Big name artists in big box sets

[dirkronk]

A thread on another webgroup made me aware of a couple of really big box sets from Decca/Philips and I admit I'm pretty amazed--both by the size and price of the sets AND by the artists included. Makes me wonder what other big sets from major labels are out there, but flying under my radar.

First, there's a Violin Masterworks 35-cd box:
Second, there's a sort of matching Piano Masterworks 50-cd box:

http://decca.ddd.de/
(sorry--linking issues: go to this website and type "masterwork" into the top search bar on the left. The results should give you four options, including the piano box in black and the violin box indicated by an "image not available" marker)

Check out the tracklists for these things. We're talking major artists, not no-names. I might take issue with specific choices--some appear to be second-level selections even though done by big names: Kremer's Bach sonatas & partitas when they could have included Grumiaux? And I'm not that enamored of some of Szeryng's concertos from his Philips days, although I certainly wouldn't call them bad at all. Still, there's a pretty impressive array of top choices, as well. Examples? The Grumiaux/Haskil LvB v/p sonata set is here, there's a LOT of Grumiaux in fact, along with Kremer, Haebler, Szeryng, Chung (yup, the famous Bartoks), Joshua Bell, lots of others.

The piano box is star-studded, too. Richter (Brahms & Haydn), Argerich, Kempff, Schiff (lots of Bach), Gulda (Bach WTC), Haskil, Kocsis and others. Again, their selections don't always conform to my preference--and I see a number of "very good but others are better" sort of items.

But here's the deal: if I didn't have a huge number of these performances already, I'd be damn tempted. And if a newbie asked for a good way to get really good performances, all in one place AND cheap, I probably wouldn't hesitate to urge him/her to grab both of the boxes. They're not quite as cheap in the US as in Europe (at least, not at the moment...maybe that'll change as more online dealers get them), but they're already almost at Brilliant box set prices as it is. About a couple of bucks per disc, overall.

So I'm starting this thread, hoping that others will pipe up and tell us what they do/don't like about various performances included in these boxes. And perhaps to discuss other similar "big box" bargains that include major name artists or superior performances. I don't know how long this trend will last, but I figure we should share the knowledge while the products are out there...especially THIS cheap.

Cheers,

Dirk

[Guido]

A thread on another webgroup made me aware of a couple of really big box sets from Decca/Philips and I admit I'm pretty amazed--both by the size and price of the sets AND by the artists included. Makes me wonder what other big sets from major labels are out there, but flying under my radar.

First, there's a Violin Masterworks 35-cd box:

http://decca.ddd.de/tracklist.p3p?produ ... 0221515045

Second, there's a sort of matching piano box:

http://decca.ddd.de/
(click on the Piano Masterworks icon if the "tracklist" header isn't already visible on the right side of the screen)

Check out the tracklists for these things. We're talking major artists, not no-names. I might take issue with specific choices--some appear to be second-level selections even though done by big names: Kremer's Bach sonatas & partitas when they could have included Grumiaux? And I'm not that enamored of some of Szeryng's concertos from his Philips days, although I certainly wouldn't call them bad at all. Still, there's a pretty impressive array of top choices, as well. Examples? The Grumiaux/Haskil LvB v/p sonata set is here, there's a LOT of Grumiaux in fact, along with Kremer, Haebler, Szeryng, Chung (yup, the famous Bartoks), Joshua Bell, lots of others.

The piano box is star-studded, too. Richter (Brahms & Haydn), Argerich, Kempff, Schiff (lots of Bach), Gulda (Bach WTC), Haskil, Kocsis and others. Again, their selections don't always conform to my preference--and I see a number of "very good but others are better" sort of items.

But here's the deal: if I didn't have a huge number of these performances already, I'd be damn tempted. And if a newbie asked for a good way to get really good performances, all in one place AND cheap, I probably wouldn't hesitate to urge him/her to grab both of the boxes. They're not quite as cheap in the US as in Europe (at least, not at the moment...maybe that'll change as more online dealers get them), but they're already almost at Brilliant box set prices as it is. About a couple of bucks per disc, overall.

So I'm starting this thread, hoping that others will pipe up and tell us what they do/don't like about various performances included in these boxes. And perhaps to discuss other similar "big box" bargains that include major name artists or superior performances. I don't know how long this trend will last, but I figure we should share the knowledge while the products are out there...especially THIS cheap.

Cheers,

Dirk

Thanks for this... am sorely tempted by both. Also, neither of your links work...

There have been several Rostropovich boxed sets - this one is just astonishing:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mstislav-Rostropovich-Complete-EMI-Recordings/dp/B001EX5CHI/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1239718282&sr=8-4

26 CDs for £60 (or $68 on Amazon.com) and it's just CD after CD of gold. Also includes his superb 2 DVD set of Bach Suites. Includes in the CDs are the Rostropovich, the Russian years CDs, which are otherwise out of print. There is some duplication, in that some of the Russian years live recordings are of works he later made studio recordings of with EMI - Schumann, Prokofiev, Saint Saens, Dvorak, Strauss, Brahms and Myaskovsky concertos - but this is only a minor point I think when all else is considered

These Two are also amazing:

[nut-job]

A thread on another webgroup made me aware of a couple of really big box sets from Decca/Philips and I admit I'm pretty amazed--both by the size and price of the sets AND by the artists included. Makes me wonder what other big sets from major labels are out there, but flying under my radar.

First, there's a Violin Masterworks 35-cd box:
Second, there's a sort of matching Piano Masterworks 50-cd box:

http://decca.ddd.de/
(sorry--linking issues: go to this website and type "masterwork" into the top search bar on the left. The results should give you four options, including the piano box in black and the violin box indicated by an "image not available" marker)

Check out the tracklists for these things. We're talking major artists, not no-names. I might take issue with specific choices--some appear to be second-level selections even though done by big names: Kremer's Bach sonatas & partitas when they could have included Grumiaux? And I'm not that enamored of some of Szeryng's concertos from his Philips days, although I certainly wouldn't call them bad at all. Still, there's a pretty impressive array of top choices, as well. Examples? The Grumiaux/Haskil LvB v/p sonata set is here, there's a LOT of Grumiaux in fact, along with Kremer, Haebler, Szeryng, Chung (yup, the famous Bartoks), Joshua Bell, lots of others.

The piano box is star-studded, too. Richter (Brahms & Haydn), Argerich, Kempff, Schiff (lots of Bach), Gulda (Bach WTC), Haskil, Kocsis and others. Again, their selections don't always conform to my preference--and I see a number of "very good but others are better" sort of items.

But here's the deal: if I didn't have a huge number of these performances already, I'd be damn tempted. And if a newbie asked for a good way to get really good performances, all in one place AND cheap, I probably wouldn't hesitate to urge him/her to grab both of the boxes. They're not quite as cheap in the US as in Europe (at least, not at the moment...maybe that'll change as more online dealers get them), but they're already almost at Brilliant box set prices as it is. About a couple of bucks per disc, overall.

So I'm starting this thread, hoping that others will pipe up and tell us what they do/don't like about various performances included in these boxes. And perhaps to discuss other similar "big box" bargains that include major name artists or superior performances. I don't know how long this trend will last, but I figure we should share the knowledge while the products are out there...especially THIS cheap.

Cheers,

Dirk

I agree it's terrific, but I would say this is the last thing I'd recommend to a Newbie.  These sets typically come with no program notes except for a track list.  When I was less experienced reading well written notes helped me understand what I was listening to.  Even now, when I listen to a disc from one of my enormous "bricks" like the Karajan EMI edition, I find myself fishing out another recording to have program notes to look at before queuing up the track.  That is one of the things that the downloading generation is missing when they get their Beethoven sonatas from iTunes.  Instead of having a nice document that gives them an introduction to the music they have 100 more tracks swimming in their iTunes shuffle.  It's a loss.

[Opus106]

That is one of the things that the downloading generation is missing when they get their Beethoven sonatas from iTunes.  Instead of having a nice document that gives them an introduction to the music they have 100 more tracks swimming in their iTunes shuffle.  It's a loss.

It's not a loss. Since they are members of the downloading generation, it will not be hard for them to find a write-up somewhere on the internet - even good ones. (Hey, they can even have the scores instantly if they want to.)

By the way, don't take me wrong, I'm all for well-written liner-notes supplied with the CD. (I am usually frustrated to find top labels like DG provide a few-page booklet pamphlet showering praises on the artist(s) in three different languages, with only a few lines left for the work itself.) But when it comes to cost/disc vs. liner notes, I would - especially if I were (to recommend to) someone new to this music - opt for the former.

 

[dirkronk]

(1) These sets typically come with no program notes except for a track list. 
(2) When I was less experienced reading well written notes helped me understand what I was listening to. 

(1) Since I just became aware of these sets, I wasn't aware that they offered zero notes--although I've certainly run into that with some other boxes.
(2) I think the operative words here should be "well written"--although there are certainly exceptions, many of the liner notes on old LPs and similar writeups in CD booklets amount to little more than hype for the artist or label. But you're right, it's helpful to find real information when you're coming new into any unknown field.

However, I think opus67 is equally correct in pointing out the ease of finding useful info--not just on the internet but in libraries, etc. And his other comment--"But when it comes to cost/disc vs. liner notes, I would - especially if I were (to recommend to) someone new to this music - opt for the former."--is really the point I was trying to make with my newbie comment. These boxes are exceptionally cost-effective and at least fairly comprehensive in repertory. When I was a beginning classical listener, I always found it frustrating to have people say "Yeah, X is nice...but you really ought to listen to Y or Z" (fill in the letters with musical works OR names of performers)...especially when my budget only allowed for occasional purchases AND I wanted to find the "ideal" performance so as not to waste that limited cash. I'm guessing that today's listeners are no less strapped for cash.


Dirk

[Opus106]

To be released on 27 April 2009 [in the U.K., I guess] I think they have added the more recent releases to an already existing box.

http://www.mdt.co.uk/MDTSite/product//9014.htm

LEGENDARY RUSSIAN PIANISTS

Vladimir Ashkenazy
Lazar Berman
Samuil Feinberg
Yakov Flier
Andrei Gavrilov
Emil Gilels
Grigory Ginzburg
Vladimir Horowitz
Evgeny Kissin
Heinrich Neuhaus
Lev Oborin
Sviatoslav Richter
Vladimir Sofronitzky
Maria Yudina

• A fabulous survey of some of the greatest pianists of the past century and more to emerge from the great Russian tradition of piano playing and teaching. A must for all lovers of the piano.

• Of historical interest – many recordings are rare, and have been hitherto been unavailable on CD.

• Comprehensive booklet with detailed notes on every pianist and the recordings

• Guaranteed review coverage in the major classical music press



‘Russia is old, Russia is vast, Russia is mighty. But her advance in art, letters and music is comparatively recent’. So wrote Joseph Lhévinne in 1917. Mikhail Glinka emerged along with Pushkin, Turgenev and Tolstoy in the early 1800s and was to become the father of Russian music. At the same time as Glinka was establishing himself as the first nationalistic composerof the nation, the first great pianist-composer settled in Moscow - the Irishman John Field. Field can lay claimto not only inventing the nocturne, but also to laying the foundation stone of what would become the great piano school of Russia. The latest students of this great tradition are very much with us today: Lugansky, Kissin and Demidenko can all be found in this set.



This remarkable 25CD survey of some of the great Russian pianists of past and present follows the tradition from those who can, through their teachers, trace a direct lineage to Clementi, Field, Beethoven, Czerny, Henselt and Liszt. The Rubinstein brothers Anton and Nikolai established the St Petersburg and Moscow Conservatories, and from the 1840s, Russia started to produce the first of the great virtuosos. Great names such as Neuhaus and Horowitz are to be found in this set, as well as Richter, Gilels – both with three CDs each – Berman, Ashkenazy, Pletnev, Gavrilov and many more. Other names (Konstantin Igumnov, Viktor Merzhanov, Yakov Zak) may be less familiar to Western ears, but will offer fascinating perspectives on the developing school of Russian pianism, and the subtly various approaches to phrase and timbre within it. The repertoire ranges from Russian warhorses such as the First Piano Concertos by Tchaikovsky and Prokofiev to intimate salon pieces such as Tchaikovsky’s The Seasons, including rarely heard works such as Kabalevsky’s set of Preludes. The monumental concertos by Brahms, Beethoven and others are well represented, as are the litmus tests of Classical and Romantic piano literature: there are several contrasting versions of Liszt’s B minor Sonata and Beethoven’s Sonata No.32.

[Coopmv]

Is there a big box for Georg Solti yet?

[George]

A thread on another webgroup made me aware of a couple of really big box sets from Decca/Philips and I admit I'm pretty amazed--both by the size and price of the sets AND by the artists included. Makes me wonder what other big sets from major labels are out there, but flying under my radar.

Second, there's a sort of matching Piano Masterworks 50-cd box:

http://decca.ddd.de/
(sorry--linking issues: go to this website and type "masterwork" into the top search bar on the left. The results should give you four options, including the piano box in black and the violin box indicated by an "image not available" marker)


The piano box is star-studded, too. Richter (Brahms & Haydn), Argerich, Kempff, Schiff (lots of Bach), Gulda (Bach WTC), Haskil, Kocsis and others. Again, their selections don't always conform to my preference--and I see a number of "very good but others are better" sort of items.

Looks like a mighty nice set, dirk! I've seen it around, but haven't bothered to look at it because the cover is cheap looking and I assumed it was poor.

Gavrilov's Goldberg's look's interesting. Luisada's mazurkas (only one CDs worth, though), Katchen's Chopin Ballades, a CD of Haskil's Mozart, Kocsis's Rach PC 1-4 Paganini, Roge's Satie, Barenboim's Schubert Impromptus, a CD of Kissin's Schubert...

So how much? $75? At $1.50 a CD for those performances, this one's a no brainer. Thanks for the heads-up! 

[Brian]

Another one has arrived.



From MusicWeb, the contents:
CD 1 [79:56]
MESSIAEN Turangalila-Symphonie

CD 2 [74:43]
DEBUSSY Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune; Images pour orchestre; Trois Nocturnes

CD 3 [76:41]
RACHMANINOV Symphony No. 2 in E minor, Op. 27
RAVEL Bolero

CD 4 [75:29]
SHOSTAKOVICH Symphony No. 8 in C minor, Op. 65
PROKOFIEV Symphony No. 1 in D, Op. 25 "Classical"

CD 5 [77:56]
PROKOFIEV Romeo and Juliet, Op. 64 Highlights from the ballet

CD 6 [78:07]
TCHAIKOVSKY Highlights from the ballet: Swan Lake, Op. 20; The Sleeping Beauty, Op. 66; The Nutcracker, Op. 71

CD 7 [73:40]
WALTON Belshazzar's Feast
ELGAR Variations on an Original Theme ("Enigma"), Op. 36
VAUGHAN WILLIAMS Fantasia on 'Greensleeves'

CD 8 [74:58]
HOLST The Planets
BRITTEN "Peter Grimes" – Four Sea Interludes, Op. 33a; Passacaglia, Op. 33b

CD 9 [72:27]
ORFF Carmina Burana
BARBER Adagio for Strings, Op. 11

CD 10 [76:01]
GERSHWIN Rhapsody in Blue (orch. Ferde Grofé); An American in Paris; Piano Concerto in F; Cuban Overture

One thing I didn't realize: his name was actually Andreas Ludwig Priwin. In the review, which is mainly a summary of the contents with some comments on each performance, Rob Barnett writes, "In short this set, which comes in a clamshell cardboard case and individual sleeves for each disc, brilliantly represents the always sincere Previn. The recordings have come up as fresh as proverbial paint."

[Grazioso]

Is there a big box for Georg Solti yet?

Afaik, no, though I'd certainly be interested in one. Happily, the "old majors" seem to be in the process of releasing giant box sets of their entire back catalogs, so we might get lucky.

Coming soon: Walter Legge Whistling in the Control Room: The Complete Edition

[Coopmv]

It is hard to understand why there is still no big box for Ormandy or Solti?

[The new erato]

It is hard to understand why there is still no big box for Ormandy?

No it's not. The rights are owned by Sony. Say no more.

[Grazioso]

[Brian]

Not big enough for us. 

[Coopmv]

Not big enough for us. 

Right on.  The Karajan Symphony Edition has 38 CD's.  The Gould's set has 80's.

[The new erato]

Not big enough for us. 

My reaction exactly. This is a meagre sampling of one of the most recorded conductors.

[Coopmv]

My reaction exactly. This is a meagre sampling of one of the most recorded conductors.

No wonder Sony is in such trouble.  Eugene Ormandy was Mr. Philadelphia for how long?  Almost a half-century?  Whoever that runs Sony Classical should be fired ...

[George]

No wonder Sony is in such trouble.  Eugene Ormandy was Mr. Philadelphia for how long?  Almost a half-century?  Whoever that runs Sony Classical should be fired ...

They were fired long ago, but since monkeys don't understand English, it didn't stick.

[Coopmv]

They were fired long ago, but since monkeys don't understand English, it didn't stick.

The incompetence at Sony Classical or is it now Sony/BMG (due to merger) is just astounding.  Both Universal (mainly DG) and EMI have been releasing these mega box sets that are probably quite profitable.  The only answer Sony has provided so far is that 80-CD Glenn Gould's set.  They can do much better than that.  What happens to the Bernstein and Ormandy tapes they have in the vault?

[Lethevich]

No it's not. The rights are owned by Sony. Say no more.

Hehe, nice one I agree, of all the majors, Sony has been by far the stupidest in letting mountains of wonders rot in unavailability