The Super-Duper Cheap Bargains Thread

Started by Mark, November 13, 2007, 02:26:18 PM

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AnthonyAthletic

Quote from: knight on November 09, 2009, 01:49:46 PM
Ah, wait until you get to the chamber music, Clarinet Quintet, the two Cello sonatas....the Sextet! Bliss.

Mike,

I do have the Raphael Ens, Sextet  ;D  Beautiful.  Along with the Cello Sonatas, violin sonatas etc, Also, many versions of the Requiem.  Apart from that, its appears....a real treasure trove and at least 45-50cds of new music.

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

knight66

The songs will probably be new to you. They can take a bt of getting into in some instances. Others are as superb as Schubert.

Mike
DavidW: Yeah Mike doesn't get angry, he gets even.
I wasted time: and time wasted me.

Novi

Quote from: Elgarian on November 06, 2009, 07:12:54 AM


Available for a little more than £1 on Amazon UK marketplace, here:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Handel-Italian-Cantatas-George-Frederick/dp/B00009W3RL/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1257521174&sr=8-1

Brief description of my first impressions, #706:
http://www.good-music-guide.com/community/index.php/topic,2077.msg368448/topicseen.html#msg368448

Thanks for the link and the review, Elgarian. I've never heard any of Handel's cantatas so I picked one up. Can't go wrong for the price of a coffee. :D
Durch alle Töne tönet
Im bunten Erdentraum
Ein leiser Ton gezogen
Für den der heimlich lauschet.

Elgarian

#243
Quote from: Novi on November 10, 2009, 06:03:37 AM
I've never heard any of Handel's cantatas so I picked one up. Can't go wrong for the price of a coffee. :D

When it arrives, you could do worse than start with the first cantata on CD2: Notte placida e cheta [Peaceful and quiet night]. The first aria (track 2) may have you hooked after only one listening:

Come zephyrs, only you,
Gentle murmuring breezes,
Can cause sweet sleep
To enter my breast.


But as you say, you can't go wrong. There are delights scattered all over these discs.

ammar

#244
Quote from: AnthonyAthletic on November 09, 2009, 01:37:03 PM
Ammar,

Many thanks for the "Heads up" on this Brahms set.  Brahms is a composer, bar his big works and chamber music, well he is a composer whom I have very little music.  60cds for 20 Euro's is amazing.  I ordered it on Friday morning and it came from France today (Monday morning) to the UK.  First class service.

I also ordered the DG box set for £18, not sure if this one will surface.

Anyone got this at the bargain price...do keep us informed.

I envy you your voyage of discovery, AA :)

I had a similar experience with Brahms, falling in love with the concerti and 3rd & 4th Symphonies at a young age, but was a relative latecomer to the glorious chamber and piano music. Mind you, I have some friends that absolutely despise his music - hence the old joke that the doors in an auditorium were sometimes labeled 'exit in case of Brahms' !  >:(

My Brilliant set arrived safe and sound last week, and the discs that I've listened to so far (mainly the piano music) have been excellent - not 'great for the price', just 'great' full-stop. I haven't acquired the semi-legendary Julius Katchen set on Decca yet, but the Brilliant set bears favourable comparison with my other Brahms piano CDs (featuring all the usual big-guns - Kovacevich , Lupu , etc.).

As for the DG set, I received an order confirmation on Friday but nothing more. I believe that the seller must e-mail a 'dispatch notification' before Amazon.co.uk will debit the funds from your account, so like my fellow purchasers I remain in a state of limbo.

At least the order hasn't been cancelled outright (yet). Watch this space... :)

Benji

Chandos are offering their Bax symphonies box set for £17.61, half the price of MDT and a good £7/8 cheaper than the cheapest Amazon price.

http://www.theclassicalshop.net/details06.asp?CNumber=CHAN%2010122


listener

At hbdirect.com the 4-disc set of the complete Busoni transcriptions is $24.99, and there's a $5 off coupon on the cover of the current issue of ARG for orders over $50
ARG is mildly enthusiastic about the set, but agrees good for the price.
"Keep your hand on the throttle and your eye on the rail as you walk through life's pathway."

Papy Oli

Quote from: AnthonyAthletic on November 09, 2009, 01:37:03 PM
Anyone got this at the bargain price...do keep us informed.

Re the Brahms DG box, got two emails late this afternoon :

- Amazon UK confirming despatch of the Brahms box from the reseller

- the Reseller also confirming despatch

but...

the reseller, although quoting the right amazon order ref, is advising he is sending a Bellini/Norma CD and quoting a different reseller name in the email title....so God knows what happened there...No quite Brahmsian, is it...  ::)

I have emailed them back asking to check and advise...we shall see...  :-\

Olivier

ammar

Yep, got the same two e-mails early yesterday morning - I'm putting off contacting the seller until the order arrives, hopefully the 'Bellini - Norma' reference is just some sort of administrative mistake *crosses fingers*.

If they've already dispatched the order, there's nothing they can do to rectify it at the moment - rest assured, if it's not the Brahms set, it's going back :( (unless of course it's an ultra rare, previously unreleased performance featuring Callas in the title roll  :)).

Papy Oli

hi Ammar

how strange that you got those as well... reassuring to an extent i guess...  it could indeed be an automated database typo..  8)
Olivier

AnthonyAthletic

Quote from: papy on November 13, 2009, 09:21:14 AM
Re the Brahms DG box, got two emails late this afternoon :

- Amazon UK confirming despatch of the Brahms box from the reseller

- the Reseller also confirming despatch

Olivier, Ammar,

Hahahahaha, classic.  I have just arrived home from work and checked my email and lo and behold email #1 tells me of Bellini and the other #2 tells me of Brahms.

I will check how much £££'s have come out of my account and wait to see what arrives.

I will keep you both informed, and let me know how you go  ;D

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

AnthonyAthletic

Sanderling's Sibelius Berlin SO Cycle, on Berlin Classics.

Sibelius_Sanderling

A few suppliers, Stateside from £3 to £4.  Down from the UK price of £25+



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


Papy Oli

Quote from: AnthonyAthletic on November 13, 2009, 03:02:24 PM
I have just arrived home from work and checked my email and lo and behold email #1 tells me of Bellini and the other #2 tells me of Brahms.

Got a reply from the supplier - Looks I'll be getting the Norma  :-\ ... the Brahms DG box is not an item they list and they claim it is an incorrect listing under that number at Amazon... I am given the possibility to return the CD freepost when i get it for refund.... damn..
Olivier

AnthonyAthletic

Quote from: papy on November 16, 2009, 06:10:18 AM
Got a reply from the supplier - Looks I'll be getting the Norma  :-\ ... the Brahms DG box is not an item they list and they claim it is an incorrect listing under that number at Amazon... I am given the possibility to return the CD freepost when i get it for refund.... damn..

That's a shame Olivier,

I will have a look at the set and more likely than not send it back.  There will more likely than not be a returns slip inside, just a case of watching the bank/card statement for the refund.

Will let you know what happens.

Happy I bought the Brill Box Brahms set now  :D

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

Papy Oli

#256
I did actually check what came up for Norma/Bellini on youtube, not knowing what would be hitting me and my credit card ... I am not into Operas but i am now praying we're getting a CD with La Callas  ;D... so that's where that tune is from..(casta diva)...listened to the overture as well..that isn't too shabby either  ;D

i might consider keeping it then to explore....unless we get charged something silly of course...

EDIT : judging by the reference number in the supplier's email 4778186 , it looks like i will receive this one :

http://www.prestoclassical.co.uk/r/DG/4778186

is it any good ?  ???
Olivier

ammar

#257
Well, a package arrived for me in the post today and sure enough...

* It's Bellini's Norma conducted by Levine on DG >:( *

I contacted Findprice and was told that, according to their records, 'this was the item that I ordered' >:( >:(

Anyway, I've sent it back (cellophane intact) to their returns department and they're happy to refund it (I tried pushing for a replacement Brahms set but, surprisingly enough, they don't have any in stock). Was it too good to be true? well, I've had my own share of good luck in the past when dealing with Amazon marketplace sellers (Kondrashin's Shostakovich cycle on Melodiya for £5, Goodall's Ring cycle on Chandos for £10, Nikolayeva's Beethoven set on Scribendum for £8, etc) that I 'never look a gift horse in the mouth' - I would have made a terrible Trojan!. At least this little debacle will have provided a modicum of pleasure to those onlookers who failed to take advantage of the 'bargain' on offer ::)

Olivier - Norma is a classic Bel Canto (can belto? ;) ) opera, well worth acquiring even for non-opera buffs, but you can pick up one of Callas' legendary recordings for around half the price of the Levine set. I'm not even sure if a libretto is included in the DG box, I was in such a hurry to repackage it and send it back that I forgot to check!

Just to keep this thread on topic: I've been filling out my collection of Handel's Operas / Oratorios (as I'm sure have many of my fellow GMGers) and came across a couple of fine offers -

HMV (big UK music retailer, not as classically orientated now as in the era of shellac 78rpms ;) ) are offering all of Hyperion's opera/oratorio recordings for £11.99 delivered including the three disc sets - Ottone and Joseph & His Brethren. All of the two disc sets can be had through Zavvi or The Hut for £10 delivered:



http://hmv.com/hmvweb/displayProductDetails.do?sku=392734



http://hmv.com/hmvweb/displayProductDetails.do?sku=668680

Zavvi - http://www.zavvi.com/home.dept

thehut - http://www.thehut.com/home.dept


Papy Oli

Quote from: ammar on November 16, 2009, 02:05:14 PM
Well, a package arrived for me in the post today and sure enough...

* It's Bellini's Norma conducted by Levine on DG >:( *

I contacted Findprice and was told that, according to their records, 'this was the item that I ordered' >:( >:(

Anyway, I've sent it back (cellophane intact) to their returns department and they're happy to refund it (I tried pushing for a replacement Brahms set but, surprisingly enough, they don't have any in stock). Was it too good to be true?

....

Olivier - Norma is a classic Bel Canto (can belto? ;) ) opera, well worth acquiring even for non-opera buffs, but you can pick up one of Callas' legendary recordings for around half the price of the Levine set. I'm not even sure if a libretto is included in the DG box, I was in such a hurry to repackage it and send it back that I forgot to check!


ah well, it was worth a shot  8)
Olivier

PerfectWagnerite

Quote from: Maciek on November 16, 2009, 04:15:48 AM
JPC has the EMI Karajan opera box (72 CDs) for 60 euros:
http://www.jpc.de/jpcng/classic/detail/-/art/Herbert-von-Karajan-Complete-EMI-Recordings-Opera-Vocal/hnum/1815685
I got that set brand new for 60 USD ;D

Not that I have cracked it open yet. That seems to be the problem with these mega sets, I have a bunch of them and none of them I have listened to. Maybe 20 years from now when they are really OOP I can ebay them and sell them for a nifty profit.