# Question about Karajan boxes!



## Russell Chee (Dec 3, 2019)

Hello everybody,

Sorry if this post seems a little useless. I was just looking up box sets, and found that there is a 101-disc box of Karajan EMI recordings titled "the Complete Official Remastered Edition", and also that there were two box sets totaling 160 CDs from a few years earlier titled "complete EMI recordings". Besides the fact that the latter contains his operatic recordings whereas the former does not, are there any disparities in the listing between the two? Would the former box essentially contain his complete orchestral recordings? Hopefully someone can answer  Thanks!


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## MatthewWeflen (Jan 24, 2019)

I don't know if this is what you're asking, but these boxes would only be his complete recordings for the EMI record company. Karajan also recorded for Deutsche Grammophon, and his output is around 8 times what it was for EMI.

There are two other factors to consider for the EMI boxes, which may or may not be important to you:
1. A good half of the output was recorded in the 50s and earlier with the Philharmonia Orchestra, mostly in mono, and the sound quality is correspondingly more hiss-laden.
2. Warner has applied copy protection to some significant percentage of the discs, which makes ripping the files for a digital audio player more challenging (I have had to use external CD-R drives to do it for the sets I possess).

So while I don't own either of these complete boxes, it looks like the larger is just a duplication of the smaller one, with opera making up the difference.

Personally, my recommendation would be to purchase one of the DG "decade" box sets. I think 1970's is the one to get, in terms of sound quality and selection. Or, get 1960's and then augment it with the Symphony Edition, which contains most of the 1970's symphonic cycles.

This is not to say that there weren't some fabulous EMI recordings. The complete Schubert cycle is very good, it's the only label he recorded Beethoven's piano concertos for, the Sibelius is worthwhile, the Anne-Sophie Mutter 4 Seasons, and the like. But I would pick those up piecemeal if I were in the market.


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## wkasimer (Jun 5, 2017)

Russell Chee said:


> Hello everybody,
> 
> Sorry if this post seems a little useless. I was just looking up box sets, and found that there is a 101-disc box of Karajan EMI recordings titled "the Complete Official Remastered Edition", and also that there were two box sets totaling 160 CDs from a few years earlier titled "complete EMI recordings". Besides the fact that the latter contains his operatic recordings whereas the former does not, are there any disparities in the listing between the two? Would the former box essentially contain his complete orchestral recordings? Hopefully someone can answer  Thanks!


This "Complete Official Remastered Edition"...









... contains, I believe, all of his orchestral recordings for EMI. And if it matters, the sound on this set is substantially better than the previous "complete" issue, at least based on my comparison using the Beethoven symphonies with the Philharmonia.


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## Kiki (Aug 15, 2018)

I have the EMI 72+88=160CDs 2-box edition. It is not complete in the sense that it does not include the stereo mix of the 1955 Philharmonia Beethoven 9, which is available on a separate CD.


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## Merl (Jul 28, 2016)

Oops wrong thread


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## SONNET CLV (May 31, 2014)

Never a big Karajan fan, I do own the Warner box set "Official Remastered Edition".

















This is all the Karajan I need. (Though I do have a spattering of the conductor's DGG recordings here and there on my disc shelves and some odds and ends from the man.) What I most dislike about Karajan is the sound of his digital recordings, those later discs, almost always on the DGG label. Early Karajan remains more pleasing to my ears. Which is a strength of this Warner box set; it is comprised of earlier recordings rather than later ones, and they are mainly fine to my sensibilities.

The main reason I purchased this set when it was initially released was simply because I did not have too many Karajan discs on hand and I felt that, as a collector of music on disc, I should tackle a bit of the man's work. It was because these were earlier recordings that I took the bait. The sound is overall good, for all practical purposes. (Remember, some of these are older recordings.) And I don't regret the purchase.


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## jegreenwood (Dec 25, 2015)

About a decade ago CDImports (or its wholesaler) had a huge pricing foul-up on EMI mega-boxes. I was sure they wouldn't honor the advertised price, but they did. I picked up the two Von Karajan mega-boxes for about $20 each. (I picked up several other boxes as well.) For what it's worth I listen to the vocal music box much more than the orchestral music box.


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## JB Henson (Mar 29, 2019)

Also if you like the idea of burning a grand, UMG has put together a complete box set of every single thing Karajan recorded for both Deutch Grammophon AND Decca. https://www.amazon.com/Karajan-Complete-Recordings-Deutsche-Grammophon/dp/B07544JRZ1


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## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

jegreenwood said:


> About a decade ago CDImports (or its wholesaler) had a huge pricing foul-up on EMI mega-boxes. I was sure they wouldn't honor the advertised price, but they did. I picked up the two Von Karajan mega-boxes for about $20 each. (I picked up several other boxes as well.) For what it's worth I listen to the vocal music box much more than the orchestral music box.


I had a similar experience with a Richter boxed set which was almost a giveaway price. Unfortunately I found I had most tof the recordings but never mind it was worth it for the one or two I didn't own. The Karajan early EMI contain some remarkable performances with the Philarmonia which were revolutionary for the day since no-one thought a British orchestra could play with such virtuosity. They are still amazing.


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## Kiki (Aug 15, 2018)

JB Henson said:


> Also if you like the idea of burning a grand, UMG has put together a complete box set of every single thing Karajan recorded for both Deutch Grammophon AND Decca. https://www.amazon.com/Karajan-Complete-Recordings-Deutsche-Grammophon/dp/B07544JRZ1


DG has released three editions of so-called "complete" Karajan at different times as far as I know.
1. The wooden case Japanese edition.
2. The 60s, 70s, 80s, Opera 4-box edition. (There is also a separate Choral box which duplicates recordings from these 4 boxes.)
3. The most recent big white box, which apparently also includes Unitel videos but fewer Salzburg operas.

I'm afraid none of the above includes the "special edition" records released by DG, e.g. his last three concerts in Japan, 2 Beethoven 9s outside of his 3 DG cycles, the live Bruckner 9 in Venna, etc. I have the 60s/70s/80s/Opera edition. Like the big white box, it does include original cover art (including wrong covers as well :lol, and there are fewer errors in the recording data than EMI's 160 CDs 2-box edition (which drives me nuts :lol.


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