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Ordered the Russian box by Ansermet, too - but it's already out of stock and they don't even have a date yet - but the price went down the decisive couple of euros (preventing the custom n*zis from kicking in), so I'll just wait patiently :)

Didn't pre order, yet. I did notice on the amazon.co.uk site a picture of possible liner notes in Korean was added.

Edited by Stefan Wood
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Ordered the Russian box by Ansermet, too - but it's already out of stock and they don't even have a date yet - but the price went down the decisive couple of euros (preventing the custom n*zis from kicking in), so I'll just wait patiently :)

Didn't pre order, yet. I did notice on the amazon.co.uk site a picture of possible liner notes in Korean was added.

Really? None of that with the French set ... I think the Korean sets so far all were coming from EMI (now Warner)? And all the ones I wanted (the violinists ... Martzy, Morini, de Vito, and just a few weeks back also Ferras) were rather expensive (each of them around 100$) and not that widely available (I bought from prestoclassical and JPC, the Ferras for instance is not available through amazon itself, or was not when I looked).

Anyway, amazon.it just sent me a mail stating the shipping date for the Russian box might be between April 18 and 28.

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FYI Bons plans classique (http://bons-plans-classique.blogspot.ca/) which is an invaluable tool to find about bargains seems to be on the verge of closing shop, in the commentary section there was an exchange which led someone threatening to call a lawyer, following the person in charge of the site has closed the commentary section but also there has been barely any updates since the last month. Have emailed them a few days ago, they never bothered answering me back.

As we're speaking the last entry dates from march the 12th

uodate as of April 10th, 2014 available......

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  • 2 weeks later...

FYI Bons plans classique (http://bons-plans-classique.blogspot.ca/) which is an invaluable tool to find about bargains seems to be on the verge of closing shop, in the commentary section there was an exchange which led someone threatening to call a lawyer, following the person in charge of the site has closed the commentary section but also there has been barely any updates since the last month. Have emailed them a few days ago, they never bothered answering me back.

As we're speaking the last entry dates from march the 12th

uodate as of April 10th, 2014 available......

He finally wrote me back, he deleted all the commentaries and will keep on with the site , as he told me, they were very few big bargains the last few months which also explains the lack of activity.

Edited by Van Basten II
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amazon.it has some very good prices for various Universal boxes currently ...

Colin Davis - Berlioz: Complete Orchestral & Sacred Works - € 27.99

The Art of Wolfgang Sawallisch - € 26.99

Böhm - The Symphonies - € 33.99

Eugen Jochum - The Symphonies - € 27.71

The Art of Daniel Barenboim - € 25.99

The Art of Riccardo Chailly - € 25.99

There are more ... and with some of 'em you get an additional 20% discount if you order two items from the list of items on which you get 20% when you order two items from the list of items on which you get 20% when you order two items from the list of items on which you get 20% when you order two items from the list of items on which you get 20% when you order two items from the list of items ... dig? ;)

Edited by king ubu
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I wonder: will it still contain the thick booklet with notes on each and every sonata?

I've not really immersed myself into this ... so far rather played the three Pierre Hantaï discs (the fourth, or rather first, on naïve, is here now, too ... part of the nice recent box set) and some old piano interpretations (Horowitz, Ciccolini et al.)

I did get the Davis/Berlioz, Böhm and Sawallisch sets in the meantime, btw (didn't order the others, for Jochum I've got the ICON, not that interested - so far, at least - in Chailly and Barenboim).

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I wonder: will it still contain the thick booklet with notes on each and every sonata?

This is what it says on Amazon.com, so it is a bit of a compromise: "The 34 CD are presented in deluxe packaging, with a 20-page printed booklet; this is complemented by 200 pages of online documentation, including a commentary on each of the sonatas (along with the musical notation of its opening bars)."

While this is interesting and appeals to the collector in me, I think I'll just have to pretend it doesn't exist. I now have probably 20 or 30 classical CDs to work through, to say nothing of the hundreds of CDs I've only listened to once. So 34 more CDs is a steep mountain to climb!

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another cube coming up, first of three, it seems, see blurb from amazon.co.uk below - amazon.de has the best pre-order price currently (83€)

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This 50CD set is dedicated to L’Oiseau-Lyre’s founding commitment – the music of the Baroque. It contains a range of acclaimed, pioneering recordings that testify to the curiosity and ambition of an iconic label.

Tracklist

CD1

ARNE Overtures

Academy of Ancient Music • Christopher Hogwood

CD2

BOYCE Eight Symphonys, op.2

Hogwood

CD3

BLOW Venus and Adonis

Catherine Bott • Libby Crabtree • Michael George

Choristers of Westminster Abbey Choir • New London Consort • Philip Pickett

CD4

PURCELL Theatre Music

Joy Roberts • Hogwood

CD5

PURCELL The Indian Queen

John Mark Ainsley • Emma Kirkby • David Thomas • Gerald Finlay • Catherine Bott

Hogwood

CD6

PURCELL • BLOW • LOCKE Songs from the Restoration Theatre

Bott

CD7

HANDEL Water and Fireworks Music

Hogwood

CD 8-9

HANDEL Concerto grossi, op. 6

Handel & Haydn Society • Hogwood

CD10

HANDEL • ARNE • LAMPE Arias

Kirkby • Hogwood

CD11

HANDEL Italian Cantatas • The Alchemist • English Songs

Emma Kirkby • Judith Nelson • David Thomas • Partizia Kwella

Hogwood

CD12-13

HANDEL Messiah

Nelson • Kirkby • Carolyn Watkinson • Paul Elliott • Thomas

The Choir of Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford • Simon Preston • Hogwood

CD14-15

HANDEL La Resurrezione

Kirkby • Kwella • Watkinson • Ian Partridge • Thomas

Hogwood

CD16-18

HANDEL Orlando

James Bowman • Arleen Auger • Catherine Robbin • Kirkby • Thomas

Hogwood

GERMANY

CD19

J.S BACH Goldberg Variations

Christophe Rousset

CD20-21

J.S BACH Brandenburg Concertos

Pickett

CD22

J.S BACH Concertos for 3 and 4 Harpsichords

Hogwood

CD23

J.S BACH Sacred Cantatas

Julianne Baird • Allan Fast • Frank Kelly • Jan Opalach

The Bach Ensemble • Joshua Rifkin

CD24

J.S BACH Coffee and Peasant Cantatas

Kirkby • Thomas • Rogers Covey-Crump

Hogwood

CD25

C.P.E BACH String Symphonies

Hogwood

CD26

J.C BACH Overtures

Hogwood

CD27

TELEMANN Double and Triple Concertos

Hogwood

CD28

BIBER Requiem • String Sonatas

Pickett

FRANCE

CD29-30

COUPERIN • MONTÉCLAIR • FORQUERAY • LECLAIR • MARAIS Musique pour la chamber du Roy

Nelson • Hogwood

CD31

REBEL • DESTOUCHES Les Elémens • Les Eléments

Hogwood

CD32

ROYER Pièces de clavecin

Rousset

CD33

RAMEAU Ouvertures

Les Talens Lyriques • Rousset

CD34

COUPERIN Trois Leçons de ténèbres

Nelson • Kirkby • Jane Ryan • Hogwood

ITALY

CD35-36

ALBINONI 12 Concertos, op. 9

Hogwood

CD37

CARISSIMI Cantatas

Martyn Hill • Robert Spencer • Trevor Jones • Hogwood

CD38

GEMINIANI Concerti grossi, op.3

Jaap Schröder • Catherine Mackintosh • Trevor Jones • Anthony Pleeth

Hogwood

CD39

PERGOLESI Stabat Mater • Salve Regina

Kirkby • Bowman, Hogwood

CD40

A. SCARLATTI Sinfonie & Harpsichord Concertos

Accademia Bizantina • Ottavio Dantone

CD41

D. SCARLATTI Harpsichord Sonatas

Colin Tilney

CD42

VIVALDI The Four Seasons

Hogwood

CD43

VIVALDI Stabat Mater • Nisi Dominus

Bowman • Hogwood

CD44

VIVALDI Cello Concertos & Sonatas

Christophe Coin • Hogwood

CD45

VIVALDI Violin Concertos op. 6

Andrew Manze • Hogwood

CD46

VIVALDI Oboe Concertos

Stephen Hammer • Frank de Bruine • Hogwood

CD47

VIVALDI [+ J.S BACH] Gloria • [+ Magnificat]

Kirkby • Nelson • Watkinson • Elliott • Thomas

The Choir of Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford

Preston

VARIOUS

CD48

CORELLI • TORELLI • J.S BACH • HANDEL • GOSSEC WERNER • VEJVANOVSKY Christmas Concertos

The Academy of Ancient Music Chorus

Hogwood

CD49

HEINICHEN • SCHICIKHARDT • TELEMANN • MARCELLO • VIVALDI Concerto di flauti Amsterdam Loeki Stardust Quartet

Hogwood

CD50

VIVALDI • FERRANDINI • CONTI • PISENDEL Il Pianto di Maria

Bernarda Fink

Il Giardino Armonico • Giovanni Antonini

Further sets will be The Classical Era and Medieval & Renaissance.

________________

source:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00IRQS24A/

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Both Living Stereo boxes are under £48 at Amazon UK:

Volume One

Volume Two

Living Stereo #2 just showed up. I have to say I have slightly mixed feelings about it, leaning a bit towards disappointment. Whereas Vol 1 had quite a few bonus tracks added to the various CDs, Vol. 2 takes a much purer original release approach (though no back cover notes on the sleeves like a true OJC release). There is some shuffling around of Reiner conducting Beethoven Symphony 1 & 9 to put #9 on one CD but then Symphony #1 is all by itself (at about 23 minutes). Frankly this is ridiculous, since this isn't an OJC release. I think the average CD length across the 60 CDs is probably 45 minutes. What bugs me in particular is a few of the Fiedler releases where there was an actual CD release with sensible pairings of bonus material and none of this was included in this set. It just seems like a missed opportunity and I am now not sure what to do about these Living Stereo CDs with material not in the #2 set, since I was really hoping to be able to de-accession them, but now I don't think I can.

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That plus the 10 or so discs replicated in the Rubinstein and Heifetz big boxes put me off the Volume Two for sure. One you've factored that in its more like £48 for 25 discs which is still good but not that good.

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I got mine the other day and I feel about the same. I'm glad I got the set because there's some great Munch and Monteux I didn't have before, but it sure wasn't as generous with the running times as the first set was.

It gets very ridiculous at the end of the set where several opera are split over 3 (or even 4!) CDs when two would do (and be just as reasonable in terms of breaks). Same thing with the Bach Mass in B Minor (3 CDs) and Verdi's Requiem which is 2 but would have fit on 1 CD. I do feel the buyer got stiffed out of about 7-8 CDs worth of music, particularly those where they had put the material out on a Living Stereo CD and now the bonus material is essentially withdrawn.

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I really enjoyed the first volume of the Living Stereo releases. Sorry to hear Volume 2 doesn't meet up with expectations. I may put that set on hold for now and perhaps opt for Volume 1 of the Mercury Living Presence box set instead. Any thoughts here?

Edited by Tom 1960
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Both Living Stereo boxes are under £48 at Amazon UK:

Volume One

Volume Two

Living Stereo #2 just showed up. I have to say I have slightly mixed feelings about it, leaning a bit towards disappointment. Whereas Vol 1 had quite a few bonus tracks added to the various CDs, Vol. 2 takes a much purer original release approach (though no back cover notes on the sleeves like a true OJC release). There is some shuffling around of Reiner conducting Beethoven Symphony 1 & 9 to put #9 on one CD but then Symphony #1 is all by itself (at about 23 minutes). Frankly this is ridiculous, since this isn't an OJC release. I think the average CD length across the 60 CDs is probably 45 minutes. What bugs me in particular is a few of the Fiedler releases where there was an actual CD release with sensible pairings of bonus material and none of this was included in this set. It just seems like a missed opportunity and I am now not sure what to do about these Living Stereo CDs with material not in the #2 set, since I was really hoping to be able to de-accession them, but now I don't think I can.

Agreed.

But I got it cheap, so it was an OK purchase.

What really pi**es me off are the wildly jumping prices (pre-order cheap, then not cheap, release price cheaper ... then shortly thereafter (much) more expensive and then, suddenly, ... much cheaper than the preorder for a minute or two. Or for a week. Or never again. Irritating pricing robots. The problem is that one never knows when something might go out of print in an instant ... or stay in print for eternity. First world problems.)

P.S.: Still, if I consider what a lot of this music used to cost, these price-reduced (sometimes somewhat pedestrian) reissues are still a real bargain.

Edited by neveronfriday
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Both the Mercury Living Presence sets are great. But they have a bit of midcentury classical music that isn't as fashionable with the kids today.

My strategy on preorders is to get an order in quick and see how it goes. I can always cancel before the delivery date.

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