Collections and Sub-Collections

[kishnevi]

In the words of Barney (How I Met Your Mother Barney): Challenge accepted! I will now have to buy another six cycles 

Sarge

So you know what you're up against
Gardiner
Immerseel
Hanover Band
Bruggen (the new one released in 2012)
Karajan 1960s
Bernstein/DG
Bohm
Cluytens
Blomstedt/Dresden
Dohnanyi
Chailly
Thielemann
Zinman
P. Jarvi
the Naxos hodgepodge of Central European orchestras
Haitink/LSO

I'm not at home: either there's one more which I can't remember, or I miscounted the last time I checked and you only have to get five more.

[Gurn Blanston]

Surprised you don't have Harnoncourt / COE, Jeffrey. It's an excellent cycle (despite not being on period instruments).

Got some nice ones otherwise though, reminiscent of my own. 0:)

[trung224]

  My collection is not as large as other GMGer, because I tend to sell the recordings which I found too middle-of-the-road or nothing special appeared. What exists in my collection now is mostly Romantic era, focus on orchestral works from Beethoven (18 cycle), Brahms (20 cycle), Bruckner (9 complete or near complete cycle), Mahler (9 cycle), Sibelius (8 cycle), Tchaikovsky (15 recordings of late symphonies) plus hundred individual recordings. Otherwise, I have a good numbers of Bach (both orchestral works and instrument works), and piano music ( focus on Mozart, Schumann, Beethoven, Schubert, Rachmaninov, Chopin).

[Sergeant Rock]

So you know what you're up against
Gardiner
Immerseel
Hanover Band
Bruggen (the new one released in 2012)
Karajan 1960s
Bernstein/DG
Bohm
Cluytens
Blomstedt/Dresden
Dohnanyi
Chailly
Thielemann
Zinman
P. Jarvi
the Naxos hodgepodge of Central European orchestras
Haitink/LSO

Wow, there's barely any overlap! Here are mine, only the first two match yours:

KARAJAN 62 BERLIN PHIL
BERNSTEIN VIENNA PHIL
SOLTI CHICAGO
HARNONCOURT COE
KLEMPERER PHILHARMONIA
BARENBOIM STAATSKAPELLE BERLIN
NORRINGTON LCP
NORRINGTON RSO STUTTGART
SZELL CLEVELAND
MAAZEL CLEVELAND
BRÜGGEN   18TH CENTURY
CELIBIDACHE MUNICH PHIL (missing #1)

What I'm interested in, and may eventually acquire: Wand, Chailly, P. Järvi, Furtwängler

Sarge

[Brian]

Off the top of my head:

Gardiner, Immerseel, Bruggen (I), Karajan 1962-3, Bernstein (Sony), Blomstedt (Dresden), Chailly, Haitink (LSO), Harnoncourt (COE), Barenboim, Norrington (LCP), Szell, Vanska, Mackerras (Hyperion), Abbado (red box), Hogwood, van Zweden, Nelson

Almost complete: P. Jarvi (#s 1-8)
Odds and ends: Dohnanyi (#3, #9), Wand (#9), Naxos (#9) etc etc

...wow, I just beat Sarge, Jeffrey, and Trung 

[Karl Henning]

(359 Mahler recordings altogether)

Dude, you very nearly own a controlling share in Mahler Industries (NYSE: MII) ; )

[kishnevi]

Surprised you don't have Harnoncourt / COE, Jeffrey. It's an excellent cycle (despite not being on period instruments).

Got some nice ones otherwise though, reminiscent of my own. 0:)

[slaps himself]

Thank you, Gurn!  That's the one I couldn't remember!

So it is 17 cycles.

What I'm interested in, and may eventually acquire: Wand, Chailly, P. Järvi, Furtwängler

Sarge

What are you waiting for, soldier!!!!
GET CHAILLY!!!!!

It is, imo, the best recent cycle by several miles.

P. Jarvi is pretty good, too, but not so necessary.

Also Immerseel.  And I though you had Dohnanyi?  (You, the Clevelander, especially!)

I will probably be getting at some point in the near future the symphonies in Barenboim's Beethoven for All project. (I have the other two components, and I hate to have incomplete series.) I have no idea if that's the same performances as your Barenboim.

[trung224]

Just put trigger on Celibidache's symphonies boxset on EMI and Konwitschny's cycle on Berlin Classics, now I have 20 Beethoven cycle   

[Sergeant Rock]

...wow, I just beat Sarge, Jeffrey, and Trung 

We unworthies bow before your magnificence 

Seriously, Brian, that's an impressive collection for one so young, and so poor  That would be an impressive collection for a rich old fart!  At your age I probably had five Beethoven records in total.

Nelson...Nelson? Never heard his cycle, never heard of it. Any good? What made you purchase it?

Sarge

[Sergeant Rock]

Just put trigger on Celibidache's symphonies boxset on EMI and Konwitschny's cycle on Berlin Classics, now I have 20 Beethoven cycle   

You bastard! Trying to win this race, eh? 

Sarge

[kishnevi]

Wow, there's barely any overlap! Here are mine, only the first two match yours:

KARAJAN 62 BERLIN PHIL
BERNSTEIN VIENNA PHIL
SOLTI CHICAGO
HARNONCOURT COE
KLEMPERER PHILHARMONIA
BARENBOIM STAATSKAPELLE BERLIN
NORRINGTON LCP
NORRINGTON RSO STUTTGART
SZELL CLEVELAND
MAAZEL CLEVELAND
BRÜGGEN   18TH CENTURY
CELIBIDACHE MUNICH PHIL (missing #1)

What I'm interested in, and may eventually acquire: Wand, Chailly, P. Järvi, Furtwängler

Sarge

And now a serious question: of those nine I don't have, which (if any) would you suggest I put on my wishlist?

[Brian]

What are you waiting for, soldier!!!!
GET CHAILLY!!!!!

It is, imo, the best recent cycle by several miles.

Gotta say, I've now heard 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8 from Chailly and I'm starting to come around to this point of view. It's my new favorite for #8, and while the opening movement of #5 was a bit off the mark, the rest has been superb.

I will probably be getting at some point in the near future the symphonies in Barenboim's Beethoven for All project. (I have the other two components, and I hate to have incomplete series.) I have no idea if that's the same performances as your Barenboim.

No! No no no no no. Barenboim Staatskapelle Berlin, a.k.a. Fedora Barenboim, a.k.a. Barenboim 2000. The orchestra's as rich and splendorous as Chailly's, with a similar "dark" hue, but the interpretive approach is EXACTLY opposite. I strongly recommend it. My favorite 'Pastorale', at over 45 minutes.

Just put trigger on Celibidache's symphonies boxset on EMI and Konwitschny's cycle on Berlin Classics, now I have 20 Beethoven cycle   

Rats! I was at 19! I think.

We unworthies bow before your magnificence 

Seriously, Brian, that's an impressive collection for one so young, and so poor  That would be an impressive collection for a rich old fart!  At your age I probably had five Beethoven records in total.

Nelson...Nelson? Never heard his cycle, never heard of it. Any good? What made you purchase it?

Sarge

The really impressive thing is that of the 19, only 4 are MP3s swiped from my old university's music library.  Nelson is John Nelson, which is a HIP-influenced modern orchestra cycle. Good in that way, maybe not necessarily better than P. Jarvi, Dausgaard, or Norrington/SWR, which are its closest spiritual compatriots. The best aspect is the packaging: the booklet has a big long interesting interview with Nelson about his study of the music, and it's a really firm sturdy cap-box with little colorful digipaks for each CD inside.

What made me purchase it was GMGer 'tsrauser' posted it for $10 in the Buy, Sell, Trade forum  I was buying Lenny's Sibelius and Wand's Brahms from him anyway, figured "eh, why not".

[asin]B000K15U2W[/asin]

[trung224]

You bastard! Trying to win this race, eh? 

Sarge

Of course not. I heard some good reviews about two set long time ago, but till now I have lucky to buy them ( because the price now is very reasonable  )
  Brian: Your recommendation about Nelson maks me interesting. I have Beethoven from the German, the Austrian, the Italian, the English, the Russian, the Hungarian, the Czech, the American. Now it's the time for the South American

[kishnevi]

No! No no no no no. Barenboim Staatskapelle Berlin, a.k.a. Fedora Barenboim, a.k.a. Barenboim 2000. The orchestra's as rich and splendorous as Chailly's, with a similar "dark" hue, but the interpretive approach is EXACTLY opposite. I strongly recommend it. My favorite 'Pastorale', at over 45 minutes.

Okay, since you put it that way,  I went ahead and ordered--
(drumroll, please)......

both (the Beethoven for All set and the Fedora 2000 set).

Now I'm at 19,  equal to Brian.  I'll hunt around tonight and see about ordering two more, so I stay ahead of Trung.

[Sergeant Rock]

What are you waiting for, soldier!!!!
GET CHAILLY!!!!!

Chailly is the one I'm leaning towards next.  There are nothing but superlatives here from everyone who owns it.

And I though you had Dohnanyi?  (You, the Clevelander, especially!)

Considering I do own his Ninth, and that it's my favorite MI Ninth, yeah, it even surprises me that I haven't acquired his  complete cycle.

I will probably be getting at some point in the near future the symphonies in Barenboim's Beethoven for All project. (I have the other two components, and I hate to have incomplete series.) I have no idea if that's the same performances as your Barenboim.

No, entirely different. Mine is with his Berlin band (the Staatskapelle...for my taste, a more interesting orchestra than Rattle's Philharmoniker). The "Beethoven für Alle" project is with his Israeli/Palestinian band.

And now a serious question: of those nine I don't have, which (if any) would you suggest I put on my wishlist?

Szell, Norrington Stuttgart (I love his LCP performances too but they are quite controversial). Klemperer is classic Beethoven and utterly unique. Don't know if you'd respond positively to his broad tempos, but for me it's desert island Beethoven.

Sarge

[Brian]

You bastards, I was only winning the Beethoven game for 12 minutes, 34 seconds and I'm already in a second-place tie. Sarge, is Celi worth hearing, or Klemperer first?

[mc ukrneal]

I'm really glad I am not in this race!!!! But here's how it might seem to the rest of us:

"The Story You Are About To Read Is True.
The Names Have Been Changed To Protect The Innocent"


And they're off.
The Big Kahuna is off to a slow start out of the gate, while the rest of the pack gallops ahead. Meanwhile Alligator Alley holds a slight lead. As they come around the first corner it's Lucky London barrelling ahead. And they're almost neck and neck, but wait, sneaking up on the inside is Mystical Mackerel, and folks he takes the lead! As they thunder down the backstretch, with their wallets screaming for mercy, and the forum going wild, and Alligator Aley making a move, it's anybody's guess who has the longer will win this race ( ). But has the Big Kahuna been saving up for the second half? Or has Lucky London been toying with the field? Will Alligator Alley take a bite out of the competition? Will the Mystical Mackerel swim to an easy victory? Or will there be a surprise entry who cleans up. Stay tuned...

[Brian]

Or will there be a surprise entry who cleans up. Stay tuned...

Mirror Image finally has his Beethoven epiphany and spends his birthday money on 38 different complete cycles.

[North Star]

I'm really glad I am not in this race!!!! But here's how it might seem to the rest of us:

"The Story You Are About To Read Is True.
The Names Have Been Changed To Protect The Innocent"


And they're off.
The Big Kahuna is off to a slow start out of the gate, while the rest of the pack gallops ahead. Meanwhile Alligator Alley holds a slight lead. As they come around the first corner it's Lucky London barrelling ahead. And they're almost neck and neck, but wait, sneaking up on the inside is Mystical Mackerel, and folks he takes the lead! As they thunder down the backstretch, with their wallets screaming for mercy, and the forum going wild, and Alligator Aley making a move, it's anybody's guess who has the longer will win this race ( ). But has the Big Kahuna been saving up for the second half? Or has Lucky London been toying with the field? Will Alligator Alley take a bite out of the competition? Will the Mystical Mackerel swim to an easy victory? Or will there be a surprise entry who cleans up. Stay tuned...

Mirror Image finally has his Beethoven epiphany and spends his birthday money on 38 different complete cycles.

The way this thread is going just cracks me up...

[Gurn Blanston]

Just put trigger on Celibidache's symphonies boxset on EMI and Konwitschny's cycle on Berlin Classics, now I have 20 Beethoven cycle   

Good on you for the Konwitschny. I predict you will be pleased with that. I quite like the 9th.