Bargain Boxes

Thanks for the link - remarkable value.

dtp

I'm very fond of the Original Jacket Collections.  I have the Bruno Walter, Stravinsky and Gould Plays Bach sets; all are excellent with some fine historic performances and interesting bonuses.  The best value I've come across though is the EMI Vaughan Williams Collector's Edition (30 cds with Hadley, Hickox, Boult etc. which I picked up for less than a pound a cd on Amazon).  On a related topic, bargain of the moment has to be Amazon's £1.58 download price for Britten's Turn of the Screw - not highlights but the whole work!

The finest bargain box I purchased is Sony's set of Puccini operas. No librettos but each recording has merit and some are unobtainable. Scotto in Le Villi, Edgar, Butterfly (2nd recording), Tabarro and Suor Angelica, Caballe as Mimi, Leontyne Price as Tosca, Moffo in La Rondine are amongst the finest interpretations of the respective roles on disc. A surprising delight is a recording of Manon Lescaut with Nina Rautio as Manon. While not Italianate in the role she has a fine, powerful voice. Placido Domingo, no less, is the tenor on most of the recordings. Some of them have now appeard on Sony's Opera House collection ie Tosca, Trittico, Boheme, Fancuilla del West. There are, of course, finer recordings of most of the operas available elsewhere yet only the live recordings of Turandot and Fancuilla del West are unexceptional.

You can get it for less than that if you buy from Amazon Germany. I got my copy for 17.99 euros although I see it is now 22.99 euros. You do have to pay 7 euros postage per delivery, but if you buy a few boxes you'll easily save this.

The Schiff Bach set is in the Eloquence box set series, not sold in the UK. Other notable bargains are Brendel's analogue Schubert Sonatas and Mozart Concerti, complete Chopin from Harasiewicz and another Jubilee Chopin from all the great DG/Decca roster - Richter, Argerich, Michelangeli et al. All are about 20 euros.

I've just received a Karl Richter Bach set with the Passions, Mass and Easter Cantatas and am enjoying comparing with the big 34CD JEG reissue.

Most of the Brilliant boxes are much cheaper here too. Worth also looking at Amazon France for the occaisional EMI box set bargain. You just use the same login and password as UK.

HTH 

The Chandos 30th Anniversary box set at £15.  30 discs and some real gems in there, all beautifully recorded.

I have picked up a few bargain sets from Nimbus over the years as well.  Bernard Roberts' superb Beethoven Sonata cycle, and a varied 8CD set of Shura Cherkassky are particular favourites here.

Mention must also be given to some Philips Classics sets.  Claudio Arrau's Chopin recordings on 7 CDs, Arrau's Beethoven Sonatas and Concertos, and the wonderful set of Brendel playing Schubert Sonatas and Impromptus.

EMI's bargain box of recordings made by the pianist Solomon is really worth hearing. I'd never heard much of him before but he was a real aristocrat among pianists, beautiful tone and everything beautifully played with no mannerisms. The set features some classic recordings like the Grieg and Schumann concertos, the Brahms number two in a titanic performance, some Mozart and, best of all, Beethoven with concertos three and five and some sonatas including a tremendous performance of the Hammerklavier. A wonderful set which can be got for around £12 from Amazon and an excellent introduction to one of Britain's greatest pianists whose career was, alas, cut short at the height of his powers.

Since BMG and Sony joined forces, they have reissued some lovely sets including 15CD boxes to celebrate cellist Anner Bylsma and harpsichordist Gustav Leonhardt.

Leonhardt's older work is also "boxed" in a 21 CD collection from Warner Music, although this is rather more expensive - and, as to be expected with recordings mainly from the 60's, the sound is not as good.