Starting out: a la carte vs box set?

[albedo]

Hi all, just want to say again I appreciate all the wonderful threads and feedback so far.


I had always been a check the box guy--have "a" four seasons ? check. meh good enough.  and, i have accumulated an array of off brand  bargain bin collections. All of which, I would think, are passable.


Until...last year...I made the effort and on a recommendation of a friend, picked up imusici four seasons and WOW! what a difference. Just incredible.  I had never really "HEARD" the music before, though i was listening.


Made a few other repurchases, and wow! almost night and day in some cases.  So now I am on a mission to solidify and round out my "classical" collection, not just check the box, but go for a reference copy (or three). For those who have been down this road...what is a good way to travel?  If you had to do it all over again...


1) Am I best suited by going a la carte, and looking for the "top" 1 - 3 of a given piece by a given composer?


2) Or, would I be better suited by grabbing box sets?


3) Both?


And of course, I agree that...really, very few...say, four seasons...can be "wrong"; however, now that I have heard how good it sounds "right" (imo)...

[North Star]

Well, there are box sets with great performances, and there are box sets with less than great performances. (mostly from cheap labels, and older recordings, some Naxos & Brilliant, for example [both of these labels offer also excellent recordings, in Naxos's case, they've gotten better all the time basically, and Brilliant sells licensed stuff from other labels).
The record label Naïve's Vivaldi recordings (and pretty much everything else), for instance, are generally superb, and some are available in boxes.
Buying box sets of inferior performances in order to get to know compositions isn't wise since you can sample music via Youtube, Spotify, etc, before purchasing, and you might mistake a great piece in a poor performance for a poor piece.
I don't tend to buy the most expensive stuff, either, and watching out for sales and discounts helps enormously. Amazon's prices, for example, tend to fluctuate quite a lot.

[DavidW]

Use spotify to go through several performances and find a good candidate to buy.  This applies also to choosing if you want box sets or a la carte.  That's what I think anyway.

On streaming, I once listened through way more recordings of a Schubert piano trio that I really like and I discovered that my favorites I would not have even known about otherwise.

[Holden]

Here's a different idea. Choose some of the works that you like and ask for recommendations on this site. The accumulated knowledge and wisdom on GMG beats any Penguin Guide or similar publication hands down.

You might like to start off with searching the forums here first. Use the Great recordings forum and type your choice into the search function and you've got hours of reading. Once you get used to the site you will find that certain members have similar tastes to you. I always take a lot of interest when Dirk, George, Cliftwood, Mandryka, etc make a recommendation. While I might not always agree I find that there is a lot of common ground. I'm not sure if this is reciprocal in my case but that's immaterial.

One caveat though - if you want an LvB Symphony or PS cycle there is just too much to read IMO. The same goes for the Bach WTC (but you might be more persistent than me). The way around this is to get three or four different recordings that you are interested in and ask for opinions on those.

[North Star]

Here's a different idea. Choose some of the works that you like and ask for recommendations on this site. The accumulated knowledge and wisdom on GMG beats any Penguin Guide or similar publication hands down.

You might like to start off with searching the forums here first. Use the Great recordings forum and type your choice into the search function and you've got hours of reading. Once you get used to the site you will find that certain members have similar tastes to you. I always take a lot of interest when Dirk, George, Cliftwood, Mandryka, etc make a recommendation. While I might not always agree I find that there is a lot of common ground. I'm not sure if this is reciprocal in my case but that's immaterial.

One caveat though - if you want an LvB Symphony or PS cycle there is just too much to read IMO. The same goes for the Bach WTC (but you might be more persistent than me). The way around this is to get three or four different recordings that you are interested in and ask for opinions on those.

This, too.
But you should still try listening the recommended works before you buy (Spotify, Youtube,...), at least if you don't know too much about different performance styles (period instruments aka PI/HI, historically informed perfomance, aka HIP, etc) and performers. And read Amazon reviews, you might find that you agree with someone on most things, or disagree, and read the reviews accordingly.

[Mirror Image]

When I first started getting into classical music, I took both routes: single recordings and box sets. You have to do a lot of research. In fact, it is one of the most important aspects of acquiring recordings. You should also be careful whose opinion you ultimately listen to. Like, for example, you most definitely don't want my opinion of what Beethoven symphony set to buy, because I'm not into Beethoven's music. Just like you wouldn't want some Baroque fanatic who listens to nothing but music from this era giving you recommendations on Schoenberg. You have to find people who actually are passionate about the composer's music in which you're inquiring about. As North Star suggested, YouTube is a valuable resource for hearing different performances and listening to a composer's music you never heard before. Find out what composers you're interested in and come back to this thread. Depending on what composers you want to explore, I'll give you some recommendations. Happy hunting!

[canninator]

My opinion only, but if I could do it all again I would dispense with box sets. Why? I have found it fosters a mentality of 'gotta get through that box' and then it becomes music as a chore and not the pleasure of enjoying those pieces you love. The counter arguments don't apply to my experience.

1. It's something to dip into from time to time. I find myself either dipping for my favourites (should have gone for the individual discs) or dipping into ones I have not listened to, from guilt (point one, above, over a longer time frame).

2. I am not a collector. Collecting CDs is an extra-musical activity and not for me or my budget/fiscal responsibilities.

3. But you get everything in 'genre X'. I find I don't like everything in 'genre X' anyway so should have gone with the individual discs.

Some people love boxes, that's all good, but I think you need to ask yourself your motivation for getting a box and what you will do with it.

[Conor71]

Im more of a box-set guy - when I hear a composition by a Composer that I like I want to get all their works like that so going the box-set route is the quickest and most economical way of aquiring lots of repertoire.
I don't think box-sets have any negatives if you approach them with the attitude that you can listen through them at your leisure and are not honour-bound to listen to the whole thing if you don't want to!.
Its a really good time at the moment for collectors like myself because there are so many attractive box-sets out there! - my only problem is being able to afford all the stuff I want!