# Complete Editions - any standout recommendations?



## Tedski (Jul 8, 2015)

I like picking and choosing particular composers and performers as much as the next guy. But, I also appreciate a good bargain, and some of these Complete composer, conductor, and record label box sets look too good to pass up for the price. 

So far, all I've gotten is Vol 1 of the Mercury Living Presence edition. While there are some discs, e.g. the military marches, I could do without, the Byron Janis and Janis Starker discs were worth the price of admission.

What are some of the standout editions out there? Have you come across any you think should be avoided?


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## Headphone Hermit (Jan 8, 2014)

You are right - they are often very good value for money and are often convenient for building up your collection, but .... sometimes a slower and more deliberate approach also has value. Sometimes, it is that you don't actually want everything in a 'complete' edition (as you identify) - although sometimes you can stumble across very pleasant surprises (eg - it may have taken me a lot longer to discover Schubert's massses if I hadn't picked up the EMI 'Collector's Edition' some years ago) - but more often, it may be that a particular conductor (or violinist or pianist etc) is not a 'master' of every work that he chose to record and at such times, you may prefer a different version.
As to how *you* can make such a decision - well, that will depend upon your ears, your taste and your judgement - you can be helped by careful use of reviews (eg on Amazon or the very good Penguin Guide) but at the end of the day, seldom does everyone agree on what is excelence or optimum 'value-for-money'
Enjoy your exploration


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## bigshot (Nov 22, 2011)

The albums you find in those big boxes are the EXACT SAME albums that sold for full price as individual releases ten years ago, and the exact same military marches that Japanese collectors spend big bucks for on vinyl.

Music is what it is. Quantity isn't quality, but neither are individual releases. When you pay less than two bucks a disk, you can afford some that aren't to your tastes, but that doesn't mean that they aren't to someone else's.

Anyone who is a classical music fan today needs to realize that we are currently experiencing an embarrassment of riches. When I first started collecting classical music in the 1970s, I had no idea it would ever be this good.


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## bigshot (Nov 22, 2011)

I buy every box set under $2 a disk on back catalog recordings. I've found dozens of fantastic boxes... Living Stereo 1 is a drop dead bargain, as is Decca Sound 1. The secret is that you have to figure out how to listen to large amounts of music. You can't do that the old fashioned way, where you pour a glass of wine and sit on the couch and read the booklet. You need to incorporate music deeper into your life, and learn to listen to music as a normal part of your everyday routine. I've ripped all my CDs to an iTunes library and have it on random shuffle 24/7. All I have to do is turn on a stereo with my iPhone in a room and it plays. I probably listen to over 4 hours of music a day and I love and appreciate every minute of it. I would never be able to do that any other way.

Too much is never enough!


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## david johnson (Jun 25, 2007)

those are great march recordings


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## Tedski (Jul 8, 2015)

Actually, I do like march music, and did not mean to disparage it, except insofar as it is not what
I am looking for when I buy a set of classical music.

50 years ago I played the crap out of this album, and to this day I still replay it in my head, on occasion.


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## bigshot (Nov 22, 2011)

I can play the hell out of that cover!


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## Tedski (Jul 8, 2015)

Julius Herrmann was known as the Furtwangler of the military band.


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## Morimur (Jan 23, 2014)

Tedski said:


> Actually, I do like march music, and did not mean to disparage it, except insofar as it is not what
> I am looking for when I buy a set of classical music.
> 
> 50 years ago I played the crap out of this album, and to this day I still replay it in my head, on occasion.
> ...


******
Da fuk?
******


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## Adamus (Aug 30, 2015)

'


bigshot said:


> I buy every box set under $2 a disk on back catalog recordings. I've found dozens of fantastic boxes... Living Stereo 1 is a drop dead bargain, as is Decca Sound 1. The secret is that you have to figure out how to listen to large amounts of music. You can't do that the old fashioned way, where you pour a glass of wine and sit on the couch and read the booklet. You need to incorporate music deeper into your life, and learn to listen to music as a normal part of your everyday routine. I've ripped all my CDs to an iTunes library and have it on random shuffle 24/7. All I have to do is turn on a stereo with my iPhone in a room and it plays. I probably listen to over 4 hours of music a day and I love and appreciate every minute of it. I would never be able to do that any other way.
> 
> Too much is never enough!


Like Roonlabs?


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## chesapeake bay (Aug 3, 2015)

this one is a good one
http://www.amazon.com/Genius-Beethoven-100-Classical-Masterpieces/dp/B00JWNY1QA/ref=sr_1_1?s=dmusic&ie=UTF8&qid=1443835472&sr=1-1-mp3-albums-bar-strip-0&keywords=the+genius+of+beethoven
The symphony's are worth the price and the rest you can listen to and see what you like.

and you can't really beat this set http://www.amazon.com/Haydn-Complete-String-Quartets-VoxMegaBox/dp/B00YRDOGKQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=dmusic&ie=UTF8&qid=1443835736&sr=1-1-mp3-albums-bar-strip-0&keywords=haydns+quartets

Not all of them are my favorite rendition but there are definitely some very good ones and, well, 24 hours of music


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## Adamus (Aug 30, 2015)

http://www.qobuz.com/nl-nl/album/gl...ia-album-collection-glenn-gould/0886445221237
€82 download vs €184 box http://www.amazon.de/dp/B00UOFCNOC/...TF8&colid=38WS44DNCDM0X&coliid=I2MEO8MNJXKMAZ nobrainer to buy the cd?


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## ComposerOfAvantGarde (Dec 2, 2011)

Lol...the stuff going on in this thread. 

My contribution is obvious for those who have read my posts in the past year, but Boulez has a heap of other box sets of stuff that others wrote too which are always worth getting.


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## Adamus (Aug 30, 2015)

http://www.amazon.com/Glenn-Gould-R...iewpoints=1&sortBy=bySubmissionDateDescending But can download for 50% of the cd price http://www.qobuz.com/nl-nl/album/gl...bia-album-collection/0886445221237?qref=dac_6 buy the cd? I rip them all to alac -so I can revert.


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