# How can Brilliant Classics be so good?



## MatthewWeflen (Jan 24, 2019)

Brilliant Classics mystifies me. How can they be so cheap and yet so good?

I have now purchased three collections from Brilliant Classics:








Schubert String Quartets








Nielsen Symphonies 1-6








Tchaikovsky Complete Orchestral Suites

And all three are just freaking amazing. Truly exceptional recordings from a technical standpoint, and truly excellent playing from an emotional/intellectual engagement standpoint.

What gives? How can they do it? I am 3 for 3, and all of them have been twelve dollars, for 7h49m, 3h25m, and 2h14m respectively. Do they have a library of stinkers that I just haven't sampled?

Would anyone else like to share a Brilliant Classics buy they've made that has knocked their socks off?


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## Oldhoosierdude (May 29, 2016)

,_____________


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## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

This one for sure, can compete with all the greatest .


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

They often use bigger label's recordings that have run their course there, and that they (I assume) can get cheap. Combined with relatively high sales for the Brilliant boxes, they can keep the price low.

Here is another stunning deal, one of the best sets of complete Shostakovich symphonies:


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## flamencosketches (Jan 4, 2019)

^What he said. They license recordings, which is a lot cheaper than financing a whole recording project, paying the musicians, paying the studio, paying the engineers etc. etc.


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## Plague (Apr 4, 2020)

They also have the most generous classical music youtube channel with hundreds of full recordings, many of which are of lesser known composers:

https://www.youtube.com/user/BrilliantClassics/videos

A few months ago I found they had Herbert Blomstedt & Staatskapelle Dresden's Beethoven symphony cycle on their channel, a wonderful surprise:


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## NLAdriaan (Feb 6, 2019)

Brilliant Classics started off as a supplier to a Dutch discount retail store chain 'Kruidvat', a sort of Boots, during the heyday of CD. They gained a name for themselves with a complete Bach edition on CD for the Bach-year of 2000, with both own recordings and some great recordings they could license from A-labels, all for a ridiculously low price, compared to the Bach edition from Teldec. They must have reached quite some new listeners to CM. 
recordings from former eastern Germany, like the Staatskapelle Dresden.

Many licensed re-issues from major labels recordings like DG/Archiv, Sony and EMI are (long) out of print. I guess the major labels now fill the gap themselves following the same recipe. But still you can find treasures in the catalogue, like for instance ome nice opera . The label is now only selling online.


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## Manxfeeder (Oct 19, 2010)

This Brahms cycle is really good.









It's also part of their Great Symphonies box set, which also includes the Blomstedt Beethoven cycle.


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## Allegro Con Brio (Jan 3, 2020)

Possibly somewhat off-topic question - does anyone know of a place where one could possibly download Gulda's complete set of Beethoven sonatas?










I searched Brilliant's website for it and came up blank. Why is that? No other outlet seems to have it available for download, YouTube doesn't carry any, and I don't buy CDs. Any leads? I'm really curious to hear these interpretations.


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## EnescuCvartet (Dec 16, 2016)

Rogerx said:


> This one for sure, can compete with all the greatest .


It also competes with most superfluous album cover. That's Death Valley. He'll have to drop the cello and jacket within the hour.


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## MatthewWeflen (Jan 24, 2019)

Allegro Con Brio said:


> Possibly somewhat off-topic question - does anyone know of a place where one could possibly download Gulda's complete set of Beethoven sonatas?
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Looks to me like they don't have the license any more. I couldn't find a download on Amazon or Presto Classical, who generally have everything between them.

Amazon had the CDs for $34 used.

https://www.amazon.com/Beethoven-Sonatas-Piano-Friedrich-Gulda/dp/B000B8WEL4

The closest set I could find for download was a Decca release:

https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/7938136--friedrich-gulda

It looks like it was recorded in 1957, whereas the out-of-license cycle on Brilliant was recorded in 1967.


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## Knorf (Jan 16, 2020)

This CD is incredibly good, and I don't think is a re-issue, as most entries in this label's catalog are. It was recorded in 2015 and released in 2017.


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## SONNET CLV (May 31, 2014)

*How can Brilliant Classics be so good?*

'Cause they're brilliant, and they're classics!
At least, that was my initial thought.

A more realistic notion might be that they can afford to be, at least from the point-of-view that I have forked over many a dollar for purchases of the label's fare. I just checked my Discogs folder for Brilliant Classics and find a listing of 50 items, many of these the large box sets including the Complete Bach and the Complete Beethoven and a number of those 40-disc Masterworks boxes. And I estimate that only half of my current collection is on the Discogs site; I suspect I could have 30 to 50 more Brilliant Classics issues not yet cataloged.

And I've enjoyed this music for many years. So many of the recordings are treasures.

Each time I see a listing for new releases from the catalog, I pay attention. After all, these releases are both brilliant and classics.


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## Merl (Jul 28, 2016)

In the UK a lot of Brilliant Classics stuff was sold by the beauty / pharmacy chain, Superdrug, back in the 2000s. I got some absolute bargains for pennies including the Blomstedt Beethoven, Barshai Shosty and Van Zweden Brahms for a few quid each. There were some great releases in Brilliant.


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## MatthewWeflen (Jan 24, 2019)

Yeah, I know there are a fair number of licensed collections, but the three I bought were recorded just for Brilliant. They must have great talent scouts to find lesser known talents to record digitally.


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

MatthewWeflen said:


> Yeah, I know there are a fair number of licensed collections, but the three I bought were recorded just for Brilliant. They must have great talent scouts to find lesser known talents to record digitally.


The Tchaikovsky suites are definitely taken from earlier Capriccio recordings (1987). Haven't checked the others, but I knew Marriner recorded for Capriccio with this orchestra, and a quick search confirmed it:
http://www.arkivmusic.com/classical/album.jsp?album_id=755380


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## MatthewWeflen (Jan 24, 2019)

Art Rock said:


> The Tchaikovsky suites are definitely taken from earlier Capriccio recordings (1987). Haven't checked the others, but I knew Marriner recorded for Capriccio with this orchestra, and a quick search confirmed it:
> http://www.arkivmusic.com/classical/album.jsp?album_id=755380


Yep, you're right about the Tchaikovsky. But the other two do say they are copyright Brilliant Classics.

The Tchaikovsky is a great recording.


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## flamencosketches (Jan 4, 2019)

Allegro Con Brio said:


> Possibly somewhat off-topic question - does anyone know of a place where one could possibly download Gulda's complete set of Beethoven sonatas?
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Just buy the CDs and rip it. Sell them on ebay when you're done with them if you really don't want it. Someone else posted a link to Amazon for a reasonable price.


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## Guest002 (Feb 19, 2020)

I have to say, their Bach was what got me into Bach, so full marks for that, and I'd re-recommend it in a heart-beat in consequence.

But their use of Leusink for the cantatas was an appalling bad judgment, and I've spent a lot of money since rectifying the entire collection. In short, it was a good first step, but if that's all your Bach experience was, you'd be missing out on a lot.

I found their Vivaldi similar.

If you want bar-for-buck, they can't be beat (pun intended!). And they will thus provide an entreé into vast worlds of music for next-to-nothing. And for that, they deserve high praise. But if you're once taken by the composer whose "all" you've just purchased, understand that you then need to re-purchase pretty much everything, bit by premium bit, to get a properly rounded view of that composer's works.


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## PlaySalieri (Jun 3, 2012)

Yes I have the BC Mozart set.

wouldnt bother with any other


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## Itullian (Aug 27, 2011)

Their Beethoven set with Blomstedt, Brendel and the Suske Quartet is very good.


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## Guest002 (Feb 19, 2020)

PlaySalieri said:


> Yes I have the BC Mozart set.
> 
> wouldnt bother with any other


Their Mozart is actually very good (better than their Bach, for example). But I'd still want to replace fairly large chunks of it with better recordings. Just as one example, Le Nozze di Figaro: BC has Kuijken and La Petite Bande. I'd have to buy René Jacobs and Concerto Köln before thinking I knew anything much about that opera. And Jacobs isn't even the best recording (not sure entirely what is: I now have four: and I suspect that's as nothing for a real Mozart afficionado!).


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## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

AbsolutelyBaching said:


> Their Mozart is actually very good (better than their Bach, for example). But I'd still want to replace fairly large chunks of it with better recordings. Just as one example, Le Nozze di Figaro: BC has Kuijken and La Petite Bande. I'd have to buy René Jacobs and Concerto Köln before thinking I knew anything much about that opera. And Jacobs isn't even the best recording (not sure entirely what is: I now have four: and I suspect that's as nothing for a real Mozart afficionado!).


I have quite a few recordings of Figaro and Jacobs comes out at the top.

I've also got the Brilliant Classics complete which has good performances but probably not the best. But good for completeness.


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## classical yorkist (Jun 29, 2017)

They have some excellent baroque releases that they commission themselves from young groups. it's often rare composers and repertoire as well. Some of their releases are not quite up to it but most are amazing. This is a wonderful cd
https://www.brilliantclassics.com/a...ster-celebration-at-st-mark-s-in-venice-1600/
And their YouTube channel is amazing


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## NLAdriaan (Feb 6, 2019)

It's all quite logical. Since the major label licenses dried up, this label, like Naxos, mainly survives by releasing relatively unknown music by relatively unknown artists. The major labels cover the well known repertoire by well known artists. so the Brilliant labels fill gaps. Of course there are plenty of good musicians around. I do think that the Brilliant artists don't get any serious compensation for their hard work, let alone a part of the revenue. This is the other side of low priced original releases.


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## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

NLAdriaan said:


> It's all quite logical. Since the major label licenses dried up, this label, like Naxos, mainly survives by releasing relatively unknown music by relatively unknown artists. The major labels cover the well known repertoire by well known artists. so the Brilliant labels fill gaps. Of course there are plenty of good musicians around. I do think that the Brilliant artists don't get any serious compensation for their hard work, let alone a part of the revenue. This is the other side of low priced original releases.


I heard Jando got £1000 per disc flat for his Beethoven sonatas for Naxos. If he had worked on royalties he would have been a rich man!


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## NLAdriaan (Feb 6, 2019)

DavidA said:


> I heard Jando got £1000 per disc flat for his Beethoven sonatas for Naxos. If he had worked on royalties he would have been a rich man!


Absolutely, but at such low prices, Naxos, Brilliant and the likes don't make a lot of money themselves too. And since streaming became popular, the market for any record label or artist is almost ruined. No solution in sight, it could be a nice subject for a Wagner opera


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## HerbertNorman (Jan 9, 2020)

Art Rock said:


> They often use bigger label's recordings that have run their course there, and that they (I assume) can get cheap. Combined with relatively high sales for the Brilliant boxes, they can keep the price low.
> 
> Here is another stunning deal, one of the best sets of complete Shostakovich symphonies:


Yes this one is amazing!


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## adriesba (Dec 30, 2019)

This is a nice set:










I got it years ago, and I'm glad I did as it is now expensive. I also can't believe how hard it is to get these on CD considering these are from Decca. The releases with just a couple of concerti are even expensive.


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## ELbowe (Aug 23, 2020)

flamencosketches said:


> Just buy the CDs and rip it. Sell them on ebay when you're done with them if you really don't want it. Someone else posted a link to Amazon for a reasonable price.


Amazon Canada has this on offer for cheapest $110 (used) and new at $210 !!


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## techniquest (Aug 3, 2012)

I think their Barshai Shostakovich symphonies set is their star product. I bought it years ago from Superdrug for next-to-nothing along with the Neuhold Wagner Ring cycle, also from Brilliant Classics.


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## flamencosketches (Jan 4, 2019)

ELbowe said:


> Amazon Canada has this on offer for cheapest $110 (used) and new at $210 !!


https://www.amazon.com/Beethoven-Sonatas-Piano-Friedrich-Gulda/dp/B000B8WEL4

No, it's $34 on Amazon US. I'm tempted to go for it myself at that price.


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## Eclectic Al (Apr 23, 2020)

Just decided to get the Schubert Symphonies from Blomstedt and the Staatskapelle Dresden. Listened to Number 1 so far. Pretty good.


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## thejewk (Sep 13, 2020)

I have the Chopin Edition I got years ago, and it has some excellent performances. I've still not mined it fully, but I just pulled it out to digitise it so hopefully will give it some more attention.


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

I enjoy the Shostakovich cycle as well as several operas by Beethoven, Berg, Borodin, Wagner, and Mussorgsky. And the Mendelssohn 8 CD sacred choral music box.


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## arthro (Mar 12, 2013)

My own theory is that it is a company run mostly by engineers.


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

Good and cheap has to do with the fact that they license recordings from other labels so another company has already absorbed the recording and production costs. All Brilliant has to do is pay for packaging and CD pressing.


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