# Box Sets You Regret Purchasing



## starthrower

I have only a couple I wish I hadn't spent the money for but my biggest regret is wasting 50 dollars on the Stokowski Phase 4 Stereo box. I don't remember why I decided to buy this set because I'm not really interested in most of the music and I have to say some of the recordings sound horrible.

My other regret is buying the Charles Munch Warner box. More than half of the 13 Discs are historical recordings in poor sound. Of the stereo recordings there are just a few of interest.

On a positive note I had been regretting the purchase of the Gluck Great Operas box but in the past year I have become a much bigger opera fan so I'm glad I held onto it.

What are some of your boat anchors you'd like to toss in the river?


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## Red Terror

starthrower said:


> I have only a couple I wish I hadn't spent the money for but my biggest regret is wasting 50 dollars on the Stokowski Phase 4 Stereo box. I don't remember why I decided to buy this set because I'm not really interested in most of the music and I have to say some of the recordings sound horrible.
> 
> My other regret is buying the Charles Munch Warner box. More than half of the 13 Discs are historical recordings in poor sound. Of the stereo recordings there are just a few of interest.
> 
> On a positive note I had been regretting the purchase of the Gluck Great Operas box but in the past year I have become a much bigger opera fan so I'm glad I held onto it.
> 
> What are some of your boat anchors you'd like to toss in the river?


I read plenty of reviews before buying, so no regrets, really. That said, I don't think I needed the DG Messiaen complete works boxset.


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## JTS

I bought a Stokowski set in which the recordings were mainly elderly. It was cheap but much remains unplayed.


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## elgar's ghost

A six-disc set of Bach organ works on Brilliant, played by Ton Koopman. I had no problems with the music or performances but as this was the early days of Brilliant Classics the sleeve notes were desultory to the point of non-existence. I've since collected much of what was on there on separate recordings and gave the box away.


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## starthrower

Red Terror said:


> I read plenty of reviews before buying, so no regrets, really. That said, I don't think I needed the DG Messiaen complete works boxset.


I'd love to have the Messiaen DG box but I've already got a number of the recordings so I passed on that one.


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## joen_cph

Among those sold were:

- Odnoposoff /Membran 10CD. He is a fine violinist, with a beautiful tone surely, but they are old recordings & I missed some sense for the music's architecture, ebb and flow effects and fortes etc., compared to say D.Oistrakh, Heifetz, Kogan, Kagan etc.

- Balthasar Neumann Chor & Ensemble, Thomas Hengelbrock 16CD box set /DHM Harmonia Mundi. Mostly Baroque music, HIP performances, the light-footed style didn't appeal, compared to other recordings.

- Music from German Castles and Courts /Membran 20CD. The music seemed very conventional & not worth investigating in depth for me, in spite of the lesser known composers represented there.

- Beethoven, 32 Piano Sonatas /John Lill /Brilliant classics. His style is just too uniform for me, though there are a few interesting performances there.

- Bruckner, 9 Symphonies /Paternostro /Membran. Performances that are often too sketchy and irregular., to a rare degree as regards released recordings. The 5th was OK, but not very interesting.

- Michael Haydn Edition /Brilliant Classics 28CD box. There was just too many CDs where I found the music boring or poorly performed.

- J.S.Bach. Cantatas /Leusink. Various box sets from the series. Primarily because of the countertenor appearing at times, Buwalda.

- Haydn, Complete string quartets /Buchberger Quartet /Brilliant. I just prefer other recordings.

- Carl Nielsen, Danacord CD Box of early piano music recordings. I had most of the stuff on LPS, and recent recordings just seem better & more interesting to me.

One I really regret NOT buying when it was cheaply available is:
Dalberto playing most of the piano music by Schubert /Brilliant Classics. I didn't know how good it apparently is, judging from samples, and then it was gone.

And I like early and later Stokowski recordings ...


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## wkasimer

The Harmonia Mundi box of Paul Lewis' Beethoven recordings. Dull as dishwater. Fortunately, it was cheap.

The Philips box set of Haydn operas. Not because of the performances, but because there are no texts included. I can understand that for a set of Verdi, Mozart, or Wagner operas, but the Haydn operas are mostly pretty obsure.

I have mild regret about the complete EMI set of Cziffra and Samson Francois - not that their playing isn't worthy. My regret is that if I'd waited a few years, I could have gotten the same recordings in a more attractive form (the new issues include original jackets).

But there are lot more big sets that I regret *not* buying, like the RCA boxes devoted to Monteux and Munch.


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## joen_cph

^ Interesting view on Paul Lewis! One doesn't hear that often. I haven't really heard them and haven't got any of his recordings myself though.


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## starthrower

Another one I shouldn't have bought is the Klemperer Beethoven/Brahms/Bruckner mono box. It sounds pretty crappy. I should have got the stereo stuff on EMI/Warner.


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## Kreisler jr

wkasimer said:


> I have mild regret about the complete EMI set of Cziffra and Samson Francois - not that their playing isn't worthy. My regret is that if I'd waited a few years, I could have gotten the same recordings in a more attractive form (the new issues include original jackets).


I slightly regret the Francois, not only because of the flimsy sleeves but because of the many doublings of the same music I will never systematically listen to. But it was apparently cheap in my eyes when I bought it because I alreeady had a 10 disc box of Chopin and the Ravel/Debussy (which are the other "core" recordings) should have been available separately. It was a time when I had more space and spending money. But it was enough that I didn't get Cziffra (because here I had the Introuvables and Chopin, Liszt 5 disc boxes already).
Although it has much higher production value I also slightly regret the big pink Rubinstein box. But I will keep both this one and the Francois. I sold a few smaller boxes several years ago that I didn't find interesting enough and could get reasonable prices, so I probably didn't lose money, just the time for putting them up on some selling platform, e.g. the DG original masters dedicated to Schneiderhan and Monique Haas (the latter was pretty good but I am just not enough into Debussy/Ravel to need another (mono?) recording of the stuff).

I have a few more that mostly collect dust but I see them like an "encyclopedia".


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## Kreisler jr

starthrower said:


> Another one I shouldn't have bought is the Klemperer Beethoven/Brahms/Bruckner mono box. It sounds pretty crappy. I should have got the stereo stuff on EMI/Warner.


Is that the membran Klemperer with some pirated from EMI, some from the German Radio and some from live concerts in Vienna?
It's truly a mixed back but ome of the Bruckner is actually more exciting than the EMI studio recordings. I think I paid less than 10 EUR for that one and more like 5 EUR for the garishly colored Koopman organ on Brilliant, so I regret nothing there. I put the Koopman discs into paper sleeves and these in another Bach organ box, so it doesn't take any space.


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## premont

elgars ghost said:


> A six-disc set of Bach organ works on Brilliant, played by Ton Koopman. I had no problems with the music or performances but as this was the early days of Brilliant Classics the sleeve notes were desultory to the point of non-existence. I've since collected much of what was on there on separate recordings and gave the box away.


To me the music is more important than the sleeve notes. You can get the necessary information elsewhere, and this box was almost a steal.


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## premont

wkasimer said:


> The Harmonia Mundi box of Paul Lewis' Beethoven recordings. Dull as dishwater. Fortunately, it was cheap.


I got the volumes individually, so it was expensive. I agree that Lewis hasn't got much to offer, but I have kept the CDs for completist reasons.


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## Kreisler jr

Another mixed bag from the early days of Brilliant classics was a ca. 30 disc Handel box (they have since then had different Handel collections). They were all in separate jewel cases and together in a very sturdy but clumsy cardboard box. I mercilessly split this up and in the early 2000s (I probably got it in 2001 or 2002) one could actually sell the discs one didn't want on ebay for a few Euros. I still have some discs from that collection, some chamber music, the Brockes Passion (McGegan), a wonderful recording of the German arias with Auger, cantatas with Zadori etc. 
So I cannot say that I regret that one; I would never have heard some of these works back then, had it not been for a cheap box and the chamber music and Italian cantatas I must have played for hours at that time.


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## premont

joen_cph said:


> Among those sold were:
> 
> - Beethoven, 32 Piano Sonatas /John Lill /Brilliant classics. His style is just too uniform for me, though there are a few interesting performances there.


 There are many fine interpretations in this set. The problem is the recording technique.



joen_cph said:


> - J.S.Bach. Cantatas /Leusink. Various box sets from the series. Primarily because of the countertenor appearing at times, Buwalda.


Agree, particulaly the aversion against Buwalda, and the choir is so-so, but there are other fine things in this set eg. Holton and Ramselaar. Not to forget the expert instrumental contribution. And no Bach cantatas set is ideal, you have to own a few of these, if this is an area of interest for you.


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## JTS

premont said:


> I got the volumes individually, so it was expensive. I agree that Lewis hasn't got much to offer, but I have kept the CDs for completist reasons.


Yes I cannot see why the critics raved over Lewis. I always thought Benjamin Frith the better pianist.


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## joen_cph

Kreisler jr said:


> Another mixed bag from the early days of Brilliant classics was a ca. 30 disc Handel box (they have since then had different Handel collections). They were all in separate jewel cases and together in a very sturdy but clumsy cardboard box. I mercilessly split this up and in the early 2000s (I probably got it in 2001 or 2002) one could actually sell the discs one didn't want on ebay for a few Euros. I still have some discs from that collection, some chamber music, the Brockes Passion (McGegan), a wonderful recording of the German arias with Auger, cantatas with Zadori etc.
> So I cannot say that I regret that one; I would never have heard some of these works back then, had it not been for a cheap box and the chamber music and Italian cantatas I must have played for hours at that time.


I kept most of the 40 CD jewel case box, but the concerti grossi and organ concertos plus Messiah were too dull for me. Agree that the Brockes Passion is a fine one, like most with McGegan.


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## joen_cph

JTS said:


> Yes I cannot see why the critics raved over Lewis. I always thought Benjamin Frith the better pianist.


What I heard of Lewis in Schubert was more interesting, but as said I don't own any recordings.


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## CnC Bartok

Me, I'm very happy with the Paul Lewis Beethoven. Furthermore, one CD was dodgy, but I managed to get a replacement directly from Harmonia Mundi, plus a free Ravel disc as way of an apology. Decent chaps and chapettes there.

And John Lill is my favourite Beethoven set. I don't find anything indifferent about the recording quality...

I don't regret buying any boxes, but in hindsight I ight not have bought the Igor Markevich EMI Icon set. I really only got it for the two stupendous Rites of Spring, but the rest is a bit uninteresting and not much of my repertoire to be honest.

Oh, and I did buy the big EMI Britten Collectors Edition, 34 CDs, of a composer I really cannot stand. Still thinking Benji and I will click at some stage, but the likelihood diminishes by the day....I get it down and dust it occasionally, and I do occasionally play a chamber piece or two, where he's at his least horrible.....:angel:


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## wkasimer

joen_cph said:


> - J.S.Bach. Cantatas /Leusink. Various box sets from the series. Primarily because of the countertenor appearing at times, Buwalda.


I thought about mentioning the complete set, which I still have on the shelf. But I bought it when it was dirt-cheap, at a time when other complete sets of the cantatas were ridiculously expensive, so I listened to it fairly often. The other sets are still expensive, but I've received a couple of them as birthday presents in the past few years.


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## joen_cph

Concerning Lill/Beethoven the piano sound is indeed rather monotonous, as far as I remember, loud and hard-hitting. So I could manage perhaps one sonata only, at a time. Compared to the other recordings I have, and stopping at a certain amount of recordings (15 - 30 maximum), it wasn't worth it then.


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## elgar's ghost

premont said:


> To me the music is more important than the sleeve notes. You can get the necessary information elsewhere, and this box was almost a steal.


I ordered it from a mail-order magazine but this was some time before I bought my first laptop so obtaining information wasn't the cinch it is now. At least someone else has hopefully enjoyed it.


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## premont

joen_cph said:


> Concerning Lill/Beethoven the piano sound is indeed rather monotonous, as far as I remember, loud and hard-hitting. So I could manage perhaps one sonata only, at a time. Compared to the other recordings I have, and stopping at a certain amount of recordings (15 - 30 maximum), it wasn't worth it then.


You are completely right about the sound, which is not up to the standard of the time of the recording (last half of the 1970es), but i don't find it "forbidding" - no less than as to the Schnabel set or the Gieseking Saarländisches radio set from the late 1940es, and as I wrote above, there are quite a number of fine interpretations in Lill's set.


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## joen_cph

I'm generally OK with 1930's and 40's sound, including Schnabel, but only have a few Gieseking recordings, including a bit of Beethoven, his playing is often somewhat sketchy and hurried in a lot of the repertoire he chose, I think. Not the Davidsbundler, for example. As for his Debussy, I don't understand the exceptional status it has, but I can enjoy some of the early recordings by say Copeland, Vines, Meyer etc.


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## Kreisler jr

Another one I still keep but have maybe heard 1/3 of, is the Brilliant 20 disc of originally VOX etc. "Romantic piano concertos". This is a case where I should have known that the combination of 2nd rate or worse virtuoso piano + quick and dirty 1970 recording + playing would not be that appealing but again the encyclopedic tendency and low price must have won...


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## joen_cph

It's a great box, IMO, for the less well-known works included. Ponti for example can be a good soloist, but some of the recordings do have rather poor and muddy sound, for sure.


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## JTS

Kreisler jr said:


> Another one I still keep but have maybe heard 1/3 of, is the Brilliant 20 disc of originally VOX etc. "Romantic piano concertos". This is a case where I should have known that the combination of 2nd rate or worse virtuoso piano + quick and dirty 1970 recording + playing would not be that appealing but again the encyclopedic tendency and low price must have won...


I have this too. Got it had a really good price and there are some really good performances. But the music is not great as a whole


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## JTS

I did get the brilliant complete Mozart edition for £20 from a secondhand charity shop. Nearly broke my arm bringing it home on the bus. Never regretted buying it although a lot of it is still unplayed.


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## Kreisler jr

I think I got almost all of my box sets, especially the ones I regret a little, for very good prices, otherwise I would not have bought them... I paid 31 GB, in Sept 2012 less than 40 EUR for the Samson Francois Integrale and now 9 years later the new version is 82 EUR


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## RobertJTh

The complete Bach on Brilliant - yes, it was dirt cheap and yes, it was exciting to buy every individual release when it came out, fresh from the presses, but the quality was very variable and it's the most space-consuming item in my collection, with every cd out of 180 or so coming in its own jewel case...


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## Tero

Neeme Järvi Scandinavian box. It had Sibelius 5th, Nielsen fifth and about four more discs. The other discs were not worth listening. Oh, it had Grieg too, but my Grieg favorites fit on one disc. He has a nice piano concerto but I never listen to it.

I have some favorite Swedes, like Larsson.


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## starthrower

Kreisler jr said:


> Is that the membran Klemperer with some pirated from EMI, some from the German Radio and some from live concerts in Vienna?
> It's truly a mixed back but ome of the Bruckner is actually more exciting than the EMI studio recordings. I think I paid less than 10 EUR for that one and more like 5 EUR for the garishly colored Koopman organ on Brilliant, so I regret nothing there. I put the Koopman discs into paper sleeves and these in another Bach organ box, so it doesn't take any space.


This one:










I'll have to go through it again. I'll just crank it up and not worry about the sound.


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## Merl

I've gotta say that I've been incredibly fortunate with box sets and not got stung on any. In fact, all of the box sets I've got have all offered value for money. Even the worst one I have (a 5cd Beethoven symphonies set I picked up for £1.82 - yes £1.82! ) was worth it just for the sheer comedy value of some of the performances. Lol. You have to hear Jean-Paul Lauriet (who?) and the Georgian SIMI Orchestra (double who?) grind their way through Beethoven's 7th and 8th symphonies just to marvel at how boring, sloppy and insipid Beethoven can be made to sound.


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## starthrower

If anyone was gonna buy that set it had to be you, Merl!


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## Art Rock

RobertJTh said:


> The complete Bach on Brilliant - yes, it was dirt cheap and yes, it was exciting to buy every individual release when it came out, fresh from the presses, but the quality was very variable and it's the most space-consuming item in my collection, with every cd out of 180 or so coming in its own jewel case...


I picked up a few of these 10CD boxes (10 jewel cases in cardboard box) for 2 euro per box at the local thrift store. Not the best versions, but ideal background music in the gallery.


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## joen_cph

Some of the Bach box Brilliant Classics stuff is good, IMO - the Brandenburg Concertos, whether it's Belder or Clark, the Orchestral Suites/Belder, Mass in b, Magnificat, the St. John Passion ...


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## JTS

starthrower said:


> This one:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I'll have to go through it again. I'll just crank it up and not worry about the sound.


I bought this on recommendation but I wouldn't recommend it


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## Kreisler jr

Some of the Bach harpsichord (they changed some contents in several incarnations) by Brilliant are among the best, e.g. the English suites (Van Asperen) and the concerti after diverse composers (Dirksen, I think).

As for the Klemperer Membran, the Beethoven 5,7, Egmont, and Brahms 3 are Philharmonia studio recordings from the mid-late 1950s. The rest is taken from live concerts or broadcasts in Cologne and Vienna (they probably at least partially appeared on Testament or some other historical label). I think the Bruckner 4 and 8th are very interesting and for me the set was worth the 10 Euros I probably paid for it but overall it is more for Klemperer fanatics and the Philharmonia EMI studio recordings are usually a safer choice.


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## Malx

Merl said:


> I've gotta say that I've been incredibly fortunate with box sets and not got stung on any. In fact, all of the box sets I've got have all offered value for money. Even the worst one I have (a 5cd Beethoven symphonies set I picked up for £1.82 - yes £1.82! ) was worth it just for the sheer comedy value of some of the performances. Lol. You have to hear Jean-Paul Lauriet (who?) and the Georgian SIMI Orchestra (double who?) grind their way through Beethoven's 7th and 8th symphonies just to marvel at how boring, sloppy and insipid Beethoven can be made to sound.
> 
> View attachment 160727


I guess it was going to be rough when the marketing line is - length of playing time and wonder of wonders you get picture discs.


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## Kiki

Merl said:


> I've gotta say that I've been incredibly fortunate with box sets and not got stung on any. In fact, all of the box sets I've got have all offered value for money. Even the worst one I have (a 5cd Beethoven symphonies set I picked up for £1.82 - yes £1.82! ) was worth it just for the sheer comedy value of some of the performances. Lol. You have to hear Jean-Paul Lauriet (who?) and the Georgian SIMI Orchestra (double who?) grind their way through Beethoven's 7th and 8th symphonies just to marvel at how boring, sloppy and insipid Beethoven can be made to sound.
> 
> View attachment 160727


£1.82? How much does a steak and kidney pie cost these days?

I wonder if those names are pseudonyms.


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## RobertJTh

Kiki said:


> I wonder if those names are pseudonyms.


Some of them must be. Remember the early days of cd collecting and the inevitable dozen or so performances by the South German Philharmonic conducted by all kinds of literal whos that somehow ended up in your collection?
I'll make a separate thread about those gems, could be fun discussing and/or identifying those.


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## joen_cph

Lauriet's name only turns up in relation to that recording, apparently.


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## apricissimus

The Mercury Living Presence 2 box is about half fluff that I'll never listen to more than once. Talking about easy-listening Leroy Anderson type stuff.

Not all of it's bad. I don't remember how much I paid for it, but I wouldn't buy it again if I realized what was in it.


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## wkasimer

apricissimus said:


> The Mercury Living Presence 2 box is about half fluff that I'll never listen to more than once. Talking about easy-listening Leroy Anderson type stuff.
> 
> Not all of it's bad. I don't remember how much I paid for it, but I wouldn't buy it again if I realized what was in it.
> 
> View attachment 160838


I usually avoid these sort of sets. There's always a high percentage of recordings that I either already own, or don't have much interest in hearing even once. And for the Mercury sets, a lot of the best material was issued in SACD format, but the box only contains RBCD's.

I did make an exception for this set, though:









There's a lot here that (at least at the time of issue) hadn't been reissued on CD. Glad I did, since it's now OOP and expensive.


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## Merl

joen_cph said:


> Lauriet's name only turns up in relation to that recording, apparently.


You've more chance of finding information on Brigadoon than Mr. Lauriet on Google. Some of Scholz's pseudonyms were killer, though. Who can forget Hymisher Greenberg and the European Philharmonic Orchestra (my favourite) , Eugen Duvier, Cesare Cantieri or Denis Zsoltay? Lol. What a charlatan.


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## apricissimus

At one point I was considering buying the big Haydn box set from Brilliant. But when I saw the number of CDs taken up by folk song arrangements (something like 20 CDs), I thought better of it.


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## jegreenwood

wkasimer said:


> I usually avoid these sort of sets. There's always a high percentage of recordings that I either already own, or don't have much interest in hearing even once. And for the Mercury sets, a lot of the best material was issued in SACD format, but the box only contains RBCD's.
> . . . .


Did you know that the CD mastering is different than the SACD? For the CD layer they kept Wilma Cozert Fine's supervised mastering, but they remastered the SACD layer. I read a post somewhere that claimed that the SACD remastering was an abomination. (I don't agree.)

I have Volume 1 of the Mercury. Some fluff, but mostly good stuff.



wkasimer said:


> . . . .
> I did make an exception for this set, though:
> 
> View attachment 160840
> 
> 
> There's a lot here that (at least at the time of issue) hadn't been reissued on CD. Glad I did, since it's now OOP and expensive.


Is that volume 1 or 2? I'm pretty sure all of the albums in Volume 1 were released as SACDs (some more than once). I have all but the Mario Lanza disc. Everyone once in a while, I consider tracking that down. But I can't imagine listening to it.


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## wkasimer

jegreenwood said:


> Is that volume 1 or 2? I'm pretty sure all of the albums in Volume 1 were released as SACDs (some more than once). I have all but the Mario Lanza disc. Everyone once in a while, I consider tracking that down. But I can't imagine listening to it.


I don't think that it was either of those volumes - IIRC, this was issued after the first two volumes of stuff that had mostly been reissued previously.


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## Kreisler jr

apricissimus said:


> At one point I was considering buying the big Haydn box set from Brilliant. But when I saw the number of CDs taken up by folk song arrangements (something like 20 CDs), I thought better of it.


I have 3 Vols. of the folk songs with 8 discs altogether but I probably have not listened to all of them. (I am generally rather fond of them, though, even more of Beethoven's). There were also something like 20 discs of music with baryton...
I think most of the "Brilliant" Haydn was also in separate boxes; if you can find them for good prices (should not be much more than ca. 1$ or EUR per disc), the piano trios, symphonies and string quartets are all worth such a low price and a very good basic Haydn "library".


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## wkasimer

apricissimus said:


> At one point I was considering buying the big Haydn box set from Brilliant. But when I saw the number of CDs taken up by folk song arrangements (something like 20 CDs), I thought better of it.


I've never really understood the rationale behind these gargantuan sets devoted to major composers. I have a few smaller (i.e. less than 30 CD's) sets devoted to composers who aren't well represented in my collection, like Holst, Walton, Elgar, and RVW, but huge sets devoted to Beethoven, Mozart, Bach et al seem fairly pointless. The only such box I've bought was a Brilliant Beethoven box, but only because a) it was ridiculously cheap on eBay and b) it contained some excellent performances not already on my shelves (Gulda's piano sonatas, Masur's symphonies, Guarneri's second set of the quartets, Grumiaux/Haskil violin sonatas, Schiff/Fellner cello sonatas, and some other odds and ends that I really wanted to hear.


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## Becca

As I read this thread I find myself glad that I've never bought one of the boxes, nor even considered doing so, that way I won't end up having any regrets :lol:


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## Oldhoosierdude

I spent a whopping $.99 each on the Bach Guild digital box sets of Telemann and Harnacourt. I couldn't ever make it through either one.


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## Merl

wkasimer said:


> ...... The only such box I've bought was a Brilliant Beethoven box, but only because a) it was ridiculously cheap on eBay and b) it contained some excellent performances not already on my shelves (Gulda's piano sonatas, Masur's symphonies, Guarneri's second set of the quartets, Grumiaux/Haskil violin sonatas, Schiff/Fellner cello sonatas, and some other odds and ends that I really wanted to hear.


Lol, that's the only reason I bought that set too, Wkasimer. For £10/£15 (can't remember the exact price) it was an absolute steal.


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## tdc

I'm happy with the box sets I've purchased thus far. I have the Bach complete on Brilliant Classics, Ravel complete on Decca, Stravinsky complete on DG, Debussy Edition on DG, Brahms complete chamber on DG. I also have the Rodrigo Edition on Brilliant which I kind of regret buying but only because a few of the discs were defective. 

I will probably eventually pick up a Mozart complete. I think the one on Brilliant Classics one is supposed to be good.


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## fbjim

wkasimer said:


> I usually avoid these sort of sets. There's always a high percentage of recordings that I either already own, or don't have much interest in hearing even once. And for the Mercury sets, a lot of the best material was issued in SACD format, but the box only contains RBCD's.
> 
> I did make an exception for this set, though:
> 
> View attachment 160840
> 
> 
> There's a lot here that (at least at the time of issue) hadn't been reissued on CD. Glad I did, since it's now OOP and expensive.


I missed out on the LSC set but I imagine they'll be due for yet another round of reissues, as long as the generation of audiophiles who idolized The Absolute Sound are still around.


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## philoctetes

I have 4 Munch sets - Warner, Berlioz, "Romantic Masterpieces" and the Boston Radio Archives. Sure there is some bloat and duplication but the highlights still pay off when I play them. 

I got boxes by both Fricsay and Cluytens when they were issued. Both have baggage but in the long run Cluytens wins with breadth of repertory. Sold the Friicsay but keeping the Cluytens for now.

I also had a few Giulini boxes which I no longer care for anymore. Gone. 

Oh yeah, the Aeolian Quartet's complete Haydn... ugh.

The best box set is Handel's Cantatas by Bonnizoni and Rizonanze.


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## starthrower

philoctetes said:


> Oh yeah, the Aeolian Quartet's complete Haydn... ugh.


I bought the complete set by the Angeles Quartet. A couple CDs would have been enough. But I'll hold onto it for now. I may need to sell some of these boxes down the road when I'm old and feeble and I need the money.


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## joen_cph

I sold the Buchberger set, after acquiring the Angeles set.


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## starthrower

joen_cph said:


> I sold the Buchberger set, after acquiring the Angeles set.


I have nothing against these Haydn sets but I just don't have enough interest to listen to that many quartets. I do like his vocal music.


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## fbjim

I do have a big desire to own the Dorati Haydn symphony set for some reason. A Haydn symphony is something I can put on at any time and enjoy.


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## joen_cph

starthrower said:


> I have nothing against these Haydn sets but I just don't have enough interest to listen to that many quartets. I do like his vocal music.


I quite agree, however one tends to like some further ones, when getting to know them. So far, op.33 (=2CDs) are my favourites.


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## Kreisler jr

starthrower said:


> I have nothing against these Haydn sets but I just don't have enough interest to listen to that many quartets. I do like his vocal music.


This might also change. I have two and half or more Bach cplt organ music sets and never listened to all of the music but I expect that I will some day  Sure, this all might be obsolete in days of Streaming but when I bought most of my CDs there was no streaming and I bought some stuff like one would buy the complete Shakespeare or Goethe or an encyclopedia.
I have heard about 4-5 discs of the Buchberger and the complete Angeles and they have both some points in their favor so I can understand a preference for either. The Angeles has a more beautiful sound but some balances are not ideal (1st violin favored, generally a bit distant sound, some people really disliked the recording/sound quality) whereas the Buchberger are more than a little rough in some spots.



fbjim said:


> I do have a big desire to own the Dorati Haydn symphony set for some reason. A Haydn symphony is something I can put on at any time and enjoy.


Apparently the Dorati set is not cheap nowadays. The Fischer/Brilliant is also a mixed bag but overall pretty good and I'd recommend it if available for $50 or less, partly because collecting all the Haydn symphonies separately can be a bit of a pita.


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## starthrower

I still prefer CDs for listening to the music I love. I use streaming to check out unfamiliar works, composers, recordings, etc. I will dip into the Haydn quartets occasionally.


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## Merl

joen_cph said:


> I sold the Buchberger set, after acquiring the Angeles set.


I did the opposite. :lol:


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## eljr

starthrower said:


> Box Sets You Regret Purchasing


None!

There is good music and there is great music, there is no bad music!

you may quote me :tiphat:


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## starthrower

eljr said:


> None!
> 
> There is good music and there is great music, there is no bad music!
> 
> you may quote me :tiphat:


It's not so much about that but more about if these boxes will actually be listened to. That's how I place value on the ones I've purchased. I'm sure all the big conductor boxes are filled with good to great music but I don't buy them because I have no desire to spin loads of basic repertoire recordings.

I do want the Maria Callas studio box but I don't feel like laying out over 200 dollars for it so I'm still thinking it over.


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## Becca

eljr said:


> None!
> 
> There is good music and there is great music, there is no bad music!
> 
> you may quote me :tiphat:


But there _is_ badly performed music


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## joen_cph

Merl said:


> I did the opposite. :lol:


Maybe we could both have saved money. But that's life.


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## wkasimer

Merl said:


> I did the opposite. :lol:


So did I. There's a rustic quality to the Buchberger set that I much prefer.


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## eljr

Becca said:


> But there _is_ badly performed music


I prefer to think it is less well performed.

Simply put, I do not find it within me to criticize music. I have no doubt, if I only ever heard bad music I would come to love it. Music has that much control of me. I will not tarnish it in word.


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## eljr

starthrower said:


> It's not so much about that but more about if these boxes will actually be listened to. That's how I place value on the ones I've purchased. I'm sure all the big conductor boxes are filled with good to great music but I don't buy them because I have no desire to spin loads of basic repertoire recordings.
> 
> I do want the Maria Callas studio box but I don't feel like laying out over 200 dollars for it so I'm still thinking it over.


No doubt, some box sets hold more value to us than others.


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## philoctetes

fbjim said:


> I do have a big desire to own the Dorati Haydn symphony set for some reason. A Haydn symphony is something I can put on at any time and enjoy.


I DO NOT regret that one...


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## philoctetes

Add the Toscanini box... like, what was I thinking


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## Rogerx

This one I play the least cd's from


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