The Super-Duper Cheap Bargains Thread

[kishnevi]

  I'll bet you are right. Or maybe just a Shosty box, like spinning Colin Davis's Berlioz into it's own box.

No need to wait.
There is a Shosty box--issued for DSCH's centennial year (one of several boxes, including the Emerson SQ cycle,  issued then,  and covering the major part of his output other than the film scores and ballets).
[asin]B000F3T7RO[/asin]
Although I suppose the pricing doesn't qualify it for this thread.

[DavidW]

Yes because Haitink's Shosty is very good. Will there be a 20th C box to follow?

That would be awesome!

[Ken B]

No need to wait.
There is a Shosty box--issued for DSCH's centennial year (one of several boxes, including the Emerson SQ cycle,  issued then,  and covering the major part of his output other than the film scores and ballets).
[asin]B000F3T7RO[/asin]
Although I suppose the pricing doesn't qualify it for this thread.

My eyes! My eyes! I'm a denizen of SDCBT. I can't handle numbers like that!

[Drosera]

No Shostakovich?  Seems like a glaring omission.

Only complete cycles (so no Dvorak, for example) and only cycles that were recorded with the Concertgebouw orchestra were included. So that means no Shostakovich, because half of that was with the LPO. (I agree that it's one of the best things Haitink has ever done.) And it's basically a repackaging of an earlier release of this collection.

I read the previous posts on it in one of these threads. Any further thoughts on that box or on Haitink in general? Did you buy it? How many Beethoven, Brahms, Bruckner, Mahler, Schumann and Tchaikovsky cycles will one end up with at the end of time at this rate? However, I am discovering that the recordings that are the "ones to own" do not always resonate with me. Lately I have become very fond of Solti and ponder if it is worthwhile to try a dosage of Haitink. Listening to different conductors is like trying on clothes....

Well, Haitink's no Solti, that's for sure.  I would say it's definitely worth owning if you're a Haitink admirer. Otherwise, I'm not really sure. Haitink's interpretation will never bowl you over with excitement. What you will get are deeply thought through interpretations (with a glorious orchestra) and a really firm grip on the architecture and tempo relations throughout a symphony. The Brahms and Bruckner are self-recommending, those are simply some of the best versions you can get. I was pleasantly surprised by the Beethoven. I'm glad Haitink waited with recording those until later in his career (recordings are from the 80s), very satisfying interpretations with plenty of new things to say. Tchaikovsky seems a really odd match for Haitink's temperament, but what you get is the answer to the question: "What if Tchaikovsky had been a late 19th century Viennese symphonist?" Russia is a long way away.
Haitink is a conductor in a similar vein to Sawallisch or Blomstedt (for example). Rather devoid of spectacle, but if you pay attention you'll notice that few other conductors have managed to penetrate deeper into the heart of the music.

Caveat: I am a bit of a Haitink fan (and not very fond of Solti). 

[Moonfish]

Well, Haitink's no Solti, that's for sure.  I would say it's definitely worth owning if you're a Haitink admirer. Otherwise, I'm not really sure. Haitink's interpretation will never bowl you over with excitement. What you will get are deeply thought through interpretations (with a glorious orchestra) and a really firm grip on the architecture and tempo relations throughout a symphony. The Brahms and Bruckner are self-recommending, those are simply some of the best versions you can get. I was pleasantly surprised by the Beethoven. I'm glad Haitink waited with recording those until later in his career (recordings are from the 80s), very satisfying interpretations with plenty of new things to say. Tchaikovsky seems a really odd match for Haitink's temperament, but what you get is the answer to the question: "What if Tchaikovsky had been a late 19th century Viennese symphonist?" Russia is a long way away.
Haitink is a conductor in a similar vein to Sawallisch or Blomstedt (for example). Rather devoid of spectacle, but if you pay attention you'll notice that few other conductors have managed to penetrate deeper into the heart of the music.

Caveat: I am a bit of a Haitink fan (and not very fond of Solti). 

Thanks Drosera! Interesting thoughts about Haitink. True - one does not exactly associate Haitink with Tchaikovsky. However, I was quite surprised as I listened to Celibidache's renditions of some of the war horses (e.g. I very much enjoyed Bach's B-minor). How different it came across with the shift of the tempo. I guess I am always interested in how different conductors envision music in unison with their orchestras. Your impressions of Haitink are well worth considering and they actually make me prone to take the jump (after all - I suffer from CDCDCD)............

[Mookalafalas]

Thanks Drosera! Interesting thoughts about Haitink. True - one does not exactly associate Haitink with Tchaikovsky. However, I was quite surprised as I listened to Celibidache's renditions of some of the war horses (e.g. I very much enjoyed Bach's B-minor). How different it came across with the shift of the tempo. I guess I am always interested in how different conductors envision music in unison with their orchestras. Your impressions of Haitink are well worth considering and they actually make me prone to take the jump (after all - I suffer from CDCDCD)............

X2

[Ken B]

Lotsa Mahler, under $20 at a marketplace

[asin]B0041LXX2G[/asin]

[stingo]

Lotsa Mahler, under $20 at a marketplace

[asin]B0041LXX2G[/asin]

What happened to 2 and 8?

[Ken B]

What happened to 2 and 8?

As a punishment the music gods zapped 2. As a reward they zapped 8.

[Jay F]

Lotsa Mahler, under $20 at a marketplace

[asin]B0041LXX2G[/asin]

I am now enjoying Levine's M4. When I consider I paid $12-16 for my first copy (HVK), it's a no-brainer to buy this box set for $20 and get all the rest. Levine's M3 and M7 are among my favorites.

What happened to 2 and 8?

They're more expensive to produce because of the chorus required. Most conductors leave M8 for last. Not so for M2, but it's much more popular.

[kishnevi]

What happened to 2 and 8?

He never recorded them for RCA, or at least they were never released (rather like Kondrashin). 
You can find two recordings in which he conducts the Second, one from Salzburg on the Orfeo label, which I found underwhelming and sonically not great,  and one with the Israel Philharmonic on the Helicon label, which I've never heard, but Amazon reviews seem to consider it also sonically sub-par, whatever the merits of the performance itself.

At this price, it's worth it if only for the recordings of the Fourth and Fifth (which I like, and  one of which was one of my first Mahler CDs),  but it does not have what I think is his best Mahler recording--the Ninth with the Munich Philharmonic--which is on Oehms.

ETA--I just realized I'm starting to sound like one of those people who can tell you every recording a conductor has done of a work, and which one is best, and why, at great length.  Sigh.

[mc ukrneal]

He never recorded them for RCA, or at least they were never released (rather like Kondrashin). 
You can find two recordings in which he conducts the Second, one from Salzburg on the Orfeo label, which I found underwhelming and sonically not great,  and one with the Israel Philharmonic on the Helicon label, which I've never heard, but Amazon reviews seem to consider it also sonically sub-par, whatever the merits of the performance itself.

At this price, it's worth it if only for the recordings of the Fourth and Fifth (which I like, and  one of which was one of my first Mahler CDs),  but it does not have what I think is his best Mahler recording--the Ninth with the Munich Philharmonic--which is on Oehms.

ETA--I just realized I'm starting to sound like one of those people who can tell you every recording a conductor has done of a work, and which one is best, and why, at great length.  Sigh.

The force is strong in this one!

[Ken B]

I am now enjoying Levine's M4. When I consider I paid $12-16 for my first copy (HVK), it's a no-brainer to buy this box set for $20 and get all the rest. Levine's M3 and M7 are among my favorites.

They're more expensive to produce because of the chorus required. Most conductors leave M8 for last. Not so for M2, but it's much more popular.

I posted it but I'm not buying it.
1 i have a cold turkey pact
2 i see some interesting boxes coming where I don't have the music

[Karl Henning]

He never recorded them for RCA, or at least they were never released (rather like Kondrashin). 
You can find two recordings in which he conducts the Second, one from Salzburg on the Orfeo label, which I found underwhelming and sonically not great,  and one with the Israel Philharmonic on the Helicon label, which I've never heard, but Amazon reviews seem to consider it also sonically sub-par, whatever the merits of the performance itself.

At this price, it's worth it if only for the recordings of the Fourth and Fifth (which I like, and  one of which was one of my first Mahler CDs),  but it does not have what I think is his best Mahler recording--the Ninth with the Munich Philharmonic--which is on Oehms.

ETA--I just realized I'm starting to sound like one of those people who can tell you every recording a conductor has done of a work, and which one is best, and why, at great length.  Sigh.

(* munches popcorn *)

[Ken B]

This recent discussion on the Mahler box sans 8 reminds me of the crunchy frog skit from Monty Python. Would you like that with or without lark's vomit? 

[Mookalafalas]

This recent discussion on the Mahler box sans 8 reminds me of the crunchy frog skit from Monty Python. Would you like that with or without lark's vomit? 

  OK, here's a weird 'un. This one went oop a long time ago. I actually bought one of these for about $270 and then sold it (unopened) on Ebay for about double that (minus various fees).  Anyway, apparently it wasn't a "limited edition" cuz it's back. I wonder if the price will later dip waaaay down like the Rubinstein?
[asin]B00467EKKO[/asin]

(seems the graphic won't come through--it's the 103 disc Jascha Heiffetz box)

[Moonfish]

  OK, here's a weird 'un. This one went oop a long time ago. I actually bought one of these for about $270 and then sold it (unopened) on Ebay for about double that (minus various fees).  Anyway, apparently it wasn't a "limited edition" cuz it's back. I wonder if the price will later dip waaaay down like the Rubinstein?

Wow - I did not even notice that! Perhaps the Rubinstein was a success or too many people complained about the Heifetz box being OOP so they finally got their act together.  Sony/RCA should make a Monteux box instead....

[Mookalafalas]

The Rubenstein is weird. It went down below $100 and now it is up to $275.  Weird stuff going on over there...

[hafod]

JPC has the Heifetz 'monster' box for €200 with a 'release' date of 21st February 2014.

http://www.jpc.de/jpcng/classic/detail/-/art/Jascha-Heifetz-The-Complete-Album-Collection/hnum/1140039

[Drosera]

JPC has the Heifetz 'monster' box for €200 with a 'release' date of 21st February 2014.

http://www.jpc.de/jpcng/classic/detail/-/art/Jascha-Heifetz-The-Complete-Album-Collection/hnum/1140039

Same price on Amazon.de: http://www.amazon.de/Complete-Album-Collection-Jascha-Heifetz/dp/B00467EKKO

Now if they would just rerelease the Horowitz box as well....