbert de Leeuw (pianos)
rec. Muziekcentrum Vredenburg, Utrecht 1988

CD 4 [61:45]
Sept haïkaï (1962) [21:00]
Couleurs de la cité céleste (1963) [16:10]
Un vitrail et des oiseaux (1986) [8:20]
Oiseaux exotiques (1955-56) [14:47]
Yvonne Loriod (piano)
Ensemble Intercontemporain/Pierre Boulez
rec. live, 26 November 1988, Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, Paris

CD 5-6 [47:10 + 44:00]
Des canyons aux étoiles ... (1971/4)
Marja Bon (piano); Hans Dullaert (horn); Ger de Zeeuw (xylorimba); Wim Vos (glockenspiel); Asko Ensemble; Schönberg Ensemble ; Slagwerkgroep Den Haag/Reinbert de Leeuw
rec. live, 3 October 1990, Vredenburg Utrecht.

[Bryn]

qobuz have the 6-disc Messiaen orchestral set conducted by Boulez for £3.19. It's downloading as I type.

A worthwhile set, I have had its various CDs for some years. Only one disc has Boulez as the conductor though.

[Beef Oven!]

A worthwhile set, I have had its various CDs for some years. Only one disc has Boulez as the conductor though.

Realised afterwards that Boulez only conducts one disc - but for the price, it's a no-brainer.

[Bryn]

Realised afterwards that Boulez only conducts one disc - but for the price, it's a no-brainer.

No argument from me on that. The Boulez disc I got at the time of its release. The rest, much more recently.

Latest bargain acquisition is the 67 CD Sony Boulez box. Despite the very considerable duplications, and some triplications, I rationalised that I can probably sell the previous purchases for near enough to what the box cost from amazon.fr (£72.63).

[Beef Oven!]

No argument from me on that. The Boulez disc I got at the time of its release. The rest, much more recently.

Latest bargain acquisition is the 67 CD Sony Boulez box. Despite the very considerable duplications, and some triplications, I rationalised that I can probably sell the previous purchases for near enough to what the box cost from amazon.fr (£72.63).

The Sony's on my list. I'm waiting to see if the price goes easy at some point - I'm not in a hurry. But £72.63 is the best price I've seen.

I also want that Erato 14 CD box, I've only got 4 of those CDs already, so not a major issue. It's down to £24-25, but I'm in no hurry. I think it has that 'et exspecto resurrectionem mortuorum - les percussions des strasbourg' that you rate.

[Bryn]

The Sony's on my list. I'm waiting to see if the price goes easy at some point - I'm not in a hurry. But £72.63 is the best price I've seen.

I also want that Erato 14 CD box, I've only got 4 of those CDs already, so not a major issue. It's down to £24-25, but I'm in no hurry. I think it has that 'et exspecto resurrectionem mortuorum - les percussions des strasbourg' that you rate.

That Et exspecto resurrectionem mortuorum is also in the Sony box (it was originally issued in the USA and UK by Columbia/CBS (now Sony). Of course, the digital transfers/re-masters in the Erato (Warner) and Sony boxes might be quite different.

[vinteuil]

Latest bargain acquisition is the 67 CD Sony Boulez box. Despite the very considerable duplications, and some triplications, I rationalised that I can probably sell the previous purchases for near enough to what the box cost from amazon.fr (£72.63).

... before you sell off apparent duplications / triplications : I see from the comment on amazon.fr that the 67 CD sony box inexpicably does not include the 'non-Boulez' pieces from the earlier sony Webern box - and it seems to omit two Ravel pieces - "Shéhérazade - Ouverture de féérie", and "Fanfare pour l'éventail de Jeanne" which are on the earlier sony Boulez Ravel discs.

[Bryn]

... before you sell off apparent duplications / triplications : I see from the comment on amazon.fr that the 67 CD sony box inexpicably does not include the 'non-Boulez' pieces from the earlier sony Webern box - and it seems to omit two Ravel pieces - "Shéhérazade - Ouverture de féérie", and "Fanfare pour l'éventail de Jeanne" which are on the earlier sony Boulez Ravel discs.

Thanks for the warning. I would have kept the Webern set anyway, if only for the typically Sony references to Banking[sic] Town Hall.

[HighlandDougie]

That Et exspecto resurrectionem mortuorum Of course, the digital transfers/re-masters in the Erato (Warner) and Sony boxes might be quite different.

On a straight A/B comparison on the Naim CD player, the version in the Sony box sounds like a different recording (but isn't). The Erato version is a bit dim and sounds its age. The Sony (which has a faint trace of hiss) has a depth, warmth and brilliance entirely lacking in the Erato. More generally, that care with remastering shown by Sony for this disc applies pretty much to the rest of the Boulez box (which Beefy would not regret buying, even at £72.63, honest!).

[Bryn]

On a straight A/B comparison on the Naim CD player, the version in the Sony box sounds like a different recording (but isn't). The Erato version is a bit dim and sounds its age. The Sony (which has a faint trace of hiss) has a depth, warmth and brilliance entirely lacking in the Erato. More generally, that care with remastering shown by Sony for this disc applies pretty much to the rest of the Boulez box (which Beefy would not regret buying, even at £72.63, honest!).

I got an earlier Erato transfer in the 1988 issued Messiaen box.When they revamped it for his centenary there was a lot of re-mastering, and much of it to the disadvantage of the music. 'Pre-echo' from tape print-through was replaced by sharply cut of decays.

[visualnickmos]

Thanks for the warning. I would have kept the Webern set anyway, if only for the typically Sony references to Banking[sic] Town Hall.

....reminds me of a CD (can't recall which) but also Sony, which was apparently recorded in Henry Hood Hall, London!

[Beef Oven!]

Europadisc currently have good prices in their homage to Boulez -

the ten discs of le Domaine Musicale for £26.95

the fourteen discs of the complete Erato recordings for £23.97

Update: The 14 CD Erato is £22.09 incl. p&p on Amazon. Although it might go lower, I took the plunge a couple of minutes ago.

[teamsaint]

Realised afterwards that Boulez only conducts one disc - but for the price, it's a no-brainer.

sounded too good to miss, so just downloaded this.
Thanks.