The Super-Duper Cheap Bargains Thread

[king ubu]

Hometown band ... 

I know ... but as I've only turned to classical seriously only two years back, I've not been able to attend too many concerts - and I nearly missed Zinman (who will quite at the end of this 2013/14 season). Saw him conduct the Brahms violin concerto with Frank Peter Zimmermann and the Jupiter symphony. Not too shabby, but really, Zimmermann was what it was all about!

But no, I won't give in this time ...

[Moonfish]

This looks like a great deal and a SDCB as it is only $54 at Amazon.
A collection of Strauss' operas on DVD from Arthaus. Any thoughts on this set?

[asin] B00HDE45HA[/asin]

http://arthaus-musik.com/dvd/sondereditionen/media/details/the_richard_strauss_collection.html

Brief video clip at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMdmMaTMC8A

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMdmMaTMC8A


Salome (Teatro alla Scala, Milan, 2007)
Iris Vermillion, Nadja Michael, Falk Struckmann, Peter Bronder / Daniel Harding / Luc Bondy

Elektra (Wiener Staatsoper, 1989)
Cheryl Studer, Brigitte Fassbaender, Eva Marton, Franz Grundheber, James King / Claudio Abbado / Harry Kupfer

Der Rosenkavalier (Bayerische Staatsoper, 1979)
Gwyneth Jones, Brigitte Fassbaender, Lucia Popp, Francisco Araiza / Carlos Kleiber / Otto Schenk

Ariadne auf Naxos (Salzburger Festspiele, 1965)
Sena Jurinac, Hildegard Hillebrecht, Reri Grist, Jess Thomas / Karl Böhm / Günther Rennert

Die Frau ohne Schatten (Aichi Art Theatre, Nagoya, Japan, 1992)
Peter Seiffert, Luana DeVol, Alan Titus, Janis Martin, Marjana Lipovek / Wolfgang Sawallisch / Ennosuke Ichikawa

Die Liebe der Danae (Deutsche Oper Berlin, 2011)
Manuela Uhl, Mark Delavan, Matthias Klink / Andrew Litton / Kirsten Harms

Capriccio (Opéra national de Paris, 2004)
Renée Fleming, Rainer Trost, Gerald Finley, Franz Hawlata, Anne Sofie von Otter / Ulf Schirmer / Robert Carsen

[Dancing Divertimentian]

This looks like a great deal and a SDCB as it is only $54 at Amazon.
A collection of Strauss' operas on DVD from Arthaus. Any thoughts on this set?

[asin] B00HDE45HA[/asin]

http://arthaus-musik.com/dvd/sondereditionen/media/details/the_richard_strauss_collection.html

Brief video clip at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMdmMaTMC8A


Salome (Teatro alla Scala, Milan, 2007)
Iris Vermillion, Nadja Michael, Falk Struckmann, Peter Bronder / Daniel Harding / Luc Bondy

Elektra (Wiener Staatsoper, 1989)
Cheryl Studer, Brigitte Fassbaender, Eva Marton, Franz Grundheber, James King / Claudio Abbado / Harry Kupfer

Der Rosenkavalier (Bayerische Staatsoper, 1979)
Gwyneth Jones, Brigitte Fassbaender, Lucia Popp, Francisco Araiza / Carlos Kleiber / Otto Schenk

Ariadne auf Naxos (Salzburger Festspiele, 1965)
Sena Jurinac, Hildegard Hillebrecht, Reri Grist, Jess Thomas / Karl Böhm / Günther Rennert

Die Frau ohne Schatten (Aichi Art Theatre, Nagoya, Japan, 1992)
Peter Seiffert, Luana DeVol, Alan Titus, Janis Martin, Marjana Lipovek / Wolfgang Sawallisch / Ennosuke Ichikawa

Die Liebe der Danae (Deutsche Oper Berlin, 2011)
Manuela Uhl, Mark Delavan, Matthias Klink / Andrew Litton / Kirsten Harms

Capriccio (Opéra national de Paris, 2004)
Renée Fleming, Rainer Trost, Gerald Finley, Franz Hawlata, Anne Sofie von Otter / Ulf Schirmer / Robert Carsen

I haven't seen any of these myself. And getting any bearings from the YouTube clips is tough.

What I can say that might be helpful is musically I'd think the Sawallisch and Schirmer should be good as I actually own both of their commercial recordings of these works on CD (cast/orchestra totally different, however) and they are genuinely first-rate recordings. Recommendable without question (though Böhm's Capriccio is still hard to beat on CD). So at least they both know their way around the respective scores.

Böhm is also a fine Straussian but on CD his Strauss opera recordings can be hampered by indifferent sound (Capriccio excepted), since many are live and many are from the early days of stereo (commercial release wasn't necessarily a consideration anyway in many cases). The YouTube clip here gives the impression of much the same. But it might be worth the gamble.

I'm not the biggest Abbado fan and I have no idea of his credentials in Strauss (has he recorded much?) but one aspect of his output on CD I've never been afraid of is his opera recordings. I've found the stage to bring out the best in him on disc (never heard him live) and I'd be very tempted to buy anything Straussian (opera) by him were it available on CD. So take that FWIW.

As for Carlos Kleiber I'd take a risk on him in anything any day (the only exception perhaps being his DG Beethoven). And his cast here looks fantastic!

Speaking of the casts, the singers throughout this set are no doubt of the front ranks (at least of those I've heard), so at least that should bring some peace of mind. Whether they're in good voice and have been sympathetically caught by the microphones is another matter.

And speaking of microphone pickup, one of the toughest things to do even under studio conditions is finding the sweet spot between orchestra and singers. Balance is key. I run from recordings in which there's inadequate orchestral presentation vis-à-vis the singers. And Strauss is about as complex as it gets with his orchestrations. So the big question for me is just how successful is the audio portion of these videos when it comes to balance. I can't help with that, which is no help at all, but it's something to consider.   

 

[Ken B]

Period Mozart under $16

[asin]B00GZHRDHA[/asin]

[Que]

Period Mozart under $16

[asin]B00GZHRDHA[/asin]

Found those recoings in a previous incarnation a heavy disappointment: brash, abrasive, pushed over the top.

Harnoncourt did set out to turn these works is something they are not, he definitely failed IMO...

Q

[Mookalafalas]

This looks like a great deal and a SDCB as it is only $54 at Amazon.
A collection of Strauss' operas on DVD from Arthaus. Any thoughts on this set?

[asin] B00HDE45HA[/asin]

  couldn't resist.

[Moonfish]

  couldn't resist.

I couldn't either...   

[Ken B]

  couldn't resist.

I couldn't either...   

[mc ukrneal]

The Abeille sale has a few sets at a good price:
1. Stanislaw Skrowaczewski 28 disc set (including all Bruckner) for EUR 33 (or 27 no VAT)
2. Wagner Ring Keilberth for EUR 70 (or 59 no VAT)
3. Hungerford Beethoven Legacy EUR 11/9.5

[listener]

Price at amazon.ca $Cdn 66.46 might be a bit higher than the American price converted, but it includes shipping in Canada.

[Que]

The SEON collection is hovering around the 130 Euro mark....



https://pricenoia.com/seon-collection

Hard call - get in early or not?   

It can sometimes be a smart thing, the last time around I got the Rosss/Scarlatti set (now reissued for a 2nd time) for the "introductory price". It did not ever return to that price level for several years.....

Q

[The new erato]

The SEON collection is hovering around the 130 Euro mark....



https://pricenoia.com/seon-collection

Hard call - get in early or not?   

It can sometimes be a smart thing, the last time around I got the Rosss/Scarlatti set (now reissued for a 2nd time) for the "introductory price". It did not ever return to that price level for several years.....

Q

I have; at amazon UK.

[Que]

I have; at amazon UK.

Can you cancel before dispatch?

Q

[The new erato]

I think so.

[Moonfish]

Can you cancel before dispatch?

Q

Definitely - I do it all the time.   
As long as it is from the main Amazon unit as it is harder to cancel MP sellers.

[Mookalafalas]

I'm going to wait on this one, I think.  There are a lot of SEON discs in the Vivarte and Leonhardt boxes, and those can be had for rates that average less than $1 per disc--suggesting they leased the rights for a very low price to Sony.  Perhaps the price of this box will also become very low?

[bigshot]

I used to be shy on piano music and baroque, but with all these big boxes, I'm top-heavy on both. Time for other focuses for a while.

[Que]

I'm going to wait on this one, I think.  There are a lot of SEON discs in the Vivarte and Leonhardt boxes, and those can be had for rates that average less than $1 per disc--suggesting they leased the rights for a very low price to Sony.  Perhaps the price of this box will also become very low?

SEON, once upon a time started by Philips (hence the many Dutch artists) as their Early Music and Baroque label, was passed on the CBS and that is how the catalogue finally ended up in the hands of Sony.

Q

[Mookalafalas]

SEON, once upon a time started by Philips (hence the many Dutch artists) as their Early Music and Baroque label, was passed on the CBS and that is how the catalogue finally ended up in the hands of Sony.

Q

  Oh, so completely owned by Sony.  Better yet (as far as possible cheapness goes)--Sony's Perahia and Giulini boxes, as well as the Vivarte, are stupid cheap.  I'm going to try to stay patient on this one and see what happens

[Que]

  Oh, so completely owned by Sony.  Better yet (as far as possible cheapness goes)--Sony's Perahia and Giulini boxes, as well as the Vivarte, are stupid cheap.  I'm going to try to stay patient on this one and see what happens

After some contemplation, and meditation on the nature of CDCDCD, I decided to bide my time as well...

Q