Box Blather

Started by Ken B, April 19, 2014, 07:07:51 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Mookalafalas

#160
Quote from: Old Listener on August 06, 2014, 10:49:16 AM
I was struck by your remarks about having a private library.  I've been acquiring Haydn recordings to get access to all the recordings with potential merit before they disappear.  I no longer think in terms of the "best" recording of a work but in terms of "what recording do I want to hear today".

Two Haydn box recommendations: the Beaux Arts box of Piano Trios is a fine way to explore the piano trios.  The 2 Bach Guild mp3 Haydn boxes have the Blum recordings of 39, 59, 73, 75, 81 and other symphonies as well as the Woldike recordings of the London symphonies.

  I have the Beaux arts (now), but what are "Bach Guild" Mp3 Haydn boxes?
EDIT: Never mind, I found it. They won't let me order it in Taiwan, however. I'll look for a workaround...
It's all good...

bigshot

If you have dropbox, I'll pass them to you.

Mookalafalas

Quote from: bigshot on August 06, 2014, 10:03:26 PM
If you have dropbox, I'll pass them to you.

  That would be great! I just installed dropbox, but don't have any idea how to share stuff through it. What should I do?
It's all good...

Mookalafalas

So...no one's blathering about boxes ;D  I will step into the breach.

Been listening to the big Brilliant Haydn box.  Moonfish was absolutely right! I cannot believe how good it is.  The Barytone trios, Piano trios, Sonatas, etc. that were done for the box are terrific.  The playing is great,  and the recording qualify is, in my opinion, stellar.  Brilliant must have a top-notch group of technicians miking and mixing this stuff.  The Buchberger quartet is my favorite.  I suspect they have tattoos and facial piercing. They just attack the quartets, and they set the room on fire.
   Also, the sleeves and disks are surprisingly classy for such a cheap set. The sleeves are glossy and relatively rugged feeling, and color coded (as are the cds) based on the musical genre.  This is very handy, as I use a 5 disc player and have lots of disks floating around.  The box itself is pretty cheap. I suspect I will just ditch mine--it got a big dinged up in transit and doesn't seem like it will hold up very well. 

    As a natural born glutton, and lover of bargains, when I saw that Brilliant is just releasing the 2014 version of their Big Bach box--for 82 Euros--I had no choice but to get it. I had doubts, but I saw Ken B's rave review for the last one, and I always listen to Ken B.   I've spent the whole last week proofreading a terrible PhD dissertation and two MA theses, so I have a lot of extra pocket money--also I was sitting listening to music in front of my laptop while doing all this work--taking tons of breaks to surf GMG and Amazon while my resistance was down due to exhausion, so...it was inevitable. 
   I also just got Gary Giddins wonderful book on Jazz from the library (actually, he has quite a few).  I briefly had the 100 disk Membran 1920s jazz box in my Amazon cart, but quickly booted it out.  Later, perhaps.

    Now I'm listening to the Hogwood Haydn symphonies box.  I had downloaded it previously.  It had great mini-sets inside, with different color coded sleeves and such, so I decided to go ahead and buy a legitimate copy.  The music is the same, of course, but it turns out they cheaped it up and made all generic black and white sleeves.  Nothing wrong with them, but not like the originals :-X
It's all good...

Karl Henning

Quote from: Baklavaboy on August 20, 2014, 07:17:04 AM
  Now I'm listening to the Hogwood Haydn symphonies box.  I had downloaded it previously.  It had great mini-sets inside, with different color coded sleeves and such, so I decided to go ahead and buy a legitimate copy.  The music is the same, of course, but it turns out they cheaped it up and made all generic black and white sleeves.  Nothing wrong with them, but not like the originals :-X

I just got the box afterwards, so no disappointment here :)
Karl Henning, Ph.D.
Composer & Clarinetist
Boston MA
http://www.karlhenning.com/
[Matisse] was interested neither in fending off opposition,
nor in competing for the favor of wayward friends.
His only competition was with himself. — Françoise Gilot

Old Listener

Quote from: Baklavaboy on August 20, 2014, 07:17:04 AM
I briefly had the 100 disk Membran 1920s jazz box in my Amazon cart, but quickly booted it out.  Later, perhaps.

Thanks for that lead.  I searched for Membran and Jazz on Amazon and got 246 items.  I've already put several into my most immediate wish list.  The 100 CD boxes are a clear bargain but $ 100 or more is a pretty big plunge.

---
I don't buy many box boxes because I often already own some of the best recordings in the set.

kishnevi

The DFD Stuttgart box of Haydn symphonies comes in color coded sets.
Just a suggestion, of course. :P
My most likely next big box purchase will be the Mercury Living Presence I box. 

Mookalafalas

Quote from: Jeffrey Smith on August 20, 2014, 06:16:11 PM
My most likely next big box purchase will be the Mercury Living Presence I box.

  I found one of those in a shop after they had gone out of print and sold it (unopened) on ebay for 3X what I'd paid for it.  A few months later I saw another one and bought it and ran home and discovered that it had been re-released :o >:(
  Even though I really like my box II, I still haven't opened the box I.  I'm not sure why.  I'm either saving it for a rainy day, or waiting for it to go back out of print so I can make a killing on it (sometimes I'm unreasonably stubborn).  I also have an unopened  DG 111 box 2.  :-[
It's all good...

Mookalafalas

Fine new box sets are starting to come out of the woodwork.
   The new Brilliant Schubert and the Decca complete Rachmaninoff should not be resisted, especially at the rock-bottom Crazy-Hans Giveaway Prices that are going on over at Amazon.de   I thought about resisting, but realized resistance would be useless.  Some things just aren't likely to get better.
It's all good...

Mookalafalas

Ken B., you have the DG Kubelik box?? What do you think?
It's all good...

AnthonyAthletic

Bought this and discovered the Stabat Mater.

[asin]B000065SXI[/asin]

Doing these & having a Vivaldian couple of weeks...  :D

[asin]B00JGEKTKW[/asin] Received last week

[asin]B008Y1OKQM[/asin] Received Today

[asin]B00EO7XPZC[/asin] Received Today

[asin]B008Y1OKP8[/asin] Received Today

[asin]B00JGEKTK2[/asin] On Order

Much value to be had, for such a small layout!!

"Two possibilities exist: Either we are alone in the Universe or we are not. Both are equally terrifying"      (Arthur C. Clarke)

Ken B

Quote from: Baklavaboy on August 28, 2014, 06:37:17 AM
Ken B., you have the DG Kubelik box?? What do you think?
No, I have the big 100 Great Symphonies box. That Kubelik Dvorak disc is top notch though.

Mookalafalas

Quote from: Ken B on August 28, 2014, 06:43:28 AM
No, I have the big 100 Great Symphonies box. That Kubelik Dvorak disc is top notch though.

  I like Kubelik a lot. Frankly, I think he sounds better with the Bavarian Radio Orchestra than a lot of folks sound with the 5-Star outfits... but I find I play the "conductor" boxes less than any others. Still, his box is selling very reasonably at my local shop, and I eye it with strong feelings of desire :-[.   
It's all good...

Karl Henning

Quote from: AnthonyAthletic on August 28, 2014, 06:38:02 AM
Bought this and discovered the Stabat Mater.

Aye, the Vivaldi Stabat Mater is exquisite!
Karl Henning, Ph.D.
Composer & Clarinetist
Boston MA
http://www.karlhenning.com/
[Matisse] was interested neither in fending off opposition,
nor in competing for the favor of wayward friends.
His only competition was with himself. — Françoise Gilot

AnthonyAthletic

Quote from: karlhenning on August 28, 2014, 07:03:28 AM
Aye, the Vivaldi Stabat Mater is exquisite!

I listened to it 3 times the other day and last night.  It certainly is exquisite, a work which I did not know until this week.  A fabulous discovery.  The vocal with the music is divine, a real chill effect.

Mingardo the Magnificent

"Two possibilities exist: Either we are alone in the Universe or we are not. Both are equally terrifying"      (Arthur C. Clarke)

North Star

Quote from: AnthonyAthletic on August 28, 2014, 06:38:02 AM
Bought this and discovered the Stabat Mater.

Doing these & having a Vivaldian couple of weeks...  :D
Received last week
Received Today
Received Today
Received Today
On Order

Much value to be had, for such a small layout!!
I might be more tempted if I didn't own exactly one disc/two-fer out of each of those sets. Not that I want them to be tempting.  8)
"Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it." - Confucius

My photographs on Flickr

Ken B

Quote from: Baklavaboy on August 28, 2014, 07:02:13 AM
  I like Kubelik a lot. Frankly, I think he sounds better with the Bavarian Radio Orchestra than a lot of folks sound with the 5-Star outfits... but I find I play the "conductor" boxes less than any others. Still, his box is selling very reasonably at my local shop, and I eye it with strong feelings of desire :-[.
Who will give me odds on Al buying that before Labor Day?

>:D

Holden

Just discovered this thread and one thing struck me immediately, you either buy box sets based on performer or composer. Occasionally you can combine both.

Thinking about this I find that while I'm happy to pay for the complete (or selected) works of a performer, the idea of getting the complete works of a specific composer doesn't appeal at all. Yes, the complete works of Jean Sibelius is not huge but will I like the performances? If not then I've wasted my money IMO.

Yet I've happily splurged on the complete Arthur Rubinstein and box sets of performers such as Lupu, Gilels, Richter, Haskil, Oistrakh, etc, without once considering whether I'd like what I heard. Are others of you like that or are you happy to just take it as it comes.
Cheers

Holden

Pat B

Quote from: Holden on August 28, 2014, 01:13:29 PM
Just discovered this thread and one thing struck me immediately, you either buy box sets based on performer or composer. Occasionally you can combine both.

Thinking about this I find that while I'm happy to pay for the complete (or selected) works of a performer, the idea of getting the complete works of a specific composer doesn't appeal at all. Yes, the complete works of Jean Sibelius is not huge but will I like the performances? If not then I've wasted my money IMO.

Yet I've happily splurged on the complete Arthur Rubinstein and box sets of performers such as Lupu, Gilels, Richter, Haskil, Oistrakh, etc, without once considering whether I'd like what I heard. Are others of you like that or are you happy to just take it as it comes.

I have 5 big boxes: Toscanini, and 2 each of Mercury Living Presence and RCA Living Stereo. I am contemplating the Seon box. Like you, I'm not drawn to the composer-specific big boxes. Unlike you, I haven't been able to put my finger on the reason for that.

Sometimes I wish I had bought the Rubinstein box when the price was low, but between the LS boxes and individual releases I'll have no shortage of his stuff.

One of these days I'll get one of the Bach Cantata sets, but that seems more comparable to a symphony cycle than to the single-composer big boxes that span multiple forms and performers.

Todd

Quote from: Holden on August 28, 2014, 01:13:29 PMYet I've happily splurged on the complete Arthur Rubinstein and box sets of performers such as Lupu, Gilels, Richter, Haskil, Oistrakh, etc, without once considering whether I'd like what I heard. Are others of you like that or are you happy to just take it as it comes.



I buy only artist-centric big boxes.  I really don't care about hearing all works by any composer.  Okay, I've heard all of Webern and Decaux, but they hardly require big boxes.
The universe is change; life is opinion. - Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

People would rather believe than know - E.O. Wilson

Propaganda death ensemble - Tom Araya