New Releases

[Brian]

No comment. 

[Karl Henning]

Sextet version of the Opus 4?

[Karl Henning]

[asin]B00G6OJXXE[/asin]

Why the scare-quotes for great, do you suppose?

[Brian]

Why the scare-quotes for great, do you suppose?

Reverse psychology idea! What if someone called one of their works the Crappy Suite so that future record labels would have to put THAT in scarequotes?

[marvinbrown]

  This rather surprises me.  This 60 disc box hasn't been out for very long, and from what I can see hasn't been all that popular:


   I got it a few months ago from Amazon new for $90.  At a price like that, it was like they were begging us to take them off their hands.  The recording quality is very good, and all the warhorses are there (tons of complete cycles) as well as a lot of other material (there are no duplicates, and most discs are quite long).  It's hard to imagine how the DG can be other than a Johnny-come-lately affair...or am I missing something?

 

The box you (and I!) bought for $90 is the Columbia recordings from the 1950s to the early 1970s; Lenny later signed with DG and re-recorded much of the same material, but often with tempos a lot slower. As far as whether there is a market for this... honestly, I believe most of these giant boxes are catering to the new middle/upper classes of Asia who need a quick, semi-prestigious way to fill out their classical CD library. I have no evidence for this, other than the large number of gigantic boxes made for Korea or Japan that only get released here much later (like the George Szell Edition, which I think might still be an import). Well, that and, I really don't know who else can buy these things. I'm 24 and was not around for any of Lenny's recording career, or Karajan's, or you-name-it, but I'm only buying these things on ultra clearance.

  Hi Brian  and Baklavaboy  .  I was surprised to read that Bernstein Symphony Edition was not that popular?? The soon to emerge Bernstein boxset on DG is even more troubling.  Does this have anything to do with the lack of popularity of the Sony set? What's wrong with the Sony set? Are the recordings too old (IE dated??)

 
  marvin

[Karl Henning]

Hey, I'm tempted by the Sony Symphony Edition . . . .

[Mookalafalas]

 
  Hi Brian  and Baklavaboy  .  I was surprised to read that Bernstein Symphony Edition was not that popular?? The soon to emerge Bernstein boxset on DG is even more troubling.  Does this have anything to do with the lack of popularity of the Sony set? What's wrong with the Sony set? Are the recordings too old (IE dated??)

 
  marvin

   Marvin, in my opinion it's a fantastic set.  The quality of the recordings are generally very high, and the packaging is classy (although a little backwards--the box is LP sized for some mysterious reason). The individual discs are packed with music, too.  The reviews for it are positive, but I don't get the impression it ever sold very well. It's presently 63,000+down the list of top sellers at Amazon.  The price is nearly double what it was when Brian and I got ours,  but is still not particularly expensive at $172.  I'm curious about why you say "The soon to emerge Bernstein boxset on DG is even more troubling."  Have you heard some news about it? 

[marvinbrown]

   Marvin, in my opinion it's a fantastic set.  The quality of the recordings are generally very high, and the packaging is classy (although a little backwards--the box is LP sized for some mysterious reason). The individual discs are packed with music, too.  The reviews for it are positive, but I don't get the impression it ever sold very well. It's presently 63,000+down the list of top sellers at Amazon.  The price is nearly double what it was when Brian and I got ours,  but is still not particularly expensive at $172.  I'm curious about why you say "The soon to emerge Bernstein boxset on DG is even more troubling."  Have you heard some news about it?

  Thank you for the information on the Sony set.  With regards to the DG I have heard nothing on my end.  By troubling I was referring to the Sony boxset.  To have another set of Bernstein's recordings (the DG set) enter the market shortly after the release of the Sony boxset is troubling for the Sony boxset.  I got the impression that it was not good overall, which necessitated the release of another boxset. Perhaps my impressions were wrong.

 

Hey, I'm tempted by the Sony Symphony Edition . . . .

  I spoke to Presto Classical who told me that the Bernstein complete symphony edition sold really well when it was originally released but then ran out of steam.  The question is why? I am becoming less enthused about this boxset as the days go by and very curious about what will emerge from DG in their Bernstein edition.

  marvin

 

[Mookalafalas]

   To have another set of Bernstein's recordings (the DG set) enter the market shortly after the release of the Sony boxset is troubling for the Sony boxset.

 
  I spoke to Presto Classical who told me that the Bernstein complete symphony edition sold really well when it was originally released but then ran out of steam.  The question is why.

  Ah, I understand now.  If that is your concern, you can rest a bit easier.  It turns out (according to the US Amazon page, anyway) the Sony set isn't new at all--it came out in 2010.   If it sold really well initially, it is probably just reaching the end of it's cycle.   I had no idea it had been around that long, but then I am a relative newby. Strange, though, how little buzz there seems to have been about this set. Then again, maybe not.  A 69 disc George Solti box set came out (here in Taiwan anyway) a few months ago, and then disappeared. I've never heard it mentioned in the threads--even once. 

[Karl Henning]

Aye, I should think that's just a normal cyclical thing with box sets and the present market environment.

[marvinbrown]

Aye, I should think that's just a normal cyclical thing with box sets and the present market environment.

  I take it you are going to go for the Sony Complete Edition?

  Or can we afford to gamble and wait on DG/Universal to issue their boxset??

  marvin

[Todd]

  I take it you are going to go for the Sony Complete Edition?

  Or can we afford to gamble and wait on DG/Universal to issue their boxset??

I would sell a kidney to get either such box.  Someone else's kidney, mind you, but still a kidney.

[marvinbrown]

I would sell a kidney to get either such box.  Someone else's kidney, mind you, but still a kidney.

  LOL!!  How altruistic of you Todd! Anyway, my basic interest in Bernstein set is the Paris/London symphonies (Haydn), the early Mahler cycle and the Sibelius symphonies.  Whether it is worth buying the whole kit and caboodle for those recordings (each sold separately as well) I am not sure.  But now that there is a kidney involved, someone else's kidney mind you,.....I am tempted!

  marvin

[Todd]

Anyway, my basic interest in Bernstein set is the Paris/London symphonies (Haydn), the early Mahler cycle and the Sibelius symphonies.  Whether it is worth buying the whole kit and caboodle for those recordings (each sold separately as well) I am not sure.

I have earlier incarnations of each of these boxes on Sony, and I can recommend all of them without hesitation.  Bernstein's Haydn is among the very best.  His second DG Mahler cycle (the CD set; his first DG Mahler cycle is on DVD) is better than the CBS cycle to my ears, and a good chunk of romantic and modern repertoire is better served on DG.  I'd say mix and match.

(I should clarify a bit on my kidney comment: when I saw Sony Complete and DG/Universal complete, I fantasized about the Holy Grail - all of the recordings in the respective labels' vaults in one, giant, yet handy box.  For those I would sell a kidney; for Bernstein only boxes, just a bit of plasma.)

[Karl Henning]

  I take it you are going to go for the Sony Complete Edition?

  Or can we afford to gamble and wait on DG/Universal to issue their boxset??

  marvin

Well, I've already got the Sibelius & Haydn which are included in the Sony (and, come to that, those which must be in the DG box, too) . . . but I am still kind-of-planning to plump for the Sony box at some point, the duplication be damned.

[Brian]

Well, I've already got the Sibelius & Haydn which are included in the Sony (and, come to that, those which must be in the DG box, too) . . . but I am still kind-of-planning to plump for the Sony box at some point, the duplication be damned.

I have a good classical-loving friend who's even poorer than I am, so he often benefits when I do this. Now that I have the Rubinstein complete edition superbox, he's about to receive the old Rubinstein Chopin edition as a gift.

[Mookalafalas]

I have a good classical-loving friend who's even poorer than I am, so he often benefits when I do this. Now that I have the Rubinstein complete edition superbox, he's about to receive the old Rubinstein Chopin edition as a gift.

  Speaking of the Rubinstein box, its price jumps around like a kangaroo on crack.  It was $270 a few months ago, went all the way down below one hundred, and is now back to $185.   Maybe if you guys are patient,  you can save your organs and just wait for the price to dip back down again. 
   Any word on how much the DG Bernstein will be? I don't need it, but am curious...

[Itullian]

 
  Hi Brian  and Baklavaboy  .  I was surprised to read that Bernstein Symphony Edition was not that popular?? The soon to emerge Bernstein boxset on DG is even more troubling.  Does this have anything to do with the lack of popularity of the Sony set? What's wrong with the Sony set? Are the recordings too old (IE dated??)

 
  marvin

I hate these big ol' clunky coffee table boxes. That's why I didn't buy it. I have his recordings in reasonably sized issues. that can fit on a shelf.

[Mookalafalas]

I hate these big ol' clunky coffee table boxes. That's why I didn't buy it. I have his recordings in reasonably sized issues. that can fit on a shelf.

  And it's a pain in the neck to take a disc out. I took out all the discs out of the Bernstein box and the Bruno Walter box and put them in the flipped over lid of the giant Membran Furtwangler box.  Works like a charm.  I can flip through the discs like I used to with LPs back in the old days.  Would love to have a cabinet with drawers--like the card catalog in a library (do they still have those?) and keep all my CDs in it...

[kishnevi]

  Ah, I understand now.  If that is your concern, you can rest a bit easier.  It turns out (according to the US Amazon page, anyway) the Sony set isn't new at all--it came out in 2010.   If it sold really well initially, it is probably just reaching the end of it's cycle.   I had no idea it had been around that long, but then I am a relative newby. Strange, though, how little buzz there seems to have been about this set. Then again, maybe not.  A 69 disc George Solti box set came out (here in Taiwan anyway) a few months ago, and then disappeared. I've never heard it mentioned in the threads--even once.

Beyond the Mahler cycle, I have very little of Lenny's Columbia recordings, so the Sony box would have more interest for me than the DG box.

As for sets released in Asia--I think they just don't get noticed here, if Presto or another vendor doesn't pick them up.   Todd and Gordo seem to be the only members here who regularly track HMV Japan.   I have a dim memory of the Solti set being mentioned once, but by whom and when I'll be dashed if I remember.

Perhaps you would consider posting these sets as they come up in this thread, since you're the one with best access to them?