The EMI/Karajan megaboxes

[Lethevich]

Erato suggested that anybody who has bought these very cheap boxes should have a single place to make comments on them, and perhaps give an impression of them to potential buyers, so here it is The complete tracklist for the orchestra box can be found here and the opera box here.

So far I've only listened to the Balakirev/Roussel (disc 10) which sounds very good for its age, and the music - both symphonies are new to me - is delightful!

[head-case]

BTW, the thing is available in the US as well
http://www.tower.com/details/details.cfm?wapi=111716100

[Lethevich]

BTW, the thing is available in the US as well
http://www.tower.com/details/details.cfm?wapi=111716100

Coolie. I didn't bother linking Amazon as when I last checked it was $300.

[head-case]

Coolie. I didn't bother linking Amazon as when I last checked it was $300.

I see they boosted the price since I got my order in.  It was $130, not its $215.  At this point purchasing from one of the UK suppliers would be cheaper.

[Sergeant Rock]

I see they boosted the price since I got my order in.  It was $130, not its $215.  At this point purchasing from one of the UK suppliers would be cheaper.

The price at JPC has risen, too, although not so drastically (€99 originally, now €119.99). I wonder if this reflects a greater interest in the set than they anticipated?

Sarge

[Drasko]

It may sound like a tedious proposition but do check your boxes for content. It seems there had been some errors, at least in some cases.

CD 36 contains the wrong music. New CDs will be sent to (the)
distribution centre on (sic) this week.

CD 46 has the incorrect information in the booklet. In the booklet it
says Handel Water music, track 10-13. This music does not appear on
this CD. However, Handel's Water Music does appear on CD86, tracks
13-18.

CD66 has the incorrect information in the booklet. This CD has 6
tracks and shouldn't say that tracks 7-9 are the Mozart Bassoon
Concerto.

CD67 has the incorrect information in the booklet. This CD has 6
tracks and shouldn't say that tracks 7-9 are the Mozart Bassoon
Concerto.

[The new erato]

No wonder the price rises with all the extra material they have to send out!

[head-case]

It may sound like a tedious proposition but do check your boxes for content. It seems there had been some errors, at least in some cases.

Where is that quote from?

[Drasko]

Where is that quote from?

r.m.c.r.

[Lethevich]

Thanks for the warning, Drasko - EMI's classical division seems extremely prone to these silly mistakes.

On topic: I've been listening to the early Tchaikovsky symphony recordings - they are excellent, and presumably better than the supposedly very uninspired ones boxed together on DG. I don't have much to compare these to, but the recorded sound is surprisingly good for the 40s/50s - fortunate that Karajan was able to record so much under EMI in decent sound, something which is sadly not the case for Furtwängler and others... Despite the age of the recordings, the Philharmonia sounds impressive in these recordings - more so than my memories of the Jansons/Oslo set on Chandos, although not as stunning as in the later 6th with Guilini (EMI 1971) - that performance has huge gravitas...

[head-case]

r.m.c.r.

That was a mind blower.  Just to know that guy Mathew B. Tepper is still around and hasn't stopped typing away in the decade since I looked at that group.

I'll have something to say about the actual music if they send me the set in the end, which is beginning to seem doubtful.

[The new erato]

From the mdt.co.uk website:

It has been brought to our attention that this box set has several faults. Please do not return we will be sending correct discs when available.

The box set at present has been withdrawn we are still taking orders and will send out as soon as the new and corrected set is available.

5120382 Karajan Edition Volume 1 EMI.

[head-case]

From the mdt.co.uk website:

It has been brought to our attention that this box set has several faults. Please do not return we will be sending correct discs when available.

The box set at present has been withdrawn we are still taking orders and will send out as soon as the new and corrected set is available.

5120382 Karajan Edition Volume 1 EMI.

I guess this is to be expected.  The inside joke that "EMI" stands for "Every Mistake Imaginable" is not without cause. 

Last time I purchased an EMI DVD they had put a PAL signal on a disc which was supposed to be NTSC.  It was not a case of putting the wrong disc in the box, they actually manufactured a disc that had region 1 designation but PAL format video data.

Any hope I had of receiving this set any time soon is evaporating fast.

[The new erato]

Or, as I've heard:"if you want to get rid of AIDS, let EMI distribute it".

[PerfectWagnerite]

Does the big vocal box come with both the mono and stereo Rosenkavalier?

[Lethevich]

Does the big vocal box come with both the mono and stereo Rosenkavalier?

Searching the keyword on MDT's tracklisting makes it appear that only the 1957 recording is included.

[Sergeant Rock]

Does the big vocal box come with both the mono and stereo Rosenkavalier?

No, it doesn't, unfortunately. It only has the stereo version. But given a choice I'd take the stereo anyway because the balance between singers and orchestra is more realistic, theatrically, than the mono.

Sarge

[PerfectWagnerite]

Okay, thanks guys.

[M forever]

Wasn't that te stereo and mono versions of the same recording? Because if not, then the box would not be a "complete"  edition.

[Sergeant Rock]

Searching the keyword on MDT's tracklisting makes it appear that only the 1957 recording is included.

Hey, Lethe...same performance but different master tapes. Stereo being in its infancy, Walter Legge decided to record in both stereo and mono, using different microphone set ups and different engineers. The two results sound quite different: the mono is warmer, the singers closeup and personal; the stereo has a more realistic soundstage, with greater orchestral detail but a thinner sound.

Sarge