# Brilliant Classics



## FPwtc (Dec 3, 2014)

I had a search but didn't find anything specific on this forum, so I wanted to ask (as I am quite new to classical music) and see this label offers a lot of attractive music for good prices. Are these guys like Naxos where you need to do a bit of digging for the gems or are they generally high quality performances? Any releases that any of you guys can recommend as being particularly good on Brilliant Classics?

Thanks!


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## ComposerOfAvantGarde (Dec 2, 2011)

With brilliant classics you usually either get budget releases of well known recordings by famous musicians and orchestras or you get fairly obscure ensembles which the quality of performances may vary greatly. 

I can assure you that the available recording of Giuliani's complete guitar concertos (which is the only CD I have from Brilliant Classics) is wonderful even though they aren't very well known musicians.


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## Nereffid (Feb 6, 2013)

Brilliant does some of its own recordings and also licenses others. I'm not sure what proportion of its releases are originals, though I think most of the big single-composer box sets tend to have quite a bit of licensed material.

Some recordings I like are a 3-disc set of Smetana's orchestral music conducted by Theodore Kuchar (original), Telemann solo flute fantasias by Jed Wentz (original), Villa-Lobos string quartets by the Cuarteto Latinoamericano (licensed), and Mozart piano sonatas by Klara Würtz (licensed).

By the way, as regards Naxos I'd say you don't need to do much digging for gems these days. Many of the earlier recordings of mainstream repertoire might not have been competitive but that's not been an issue for quite a while (and they've been replacing a lot of that repertoire with newer recordings, too).


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## Triplets (Sep 4, 2014)

Nereffid said:


> Brilliant does some of its own recordings and also licenses others. I'm not sure what proportion of its releases are originals, though I think most of the big single-composer box sets tend to have quite a bit of licensed material.
> 
> Some recordings I like are a 3-disc set of Smetana's orchestral music conducted by Theodore Kuchar (original), Telemann solo flute fantasias by Jed Wentz (original), Villa-Lobos string quartets by the Cuarteto Latinoamericano (licensed), and Mozart piano sonatas by Klara Würtz (licensed).
> 
> By the way, as regards Naxos I'd say you don't need to do much digging for gems these days. Many of the earlier recordings of mainstream repertoire might not have been competitive but that's not been an issue for quite a while (and they've been replacing a lot of that repertoire with newer recordings, too).


 They do record some new material, but more than 90% of their offerings are liscensed from other labels.
Naxos mostly makes their own recordings but will occassionally acquire pre recorded material, usually from a label that has gone out of business.
Both labels provide quality products at very low prices. For someone exploring Classical Music they are great places to start. Brilliant seems to favor these mega boxes--"Complete Bach", etc--that may be aimed more at a collector who wants to inexpensively fill gaps in their collection. At any rate, I have been buying Classical recordings for 40 years now and have quite a few releases by both labels on my shelves.


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## brotagonist (Jul 11, 2013)

All of the albums on Brilliant I have come across are reissues of highly desirable albums licensed from other labels and offerred at much reduced prices. Theirs is a logo I watch for, as it tends to mean a deal on quality music. They have a website, so you can browse their offerings.


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

A good site to search Brilliant Classics titles is Presto Classical. They are having a box set sale through next month.
http://www.prestoclassical.co.uk/brilliant.php

If you're concerned about great sound, you can't go wrong with Naxos. They have hundreds of fine recordings.

But Brilliant is the way to go for the box sets. They have incredible bargains.


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## Kibbles Croquettes (Dec 2, 2014)

My friend went shopping while he was drunk and for some reason decided to buy a 40 CD set of Schubert's music (Schubert masterworks by, obviously, Brilliant Classics). He is not too much into classical music, so he didn't listen to it very much. Maybe not at all. Well, he knew that I liked classical music so for years he tried to sell the box set to me. I said I would buy it when he would be willing to sell it for 20 euros. It took a couple of years of waiting, but then he was moving to Sweden and needed to get rid of everything useless - and sold the box to me for the price I was asking. At least to my ears the performances are acceptable. I particuarly like the performance of the Lazarus cantata, the version on the set is the one completed by Denisov.


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## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

I got a set of Brilliant classics of Richter and also Anda. Really good. And one not to be missed is their set of Byron Janis


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## JACE (Jul 18, 2014)

I think Brilliant Classics has put out some excellent music through their licensing deals with other labels. This is my favorite set:










*Brahms: Chamber Music (complete) / Tokyo Quartet, Nash Ensemble, Alberni Quart, Brandis Quartet, Karl Leister, Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio, and others*

All of these recordings are very good -- and some are superb. For example, to my ears the Violin Sonatas with Roger Vignoles & György Pauk are second to none.


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## brotagonist (Jul 11, 2013)

Personally, I don't go for the boxed sets. Now, complete string quartets, or complete symphonies, or complete piano trios, etc., sure, of course! However, complete works of a composer by one artist or label, etc. is just too much for me. I like to pick and choose my albums, make my collection my own.


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## FPwtc (Dec 3, 2014)

Thanks for the feedback, some good recommendations.


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

Search Amazon carefully. I see the BC Complete Beethoven 87 disc set going for more than $100 used, but I picked it up for $29.95. Just yesterday I saw a Beethoven set of about 60 discs for same price used.


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

I don't see any complete editions 80+ discs for 30 dollars. Only the symphonies.


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## techniquest (Aug 3, 2012)

In my (very) humble opinion, these are some Brilliant Classics with which you just can't go wrong (depending on whether you like the music, of course):


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

starthrower said:


> I don't see any complete editions 80+ discs for 30 dollars. Only the symphonies.


 They are rare. At the time the guy had about 7 sets that were essentially new but had damaged outer cases. My son and I each bought one.

Here is the set I purchased going for $40 used. There are a few minor issues such as a couple notes supposedly missing from the beginning of one symphony. As I recall it has the best Leonora opera recording out there.

Here is a complete list of the set contents.

There may be better sets (one for instance has the complete symphony cycle of Zinman and other Zinman performances such as Missa Solemnis per the Editorial Review after the track listing on the link).


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## PlaySalieri (Jun 3, 2012)

I got the BC set of complete Mozart (180 CDs or so) - it is quite a treasure trove and nearly all the recordings I try are very good to excellent.


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

This set is an absolute beaut - virtually all of Dvorak's extant non-SQ works with the exception of the String Sextet and the op. 1 String Quintet.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61I-dZtlX9L._SX425_.jpg


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## FPwtc (Dec 3, 2014)

This is interesting as I was looking for a Shostakovich cycle but the versions by Kondrashin and Rostropovich are much more expensive (particularly Rostropovich). I had this and the Jansons in mind as they are similar price. This is the better option you think?



techniquest said:


> In my (very) humble opinion, these are some Brilliant Classics with which you just can't go wrong (depending on whether you like the music, of course):
> 
> View attachment 58030
> View attachment 58031


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## Bulldog (Nov 21, 2013)

My favorite BC recording is Bach's WTC from Belder.


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## SONNET CLV (May 31, 2014)

I have several of the Brilliant Classics giant box sets, and I've been pleased with all. The Bach, Mozart, Vivaldi, Schubert, and Beethoven sets will provide a lifetime of musical pleasure. And Brilliant has so much more to offer. I'm always on the lookout for their next big set.

Too, most of the music in these box collections are modern recordings that don't suffer from poor sound quality. A real plus.

If you have a favorite composer (among the biggies, that is) and want to explore their music with greater expanse, the big boxes from Brilliant are the way to go. Then, you can find pieces you like and begin collecting different versions of those. When you eventually end up with some 200 _Winterreise_s and have to add onto the barn for storage capability, you'll know you've arrived.

Arrived where, I'm not sure.

But I highly recommend Brilliant Classics. Great stuff.


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## Headphone Hermit (Jan 8, 2014)

Brilliant Classics also release quite a lot of older material, including a lot of stuff from the Melodiya label in the 50s and 60s. The sound is a touch limited in some of them (often 'live' recordings) but the performances from the likes of Yudina, Sofronitsky and Richter (amongst others) are blistering. You pay peanuts and get smoked salmon!


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