I have a few of those Black Saint/Soul Note boxes. I recommend the Threadgill, the Dixon (don't have the box but I own the individual CDs and they're life-changing), and the David Murray Octets. I also own the Muhal Richard Abrams one but I don't like his music as much as I thought I would when I ordered it (I was basically taking a chance). Worth noting that the Cyrille box has two albums by Maono, his band with David S. Ware and trumpeter Ted Daniel. Those are both killers.
― Humorist (horse) (誤訳侮辱), Tuesday, 25 March 2014 02:24 (ten years ago) link
Oh, and the boxes are small clamshells with slimline sleeves inside. Small and minimal.
12 Art Pepper albums for $6.99.
― the man with the black wigs (Eazy), Sunday, 19 October 2014 23:55 (nine years ago) link
Is it just me, or is the price of new CDs on Amazon skyrocketing lately?
― RAP GAME SHANI DAVIS (Raymond Cummings), Monday, 20 October 2014 00:48 (nine years ago) link
Wagner Great Recordings is currently going for under £12 on Marketplace. Most of the selections aren't exactly the definitive versions but it does include the full Janowski Ring which will set you back more than the cost of the 40-disc set on its own.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Richard-Wagner-Great-Recordings-R/dp/B00A2JTEHY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1419152996&sr=8-1&keywords=wagner+great+recordings
Presto have a sale that will bring a lot of the big boxes down to Amazonish prices until mid-Jan, for anyone that prefers to buy from independents.
http://www.prestoclassical.co.uk/boxsets.php
― Wristy Hurlington (ShariVari), Sunday, 21 December 2014 09:20 (nine years ago) link
I remember when Amazon had Amazon-ish prices...
(The recent Herzog box is now approaching 60 quid, up from 42)
― koogs, Sunday, 21 December 2014 11:09 (nine years ago) link
(Sorry, forgot this was ilm)
― koogs, Sunday, 21 December 2014 11:10 (nine years ago) link
Decent cuts to classical box sets this week:
60 CD Vivarte collection for £35, down from £50:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Vivarte-Collection-Various-Artists/dp/B00AOTZ156/ref=pd_sim_m_h__8?ie=UTF8&refRID=14A236F743TT9R6F9KNQ
27 disc Rameau opera box for £26, down from £38.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Rameau-Opera-Collection-J-P/dp/B00KYMJ4H4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1421262148&sr=8-1&keywords=rameau
55 disc Archiv Produktion anniversary box set at £60, down from £77
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Archiv-Produktion-1947-2013-Celebration-Excellence/dp/B00BCSBU4E/ref=pd_sim_m_h__6?ie=UTF8&refRID=14A236F743TT9R6F9KNQ
55 CD Mercury Living Presence box at £49, down from £70 - £90
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mercury-Living-Presence-Vol-2-Decca/dp/B00B7364H2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1421262156&sr=8-1&keywords=living+presence
― Wristy Hurlington (ShariVari), Wednesday, 14 January 2015 19:08 (nine years ago) link
54 disc Decca Sound down from £90 to £53:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Decca-Sound-The-Analogue-Years/dp/B00E0H8KAQ/ref=pd_sim_m_h__42?ie=UTF8&refRID=0ZSZGN8XSQG7J9FN5FE0
― Wristy Hurlington (ShariVari), Wednesday, 14 January 2015 20:10 (nine years ago) link
bargain classical boxes that i'm permanently on the verge of pulling the trigger on:
misuko uchida - mozart piano sonatasmaria lettberg - scriabin complete solo piano workssergiu celibidache - symphonies boxgyorgy ligeti - clear or cloudy: complete recordings on deutsche grammophon
― Ottbot jr (NickB), Wednesday, 14 January 2015 21:01 (nine years ago) link
Ligeti box IMO.
Decca Sound The Analogue Years is fucking fantastic but you MUST have a taste for warhorses or at least an openness to acquiring a taste for warhorses.
― a drug by the name of WORLD WITHOUT END (Jon Lewis), Wednesday, 14 January 2015 21:22 (nine years ago) link
Gah! I didn't even know about that Ligeti box! Fuuuuck...rrrg...yeah, probably just gonna go ahead and get that one.
― Montgomery Burns' Jazz (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Wednesday, 14 January 2015 21:37 (nine years ago) link
whenever i see these crazy budget-priced massive box sets i sort of weep inside for that guy who spent 50 years and a million bucks putting together an impeccable collection of classical music on vinyl and CD and now it's like "oh i have your entire collection for a week's wages."
― I dunno. (amateurist), Wednesday, 14 January 2015 21:43 (nine years ago) link
Even the first wave of box sets were ridiculously expensive. The Toscanini box was $2100 in 1991, adjusted for inflation. Now it's $120.
― Wristy Hurlington (ShariVari), Wednesday, 14 January 2015 21:51 (nine years ago) link
yeah, most of these end up being like $2–$4/disc. which is roughly what you might have paid in the 1950s for a LP.
― I dunno. (amateurist), Wednesday, 14 January 2015 22:17 (nine years ago) link
someone should go back in time and give all those classical collectors a break. "here's all of mahler's symphonies with bruno walter conducting. no, don't thank me, it was no trouble at all. really."
― I dunno. (amateurist), Wednesday, 14 January 2015 22:18 (nine years ago) link
17 disc Oistrakh set for £19.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B001ASVXSE/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pd_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=3ENYW8WV04AUU&coliid=IRJXNNY4C2SXO
Jake Thackray collection down below £12:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Jake-Box-EMI-Recordings-1967-1976/dp/B000F0UVC2/ref=sr_1_3?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1421620893&sr=1-3&keywords=jake+thackray
No excuses for not buying the latter.
― Wristy Hurlington (ShariVari), Sunday, 18 January 2015 22:42 (nine years ago) link
Sixteen disc complete Mahler for £13 and change.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/music/dp/B003D0ZNWY/ref=sr_1_6?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1436212992&sr=1-6
― I wear my Redditor loathing with pride (ShariVari), Monday, 6 July 2015 20:05 (eight years ago) link
That's the Warner emi one? Pretty good classic to dud ratio. Worth it imo.
― demonic mnevice (Jon Lewis), Monday, 6 July 2015 21:18 (eight years ago) link
This one is less than £14 for 10 discs:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Masterworks-20th-Century-Various/dp/B00TQNMCDU/
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/81tcXdEBJbL._SL1500_.jpg
― feargal czukay (NickB), Monday, 6 July 2015 21:43 (eight years ago) link
i feel bad for classical music that labels almost literally cannot give it away
― wizzz! (amateurist), Monday, 6 July 2015 21:45 (eight years ago) link
Went for that one, ra.
― Mark G, Monday, 6 July 2015 21:49 (eight years ago) link
Ah, nice one, Nick!
― holger sharkey (Tom D.), Monday, 6 July 2015 21:52 (eight years ago) link
And this one is £14.10 for 14 discs:
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/71e2IuiuWTL._SL1417_.jpghttp://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51yl4C5veaL.jpg
― feargal czukay (NickB), Monday, 6 July 2015 21:58 (eight years ago) link
crazy days!
oops link: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Messiaen-100th-Anniversary-Box-Set/dp/B001DCQJUO/
― feargal czukay (NickB), Monday, 6 July 2015 21:59 (eight years ago) link
Not the world's biggest Messiaen fan tbh but fill yer boots Olly fans!
― holger sharkey (Tom D.), Monday, 6 July 2015 21:59 (eight years ago) link
Olly Stans
― holger sharkey (Tom D.), Monday, 6 July 2015 22:00 (eight years ago) link
olly stans resting on their laurels
― feargal czukay (NickB), Monday, 6 July 2015 22:01 (eight years ago) link
man that messiaen cover is trippy!
― wizzz! (amateurist), Monday, 6 July 2015 22:04 (eight years ago) link
Emi Messiaen box is basically older, golden age of stereo era recordings (though French emi sound quality not always so golden) whereas the dg box is digital era cosmopolitan technical wizardry renditions. Both worth having. I prefer analog sound for the ravishing colors of the orchestral stuff tbf
― demonic mnevice (Jon Lewis), Monday, 6 July 2015 22:16 (eight years ago) link
i was once wandering around avignon and bumped into a conservatory named after mr. messiaen. had no idea it existed. i was rather moved, actually.
― wizzz! (amateurist), Monday, 6 July 2015 22:18 (eight years ago) link
Lesser known early 20th cent brit Arthur Bliss 5CD set for £4 new via Dodax:http://www.amazon.co.uk/British-Composers-Arthur-Bliss/dp/B0056H0R3C/
^ I have about 3/5ths of that on vinyl and it's great stuff
― feargal czukay (NickB), Monday, 6 July 2015 22:29 (eight years ago) link
what does his music sound like? (i know, dumb question, but...)
― wizzz! (amateurist), Monday, 6 July 2015 22:32 (eight years ago) link
Kind of Debussy-ish, Delius/Holst school of English pastoralism iirc
― feargal czukay (NickB), Monday, 6 July 2015 22:41 (eight years ago) link
18 disc Delius collection for under £15. About half what it was when I added it to my wish list.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B005RXKKQO?keywords=Delius&qid=1437327538&ref_=sr_1_3&sr=8-3
― I wear my Redditor loathing with pride (ShariVari), Sunday, 19 July 2015 17:40 (eight years ago) link
If that is the delius emi box, it is extremely desirable, probably the best of all those emi composer boxes. I have most of its contents individually but I still want it.
― demonic mnevice (Jon Lewis), Sunday, 19 July 2015 19:01 (eight years ago) link
I've been meaning to get a box set of Sibelius's symphonies, preferably one that doesn't cost too much, because I'm not really familiar with his music at all. But there are so many different reasonably priced boxes I don't know which one to buy... There's Karajan, Barbirolli, two different cycles by Berglund (one with Bournemouth Sinfonietta, one with the Helsinki Symphony Orchestra), Vänskä, Saari, Storgårds, Ashkenazy, Colin Davis, etc. I'm not a nationalist so I don't think this music needs to be interpreted by a Finnish conductor (though Berglund, Vänskä, and Storgårds all seem to get a fair amount of praise), so I'm not sure where to begin. Can anyone (Jon?) recommend a good "starter box" for Sibelius?
― Tuomas, Monday, 20 July 2015 08:56 (eight years ago) link
Yeah, there was a wave of Sibelius boxes timed to coincide with the 150th anniversary of his birth (that sort of thing seems to be a driving factor in box set releases, hence a wave of Nielsen boxes this year too). I don't really know enough to have an opinion on this, but Berglund/Bournemouth are always a powerful force in my experience.
― feargal czukay (NickB), Monday, 20 July 2015 09:16 (eight years ago) link
Berglund Bournemouth is indeed a good choice. Beautiful late analog production. The 1980s berglund cycle (the other box) has a lot of important music besides the symphonies but is not quite as well recorded. Plus I think that box is out of print now so you'd have to get it second hand.
― demonic mnevice (Jon Lewis), Monday, 20 July 2015 11:08 (eight years ago) link
The Berglund/Bournemouth box is what I was considering first (it's also one of the cheapest box sets available), but since it's an older recording, I wasn't so sure about the sound quality. (Some 1960s and early 70s British classical records that I have have a tinny and thin sound that I don't like.) But since you say it sounds good, I guess I'll go for that one.
― Tuomas, Monday, 20 July 2015 11:22 (eight years ago) link
The sound picture is more smooth and creamy. Not as close miked sounding as emi barbirolli recordings (nb I love close miking)
― demonic mnevice (Jon Lewis), Monday, 20 July 2015 11:57 (eight years ago) link
Fuck! So glad I looked at this thread!
First time I ever looked at a complete classical collection it was a 120 disc Bach collection and I just assumed all these guys would have similarly massive collections, but looking at those Mahler, Delius and Sibelius boxes, wow, I can actually do this. The world appears quite a bit nicer.
Do these kind of boxes get sold at regular music shops?
― Robert Adam Gilmour, Tuesday, 21 July 2015 01:09 (eight years ago) link
Not in nyc. There are no stores here where one can buy new classical CDs anymore. If you still have virgin and hmv over there they might stock things like this.
― demonic mnevice (Jon Lewis), Tuesday, 21 July 2015 03:29 (eight years ago) link
Fopp is awful for classical music. Not sure if HMV still exists any more but they were better in their flagship branches. The prices of these sets are all over the place so online is probably your best bet.
I add tonnes of stuff to my Amazon wishlist and just use the "items with price drops" function to check for bargains. Almost everything gets reduced by 20% - 25% at some point and some sets come down by 40% or 50%.
If you aren't keen on Amazon, Presto Classical is a really good alternative - more expensive, typically, but an excellent selection and they have fairly frequent sales.
― I wear my Redditor loathing with pride (ShariVari), Tuesday, 21 July 2015 07:16 (eight years ago) link
Definitely using amazon but I'm going into town today and I'll have a look in hmv. There used to be a good specialist classical store but unsurprisingly it shut down several years ago, I only ever bought one thing there (a Bach organ best of), wish I'd gotten more.
― Robert Adam Gilmour, Tuesday, 21 July 2015 07:49 (eight years ago) link
If town happens to be London, Harold Moore's on Gt Marlborough St is still going strong.
― MaresNest, Tuesday, 21 July 2015 08:22 (eight years ago) link
If you're in (or near) Edinburgh - McAlister Matheson http://www.mmmusic.co.uk/ is a classical music specialist store.
― treefell, Tuesday, 21 July 2015 08:50 (eight years ago) link
Glasgow. I'm back now. I looked around Fopp for a while and the classical section wasn't clearly visible and then I forgot about it, but from the last times I looked it was very small. Mono has a small bunch of modern classical. HMV has a surprisingly large classical section (their metal section surprised me too), loads of Classical FM cds of old masters, only a few box sets but nothing much over 4 discs. Mostly stuff for beginners I guess; I shouldn't complain because I'm a beginner but I'm just a sucker for huge collections and omnibuses. I'm guessing this store has a fairly big selection because most if not all the other similar music shops except Fopp have shut down. I'll probably return here again for the metal.
Quite sad to notice that a lot of these music and book shops have noticeably dwindled in their selection, even within the past year. Really wonder how it will look in two years.
― Robert Adam Gilmour, Tuesday, 21 July 2015 17:33 (eight years ago) link
Classical sections are usually the dwindled-est, too. Maybe 1/8 of one side of an aisle if you're lucky
― demonic mnevice (Jon Lewis), Tuesday, 21 July 2015 17:56 (eight years ago) link