T.D.

I'll fess up here... Bought "Bylsma I" years ago (c. 1997) as a present. Shopped around a lot in those days, and at that time I perceived a distinct critical preference (both published critics and Internet forum posters) for the earlier set. I'll just cite one r.m.c.r post here. I wound up ripping a copy of Bylsma I and love it (at that time I owned just the Philips Duo with Maurice Gendron), but I have not heard Bylsma II (though I imagine it couldn't exactly be chopped liver), and was just parroting the received opinions I found in the 1990s. Sorry.

Glad to see Haskil mentioned. I'm not interested in going the "complete" route (too much other unheard classical to explore...). Have recordings of a few PCs with Casadesus(/Szell) and Michelangeli. Thinking of filling in some gaps with either Haskil (couple of recent boxes) or more Casadesus. Leaning toward Haskil at this point due to other material (esp. with Grumiaux - I have only one of their Philips Mozart discs, which is truly awesome) in the boxes. Would appreciate being warned off any horrendous blunders [Disclosure: I like Brendel's playing and have several of his solo Mozart recordings, but don't want to concentrate on any one pianist here].

"Clara Haskil Edition", 17 CDs for $43. Even though a lot of the material is on various Membran releases... [With all the recent music business mergers, I'm having trouble following the labels; here "Decca" also includes Philips and DG]

PM sent on 6 George Wallington The Prestidigitator

This isn't quite bargain level ($21 and change for 3 CDs), and the music may not be to everyone's taste (I like it, but don't listen that often), but the long OOP 3-disc set of Scelsi's orchestral/choral music with Wyttenbach conducting (originally 3 separate CDs on Accord) has been re-issued:

Yeah, I want to hear the opinions. I reckon I can deal with any possible "pretentiousness", so long as the people involved have actually listened to the recordings in question. [Aside: I once lurked on a classical music forum where it gradually became clear that one of the most prolific commentors on /recommenders of "contemporary" recordings (he's all over the Amazon reviews, btw) had the disconcerting habit of pontificating on recordings he'd never heard... ]

Thanks for the feedback on the Katchen/Brahms! I'll soon be ordering (have gone on a bit of a binge lately, need some time to listen to recent acquisitions...). Here's a nice-looking box I just found, 6 CDs for $22.99 from Newbury Comics via Amazon: I have a lot of Grumiaux's Mozart and Bach recordings, and am very fond of his playing. Looks like there isn't too much overlap with this set, and I already own only the Bach works with Jaccottet on harpsichord.

You might as well get the complete Shostakovich quartets performed by the Borodin Quartet for just a bit more: €26 at amazon.de For sure, if you're in Europe! That particular set (as well as the Beethoven Quartet's cycle, which doesn't seem cheap anywhere) is hard to find and considerably more expensive in the USA than the Fitzwilliams'...I was just watching a set that went for $125 on eBay, although a touch of "eBay madness" was likely involved.

Big for the Fitzwilliams' Shostakovich quartets. I'm seriously considering this (6 CDs for $25.70 shipped): Not at all familiar with Brahms's solo piano works aside from the Ballades and Paganini Variations (Michelangeli recordings), but very much like those pieces and am looking to explore more.

I just ordered this: 10 CDs for USD 12.47 shipped (German seller on US Amazon Marketplace). Seems to be RAI radio broadcasts, perhaps airchecks. Significant overlap (in terms of repertoire, not performances) with the 8-CD DG box I already own (which was a great deal in its own right @ $34 shipped), but hard to argue with at the price...

I'm a big fan of Mravinsky, and own several of his recordings (the awesome DG Chaikovskiy* 4-5-6 box and several single CDs on Russian Disc), but can't comment on that specific set. If sound quality is an issue, that's the area to research: the DG has some sonic flaws and the Russian Discs are quite sketchy. The Tennstedt is also very tempting, based solely on his reputation (especially in Mahler - I only have a couple of excellent non-Mahler single discs), but there's so much competition, even at the lower price ranges, that I also can't comment (Gary Bertini's set on EMI has also been recommended to me, for one). FWIW, I'm putting both sets on my Amazon wish list... [*Spelling is a small joke - I recall V. Nabokov writing about "Chaikovskiy's vile libretti"]

PM sent on: 5 Shelly Manne The Gambit Contemporary 3 Sonny Stitt Stitt Plays Bird Atlantic 15 Cliff Jordan Cliff Craft (TOCJ 6563) – no obi

Bought some classical in the past 10 days or so:

I'm starting to amass a set of recordings of the Mozart sonatas. Heard a Brendel disc and liked it very much, and also dug Klien/Voxbox samples. So I'm going with Klien Vol. I and a couple of Brendel CDs for starters, though that approach will likely lead to a bit of duplication and incompleteness. (We seem to be spoiled for choice here, as there are loads of recordings by excellent/great pianists at super-budget price. I don't have the time/budget/inclination to get involved in ranking the many sets.)

The s**t's really hitting the fan now... Tyler Hamilton to appear on 60 Minutes: http://velonews.competitor.com/2011/05/news/tyler-hamilton-tells-60-minutes-he-saw-armstrong-inject-epo_174594 http://velonews.competitor.com/2011/05/news/tyler-hamiltons-confession-letter_174652

Tom, not surprising a local shop has a good selection...I assume you know that Reservoir was based in Kingston, owned by a Dr. Mark Feldman iirc. Jack's Rhythms (Main St. in New Paltz) carries a lot of Reservoir CDs. I'll chime in on Hod O'Brien (own all three Blues Alley discs). Reservoir re-issued the J.R. Monterose / Tommy Flanagan A Little Pleasure. I've heard Pete Malinverni live and think he deserves attention, but I only have one disc (The Tempest) out of his several Reservoir releases, so can't specifically recommend anything. [Added] Good grief, forgot to mention John Hicks Beyond Expectations. Have been considering the Bertha Hope disc for a long time; if the label's going out of business, I'll have to pick it (and some others) up soon.

Some "modern" works: Ligeti's solo piano music (Musica Ricercata was quoted in Kubrick's film Eyes Wide Shut) - I own the Aimard recording (Sony), but Ullen on BIS has been recommended by very respectable sources. Morton Feldman Triadic Memories (I can vouch for Louis Goldstein's recording on Offseason Productions) and For Bunita Marcus (ditto for Hildegard Kleeb on Hat Art). Jean Barraqué Piano Sonata (I can recommend Pi-Hsien Chen's recording on Telos, but Stefan Litwin's performance on cpo's otherwise excellent Complete Barraqué box is really sub-par).

(Charlie Parker complete live performances on Savoy.) Lobbed an eBay bid in last night, not expecting to win, but wound up with a real bargain...

Sayonara, Ovie! (too lazy to look for a broom graphic...) Couple of other 3-0 series, potential sweeps. Surprised by Detroit, not by Philly (incomprehensible but typical goalie shuffles there).

Denny Zeitlin Select.

Bought used in brick/mortar shop: Charles Earland, Black Talk! Ordered via Internet last week, eagerly awaiting: Herbie Nichols, Love Gloom Cash Love Denny Zeitlin, Mosaic Select #34

I strongly second the recommendation of Bylsma (the earlier of his two recordings, reissued on Sony Essential Classics) for the cello suites. Didn't mention it earlier b/c the OP said he was "in OK shape there". Re. the reviews at earlier cited link: I'd use that source as a data point but not gospel. I recall one of the more frequent reviewers there as somewhat of a nut-job poster on rec.music.classical.recordings. [Disclaimer: I gave up reading Usenet newsgroups several years ago, the proximate cause being the Joyce Hatto furore on r.m.c.r., which has been discussed at length in old threads (which I can't figure out how to recall) on this forum.]

Re. the Matthäuspassion, I was dumbfounded when an excerpt figured prominently in the soundtrack of Martin Scorsese's film Casino (though it was a pleasant surprise in some sense). Apparently the recording used is on London with Solti conducting; it's got an all-star cast, but I've never heard it (aside from the soundtrack excerpt).

I really like the Partitas for keyboard. Favorite recording so far is Schepkin (piano) on Ongaku (probably oop). With Easter coming up, have to mention the Saint Matthew Passion. I have only the Gardner (DG) recording, which is good, but can't make any comparison with others. The B Minor Mass is also an excellent piece, but I haven't heard enough recordings to recommend one - I only have it as part of a Brilliant Classics set. For sure the Goldberg Variations: I've heard several on piano and can't really give a favorite (Gould is an obvious starter), and have only heard Hantai (who's very good) on harpsichord. Can second the above rec. of • Arthur Grumiaux: Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin, BWV 1001-1006 – 2CD, Philips

Agreed.