The Super-Duper Cheap Bargains Thread

[bigshot]

I just received the Baroque box from Amazon.de. It's a second release, but it's half the price this time around. Great bargain.

Abbado's Mendelssohn is conducted like he's reading the telephone book. I've got dozens of better versions. That Abbado symphonies box was a great disappointment to me. But thankfully, the Bernstein, Walter and Wand boxes all more than made up for one bum box.

[Mookalafalas]

I just received the Baroque box from Amazon.de. It's a second release, but it's half the price this time around. Great bargain.

Abbado's Mendelssohn is conducted like he's reading the telephone book. I've got dozens of better versions. That Abbado symphonies box was a great disappointment to me. But thankfully, the Bernstein, Walter and Wand boxes all more than made up for one bum box.

  I'm sorry to hear you say that.  I bought the Abbado when it came out (for a very good price) but hadn't played anything in it for months until the Schubert today, but mostly because I've bought a lot of similar boxes since then.  I remember playing the Mendelssohn and not being impressed, but as I DON't have much else, I figured Mendelssohn's symphonic stuff was just dull.  I figured I wasn't playing it because I had too much other good stuff rather than it was particularly bad... Anyway, I really enjoyed that Schubert, and his Eroica [but then, I always like the Eroica], and supposedly his Brahms cycle is excellent.  The Mozart and Haydn are OK, but as there is so much that is superb, that isn't much recommendation, I guess. 
  By the way, which Wand box do you have? There is a really interesting box at my local shop that is almost all live stuff with lots of repeats.  I hear variously that Wand is A. an unsung hero,  B. A fine middle of the road guy and C. [from the Brits] that it is a complete mystery that anyone thinks he is worth listening to.

[Octave]

I just received the Baroque box from Amazon.de. It's a second release, but it's half the price this time around. Great bargain.

Which box is this, Bigshot?  I glanced back over the last several pages of this thread, but if there was mention of it, I am missing it.

Opinion on Abbado seems to be wildly split, piquing my interest in him.  I've heard so many dismissals and so much praise for various of his performances---both from people whose taste I value, sometimes both from the same people---I finally decided to just risk the acquisition.  You are of course not alone in your distaste for his Mendelssohn; but even with those recordings, I read a glowing appreciation of at least one of them from a GMGer whose opinions I tend to follow, jsut recently.  I mean, I've also heard both Wand and Walter described as boring or outmoded or merely-adequate as well, and it turns out I'm happy not to have heeded that advice....'taste' is just an account.  To paraphrase Prince: if U can't trust connoisseurs, who can U trust?

I will grant you that I already have Dohnanyi's and Karajan's Mendelssohn for backup!   I am not diving w/o parachute.   

[Harry]

To paraphrase Prince: if U can't trust connoisseurs, who can U trust?

I will grant you that I already have Dohnanyi's and Karajan's Mendelssohn for backup!   I am not diving w/o parachute. 

I consider Dohnanyi as the best performance on the market, but Karajan has also very interesting things to say about them.
I am waiting on a good HIP release, this would certainly tempt me to augment my collection.

[Moonfish]

Which box is this, Bigshot?  I glanced back over the last several pages of this thread, but if there was mention of it, I am missing it.

Opinion on Abbado seems to be wildly split, piquing my interest in him.  I've heard so many dismissals and so much praise for various of his performances---both from people whose taste I value, sometimes both from the same people---I finally decided to just risk the acquisition.  You are of course not alone in your distaste for his Mendelssohn; but even with those recordings, I read a glowing appreciation of at least one of them from a GMGer whose opinions I tend to follow, jsut recently.  I mean, I've also heard both Wand and Walter described as boring or outmoded or merely-adequate as well, and it turns out I'm happy not to have heeded that advice....'taste' is just an account.  To paraphrase Prince: if U can't trust connoisseurs, who can U trust?

I will grant you that I already have Dohnanyi's and Karajan's Mendelssohn for backup!   I am not diving w/o parachute. 

Octave!
I think it is this set:
http://www.amazon.de/Meisterwerke-Barock-Limited-Various/dp/B001CBX2RO/ref=sr_1_2?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1396249084&sr=1-2&keywords=barock

[Octave]

I consider Dohnanyi as the best performance on the market[...]

One spin and it was just overflowing with energy and joy.  I remember similar qualities in Dohnanyi's Beethoven series w/Clevelanders.  I am so glad to have both of those!
I too am keen on finding some HIP Mendelssohn symphonies....I'm surprised that there are not a surplus of them.  I thought he was season-subscriber-staple material.

Thanks for the Baroque Box link, Moonfish.  It looks great but unfortunately I already own so much of it.

[North Star]

One spin and it was just overflowing with energy and joy.  I remember similar qualities in Dohnanyi's Beethoven series w/Clevelanders.  I am so glad to have both of those!
I too am keen on finding some HIP Mendelssohn symphonies....I'm surprised that there are not a surplus of them.  I thought he was season-subscriber-staple material.

Thanks for the Baroque Box link, Moonfish.  It looks great but unfortunately I already own so much of it.

I bet this is nice:
[asin]B0029WUB5Q[/asin]

[Octave]

Thanks for that.  Based on Herreweghe's mostly-choral Mendelssohn recordings I've heard, I wonder if he would be great for at least some of the symphonies.  I only know his several HM discs including that wonderful MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S disc reissued by HM Gold.  (I got it in a small box with ELIJAH and PAULUS.)  Herreweghe's and also Maag's old famous disc with #3 are both reliable anti-depressants.

[Mookalafalas]

This is a mystery box (although very cheap in the UK and Germany). Amazon did not list the content so I found a list on the web. It looks intriguing in its own odd way so I am picking up a copy [I know - cdcdcdc...]
A case of SDCB???  Thoughts?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B001HAWUP0/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[asin] B001HAWUP0[/asin]

  Before Brian put up his info that this was a shady outfit, I had already made the plunge. Just came in today.  Pretty flimsy box and packaging (no surprise for such a cheap  set). 
  I'm just a few CDs in, but must confess I'm really lovin' it.  They may be evil fraudsters, but perhaps by distributing this kind of inexpensive aural joy they are atoning for their sins.  Actually, the website Brian linked to uses a lot of qualfiers "possibly fraudulent", etc.  Shazam just confirmed that Henry Adolph is the conductor, so if he is a fake, at least he's a productive one .  And I know that "The London Festival Orchestra" was more than a 1950s Decca house band cuz they play on 1967's "Days of Future Passed".  (The Moody Blues).   
   Anyway, even if it compromises my musical soul, I expect to be digging this Russian sound for a while. 

[North Star]

Henry Adolph certainly was a real person

[Moonfish]

  Before Brian put up his info that this was a shady outfit, I had already made the plunge. Just came in today.  Pretty flimsy box and packaging (no surprise for such a cheap  set). 
  I'm just a few CDs in, but must confess I'm really lovin' it.  They may be evil fraudsters, but perhaps by distributing this kind of inexpensive aural joy they are atoning for their sins.  Actually, the website Brian linked to uses a lot of qualfiers "possibly fraudulent", etc.  Shazam just confirmed that Henry Adolph is the conductor, so if he is a fake, at least he's a productive one .  And I know that "The London Festival Orchestra" was more than a 1950s Decca house band cuz they play on 1967's "Days of Future Passed".  (The Moody Blues).   
   Anyway, even if it compromises my musical soul, I expect to be digging this Russian sound for a while. 

That is cool! It is true that it is always an opportunity to explore - one can always move on to "better officially approved" versions whenever one feels like it. There is a lot of Russian music I am unfamiliar with. It would be great to hear more impressions of these recordings as you dig deeper into the set!   

[Pat B]

And I know that "The London Festival Orchestra" was more than a 1950s Decca house band cuz they play on 1967's "Days of Future Passed".  (The Moody Blues).

I'd guess that the group that played on "Days of Future Passed" was a pickup group. Deram was a subsidiary of Decca, so it made sense to bill them as Decca's old house orchestra (which may not have had any permanent membership even in the '50s).

Since 1980 the same name has been used by the orchestra led by Ross Pople. (I have no idea if they're any good.)

None of which are likely to be related to any Scholz production, from what I've read.

Enjoy the recordings but I'd say take the performer billings with a huge grain of salt.

ETA: sorry for the digression.

[Ken B]

  I'm sorry to hear you say that.  I bought the Abbado when it came out (for a very good price) but hadn't played anything in it for months until the Schubert today, but mostly because I've bought a lot of similar boxes since then.  I remember playing the Mendelssohn and not being impressed, but as I DON't have much else, I figured Mendelssohn's symphonic stuff was just dull.  I figured I wasn't playing it because I had too much other good stuff rather than it was particularly bad... Anyway, I really enjoyed that Schubert, and his Eroica [but then, I always like the Eroica], and supposedly his Brahms cycle is excellent.  The Mozart and Haydn are OK, but as there is so much that is superb, that isn't much recommendation, I guess. 
  By the way, which Wand box do you have? There is a really interesting box at my local shop that is almost all live stuff with lots of repeats.  I hear variously that Wand is A. an unsung hero,  B. A fine middle of the road guy and C. [from the Brits] that it is a complete mystery that anyone thinks he is worth listening to.

Wand:  B.............(KenB)..C

[Ken B]

  Before Brian put up his info that this was a shady outfit, I had already made the plunge. Just came in today.  Pretty flimsy box and packaging (no surprise for such a cheap  set). 
  I'm just a few CDs in, but must confess I'm really lovin' it.  They may be evil fraudsters, but perhaps by distributing this kind of inexpensive aural joy they are atoning for their sins.  Actually, the website Brian linked to uses a lot of qualfiers "possibly fraudulent", etc.  Shazam just confirmed that Henry Adolph is the conductor, so if he is a fake, at least he's a productive one .  And I know that "The London Festival Orchestra" was more than a 1950s Decca house band cuz they play on 1967's "Days of Future Passed".  (The Moody Blues).   
   Anyway, even if it compromises my musical soul, I expect to be digging this Russian sound for a while. 

I felt the need, at $19 shipping included, to investigate this myself.

[bigshot]

By the way, which Wand box do you have? There is a really interesting box at my local shop that is almost all live stuff with lots of repeats.  I hear variously that Wand is A. an unsung hero,  B. A fine middle of the road guy and C. [from the Brits] that it is a complete mystery that anyone thinks he is worth listening to.

I put Wand in the same category as Bohm. His Bruckner is fantastic, and his Schubert and Mendelssohn are perfect. For Beethoven, he's OK, but there's too much competition in that market for him to really stand out. I have the studio recordings box set, but I'd bet that live box is great.  I have a complete live Bruckner cycle with Wand on DVD and it is wonderful. Of all of the box sets I've gotten in the past year, the Wand was the most pleasant surprise. I definitely think he is underrated.

[Mirror Image]

I put Wand in the same category as Bohm. His Bruckner is fantastic, and his Schubert and Mendelssohn are perfect. For Beethoven, he's OK, but there's too much competition in that market for him to really stand out. I have the studio recordings box set, but I'd bet that live box is great.  I have a complete live Bruckner cycle with Wand on DVD and it is wonderful. Of all of the box sets I've gotten in the past year, the Wand was the most pleasant surprise. I definitely think he is underrated.

+1 Wand is my favorite Brucknerian. I, too, have those Bruckner DVD box sets (on TDK) and they're all first-rate.

[bigshot]

Which box is this, Bigshot?  I glanced back over the last several pages of this thread, but if there was mention of it, I am missing it.

Here is the Baroque box. It comes out shipped to the US at $72
http://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B001CBX2RO/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Abbado is a decent conductor, it's just that he is the modern "appropriate" style. There isn't a lot of individuality or charm. Walter and Wand have a Viennese flair that brings out the beauty and fun in Mendelssohn and Schubert, and makes the overall architecture of Bruckner more clear. Mendelssohn and Schubert are among my very favorite composers, so I'm a little picky about how they're performed.

The Mozart symphonies on the Abbado box is the best thing on it, probably because they are live recordings. Anything that adds a bit of  spark is a help.

[Mookalafalas]

Here is the Baroque box. It comes out shipped to the US at $72
http://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B001CBX2RO/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

curses, Bigshot! You made me do it again.  Order in. 

[bigshot]

Well, for $20 shipped from MovieMars, I had to get the Russian box too. I've seen these orchestras and conductors in some of those Amazon 99 cent MP3 box sets. Not bad at all, and I would think this repertoire would be perfect for them.

[Orpheus]

For CPE Bach addicted only!

http://www.amazon.it/Carl-Philipp-Emanuel-Bach-Complete/dp/B00IGJP0Q6/ref=sr_1_sc_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1396363801&sr=1-1-spell&keywords=bach+hannssler

Orpheus