T.D.

I like Tennstedt's compilation a lot, but never bothered to compare with others, since I have full recordings of almost all the operas.

Harmonia Mundi "Lumieres" box from Berkshire: http://www.berkshirerecordoutlet.com/search.php?row=0&brocode=153608&stocknum=&submit=Find+Item&text=&filter=all

Classical music for chess enthusiasts: http://www.berkshirerecordoutlet.com/search.php?row=0&text=philidor&filter=all&cd=1&Label=ARION&genre=&RPP=25&pprice=&submit=Search Philidor! (No, I haven't heard it...)

The Festetics were often recommended in the rec.music.classical.recordings archives, but I had trouble finding their recordings and went for the Quatuor Mosaiques (which the OP already owns) instead. The other Haydn recordings I own are with modern instruments...

CD arrived A-OK, many thanks.

I have a TV, but it's not hooked up and is used only to watch DVDs. Gave up on cable in 2001 and dropped broadcast TV entirely after the HD switch - didn't find it worth the effort to update equipment. Don't regret either decision at all.

Starting in on this (yippee! huge fan of the underlying novel...). 3-dvd set.

7 Mozart operas, Gardiner recordings, 18 CD for slightly over USD 60: Not in the super-bargain category, but pretty darn attractive.

He's back! Dunno the proper emoticon - should it be or ? http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/armstrong-to-compete-in-us-masters-swimming-event ...Armstrong is allowed to compete in US Masters Swimming events because the organisation does not fall under the anti-doping rules of the US Anti-Doping Agency...

Chessbase always has a good one: http://www.chessbase.com/Home/TabId/211/PostId/4009341/sainthood-for-bobby-fischer-010413.aspx

PM sent on Gary Burton A Genuine Tong Funeral(includes tracks from Lofty Fake Anagram)RCA Classic Edition Series 07863 66748-2 near mint $8

Probably going to pass on this, but here is more info on the set: Vivarte. Looks like it ships in March, and probably prices will stabilize around then. I just took the plunge on this. Preordered from CD Universe for $85.89 shipped.

I don't buy many DVDs, but decided to spring for this - 5 DVDs for $16.47 shipped from Amazon Marketplace seller: Alec Guinness Collection (Kind Hearts and Coronets / The Lavender Hill Mob / The Man With the White Suit / The Captain's Paradise / The Ladykillers) (2009) http://www.amazon.com/Guinness-Collection-Coronets-Lavender-Ladykillers/dp/B001LXIDUO/ref=sr_1_1?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1362173087&sr=1-1&keywords=alec+guinness+collection

Watched the old British film Kind Hearts and Coronets (have been getting into old Alec Guinness films). Didn't expect that much, having heard mostly of the 8 supporting roles Guinness played, but loved it - one of the best things I've seen in years (and I'm ordinarily not much into 1949-vintage black and white film)! I may even purchase a DVD. Granted I'm highly partial to the "black humor" genre...

PM sent.

Most interesting and worth checking out! I own several Gerhard CDs, including a couple from the "Roberto Gerhard" series on the defunct Auvidis Montaigne label (for a moment I thought this Aeon disc was a re-issue of an old Montagne, for whom the Ardittis were practically the "house quartet"...).

+1 on "rest" from a former recreational athlete (marathon runner, basketball, softball, adult rec. hockey until after the age of 40). The fact that you already reinjured it is a huge red flag. Not saying "retire", but playing again in only 1 week seems foolhardy. I never pulled any muscles until my late 30s, but all my experience since then says that pulls (esp. big muscles like hamstring) take a lot of time to heal, and not much beside rest works. Maybe you could apply some heat or soak in hot water in a few days, but that's not advisable until the internal bleeding (if any) is long gone. Re. possible tears vs. pulls, best sign of tears is internal bleeding (hematomas or large black/blue patches). Unless a tear's really bad (you'd know), the same "rest" advice applies, only longer.

PM sent on Bud Powell - The Complete Blue Note Recordings 4CD OOP $35

Once a year, I splurge on some chess books, with a preference to annotated game collections. Bought four really nice ones this late winter, have been dipping into them, all are excellent. The latter two are older, I finally broke down and purchased them... Aron Nimzowitsch: On the Road to Chess Mastery, 1886-1924, by Per Skjoldager and Jørn Erik Nielsen The Stress of Chess..., by Walter Browne Victor Bologan: Selected Games 1985-2004; Victor Bologan My One Hundred Best Games; Alexey Dreev

That can hardly be surprising at this point - LANCE is clearly one of the all-time top liars! The cycling press has been all over this latest lie; the USADA "reasoned decision" (issued long before the interview) presented a clear argument that he blood-doped during his comeback (and had the chutzpah to post his improbably stable blood values online!).

Wow! I have a handful of these recordings, and it's an outstanding series! I never buy such mega-boxes, because of the likelihood of ending up with a surfeit of CDs I never listen to, but this is one of the most tempting I've seen. Thanks. [Added] But how do you figure free shipping to USA? I see 79.95 Euros (which is around USD 108) with free shipping to Germany only.

Very much the same reaction for me. Have heard the War Requiem live several times, and multiple operas (those named above plus Death in Venice and Paul Bunyan), some twice. Lots of respect for Britten's music, but never warmed to it; granted I'm much more familiar with the operas. Re. the Bostridge quote ("...Britten has never been fully absorbed into the mainstream of classical music and considers whether it has something to do with Britten's preoccupation with troubled, alienated characters and situations - exemplified in operas such as Peter Grimes and Turn of the Screw."), I'm inclined to agree. I find Britten an outstanding, possibly "great" (to the extent I'm qualified to judge) opera composer, but have always found his operas rather off-putting, even somewhat creepy and repellent on certain levels. I think it has to do with the troubled characters/situations, but also the gay subtext - Britten seems to have been extremely unhappy, even tormented about his sexuality's place in society. (All IMO of course.)

Hey, you don't have to convince me! I've been saying for years now that an all-juiced Olympics would be loads of fun! How could you tell the difference? As a long-time athletics fan who's been forced to become somewhat expert on doping, I'm totally convinced that the Olympics are the "major leagues", the apotheosis, the absolute pinnacle of sports doping. "Better living through chemistry"!

This is a weird release, but I really like some of Lawson's and Wyands's sideman recordings (with George Adams and RRK respectively). A shot in the dark, but I've been a big purchaser of the BS/SN boxes...

Agreed. Anecdote re. dirtbag: My sister works for a large magazine publisher in NYC. A few years ago, one of the magazines (I didn't ask which one, so don't know) decided to run a feature on LANCE. They could not find a single employee who wanted to work on the story, due to LANCE's extensive history of / reputation for assholicity. (I presume some arms were twisted in order to write the story.)