# You have $200 to buy the only music you can listen to for the rest of your life



## Sofronitsky

What the title of the thread says.. using amazon.com, prestoclassical.co.uk, or any other site make a list of CD's you would buy with 200 dollars to be the only CD's you could listen to for the rest of your life.

Kind of a weird spin on the desert island topics, but I have 200 dollars to spend and am starting a cd collection.


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## tdc

Hmmm...my answers might look quite different on another day but if I was forced to choose my list _might_ look something like this: (using about average prices on Amazon.com)

Bach: St. Matthew Passion - $30
Bach: Complete Well Tempered Clavier - $40
Ravel: Complete solo piano music - $15
Ravel: Complete orchestral works - $20
Mozart: Complete Piano Concertos - $40
Beethoven: Complete Piano Sonatas - $30
Bartok: Complete String Quartets - $20
Mahler: Das Lied von der Erde - $5


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## starthrower

I just spent around that sum at Amazon and Presto, but the 28th was the cut off for Presto Classical's box set sale.


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## Kopachris

This reminds me of something I read in a webcomic, demonstrating how easy it is to copy digital media... One person asks, "How much porn can you get me for free with the Internet?" The other replies, "All of it." I believe the same could apply to music, thus making your $200 stretch a looooooong way, as long as you have no qualms over possibly illegal downloading (it's legal in Canada, and a few other countries).


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## Sofronitsky

haha are you sure? I'm looking at the site now and it still is available... I hope not, because I was planning on ordering tomorrow

@starthrower


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## neoshredder

Assuming just for Classical Music. I got plenty of other stuff from other genres as well. 
Vivaldi - Concertos $25
Bach - Concertos $25
Handel - Orchestral Works (Box Set) $30 
Corelli - Concerti Grossi, Op. 6 $13
Mozart - Complete Symphonies $35
Debussy For Daydreaming $6 
Satie - After the Rain... $12
Vivaldi - Four Seasons $3
Rise of The Masters (Chopin, Debussy, Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Handel, Tchaikovsky, Vivaldi) $15 
Best of Boccherini $14
99 Most Essential Haydn $5
Telemann - Tafelmusik $17


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## elgar's ghost

Wagner - The Ring (Bohm) - $37-39, although the lack of libretti is a major hindrance
Beethoven - Complete Piano Sonatas (Kempff) - $22-52
Mahler - Symphonies 1,3-7,9 & 10 (Levine) - $17.96
Mahler - Symphony 2 (Mehta) - $5-68
Mahler - Symphony 8 (Solti) - $5-83
Mahler - Das Lied von der Erde (Klemperer) $3-81
Schubert - Chamber Works (various) - $23-90
Shostakovich - Complete String Quartets (Fitzwilliam) - $13-95
Shostakovich - Complete Symphonies (Rostropovich) - $26-99
Berlioz - Requiem/Symphonie funebre et triomphale (Davis) - $5-62
Works of Igor Stravinsky (various) - $26-85

Not bad for about 100 discs and it should leave me with enough spare change for a beer and an ice cream.


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## StlukesguildOhio

Unfortunately, this set seems to have gone out of print and is now around $140 US. I bought it last year at around $35. It contains the _Mass in B Minor_, the _St. Matthew Passion, St. John Passion_, the _Christmas Oratorio_, the _Magnificat_, and 11 discs of Bach's finest cantatas. I would seriously consider downloading and burning it to disc ($45) or as a lesser alternative, pick up this set:










For around $40 it includes all of the above minus the _Magnificat_ and the cantatas. (9 discs rather than 22)










$8.00 for an excellent _Figaro_










$10 for a classic _Don Giovanni_










I'd get this Karajan 1963 set of Beethoven's symphonies... $22... although you might get Gardiner's for $17 or Cluytens' for $12










$22 for a great recording of Beethoven's piano sonatas

*****


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## StlukesguildOhio

$12 for _Tristan und Isolde_










$10 Brahms _Clarinet Sonatas_










$10 for an excellent _Messiah_










A Haydn _Creation_ for $12... with Fritz Wunderlich!










Haydn String quartets Op. 76 Both volumes for $11


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## StlukesguildOhio

A _Traviata_ for $14.50










Strauss _Four Last Songs_ $12










Schubert _Winterreise_ $7.50

Total= $196

:tiphat:

Alternative: Dump the _La Traviata_ (I'd hate to do it... especially with Maria Callas!) or better yet dump the Brahms and one volume of the Haydn quartets (or both volumes of the quartets... you already have the _Creation_ and switch the Beethoven to Gardiner or Cluytens... both excellent recordings) and pick up Gould's complete _Well Tempered Clavier_:










$14.50


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## starthrower

Sofronitsky said:


> haha are you sure? I'm looking at the site now and it still is available... I hope not, because I was planning on ordering tomorrow
> 
> @starthrower


Yeah, the sale is over but many of the Amazon vendors dropped their prices on classical box sets to match Presto Classical's sale prices, so you can still get some bargains.

For example, the Schnittke Ten Symphonies box is still selling for under 29 dollars from several vendors today.


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## Sid James

Trying not to overthink here. I'll go by the prices I bought these babies here.

Beethoven late string quartets $30
Berg string quartet/lyric suite $15
Castelnuovo-Tedesco 24 Caprichos de Goya, solo guitar work $20
Australian Guitar Music Recital, Naxos $10
Carter String Quartets #1 & #5, $15
Sculthorpe Sun Musics I-IV, piano concerto, Irkanda IV, Small Town, $10
Janacek Glagolitic Mass, Diary of One who Disappeared, $20
Andre Rieu, You'll never walk alone, Songs of Hope & Inspiration, $10
Messiaen, Quartet for the End of Time (with Stravinsky Octet, Symphonies of Wind Instruments), $10
Messiaen, Harawi - songs of love and death; Trois Melodies, $15
Beethoven, Piano trios (selection, 2 disc set, EMI), $15
Schubert, Piano trio works (2 cd's, EMI), $15
Boulez, Piano sonatas 1-3 (Idil Biret on Naxos), $15

That's about 200 bucks, Australian dollars, more or less. This selection is as good as any other I can think of now, for me...


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## Chi_townPhilly

I'm not sure the question was asked in most useful manner. Now, I could say how I would spend $200.00 according to MY tastes, but I don't know how much help that would be to YOU (or to anyone else whose tastes don't closely mirror mine).

It seems to me that you're looking more for the 'most-essential-of-the-essentials' from the standpoint of mainstream Classical Music Appreciation. Would that be a fairer way of depicting what you're seeking here?!


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## Sofronitsky

Chi_townPhilly said:


> I'm not sure the question was asked in most useful manner. Now, I could say how I would spend $200.00 according to MY tastes, but I don't know how much help that would be to YOU (or to anyone else whose tastes don't closely mirror mine).
> 
> It seems to me that you're looking more for the 'most-essential-of-the-essentials' from the standpoint of mainstream Classical Music Appreciation. Would that be a fairer way of depicting what you're seeking here?!


Haha nope. My tastes are unique, also, but they can intertwine with the musical preferences of others. I was simply curious of what all of you would come up with, and wanted to weigh my own ideas against yours. It's not so much practical as it is fun.


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## jalex

*Purcell*: Love's Goddess Sure was Blind, Funeral Music for Queen Mary, other choral works (The Sixteen) - £7.13
*Bach*: Brandenburg Concertos (Savall) - £7.49
*Bach*: Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin (Grumiaux) - £7.49
*Haydn*: String Quartets Op. 76 (Takacs Quartet) - £5.99
*Haydn*: Selection of London Symphonies [#95, 96, 98, 102, 103, 104] (Davis) - £7.50 
*Mozart*: Le Nozze di Figaro (Bohm) - £14.69
*Mozart*: Symphonies #35-41 (Bohm) - £6.99
*Mozart*/*Brahms*: Clarinet Quintets (Berlin Soloists) - £3.19
*Beethoven*: Complete String Quartets (Alban Berg Quartet) - £13.49
*Beethoven*: Complete Symphonies (Barenboim) - £14.99
*Beethoven*: Late Piano Sonatas (Pollini) - £4.97
*Schumann*: Dichterliebe [with songs by *Beethoven* and *Schubert*] (Wunderlich) - £4.99
*Berlioz*: Orchestral Works [Symphonie Fantastique, Harold en Italie, Grande Symphonie Funebre et Triomphale, Overtures] (Davis) - £7.49
*Brahms*: Symphonies, Alto Rhapsody, Tragic and Academic Festival Overtures (Klemperer) - £4.39

*Debussy*: Various works [Prelude a l'apres midi/Tilson Thomas, String Quartet/Melos Quartet, La Mer/Karajan, Preludes/Michelangeli, Nocturnes/Abbado, Cello Sonata/Rostropovich, Estampes/Richter, Syrinx/Dwyer] - £7.49
*Sibelius*: Complete Symphonies, Lemminkainen Suite, Violin Concerto, Karelia Suite (Vanska) - £7.49
*Mahler*: Complete Symphonies and Das Lied (Bertini) - £16.99
*Schoenberg*/*Webern*/*Berg*: Works for String Quartet (LaSalle Quartet) - £7.99
*Bartok*: Complete String Quartets (Keller Quartet) - £6.99
*Stravinsky*: Ballets [Firebird, Petrouchka, Le Sacre, Pulcinella, Jeu de Cartes] (Abbado) - £5.99
*Stravinsky*: Symphony of Psalms, Mass, Cantata, Babel, Sacred Russian Choruses (Craft) - £5.99
*Messiaen*: Quator pour la Fin du Temps and Turangalila-Symphonie (Previn) - £7.99
*Britten*: Peter Grimes (Britten) - £7.49
*Prokofiev*: Complete Piano Concertos (Jarvi, Beroff, Gutierrez) - £9.99 
*Shostakovich*: Complete String Quartets (Fitzwilliam Quartet) - £17.95

That's around £200. Don't think I could manage $200!


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## bigshot

I would do it simply... The RCA Living Stereo box set and the Decca Sound box set.


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## TzarIvan

Simply a box of J.S. Bach complete work set, worth 120 euros. The rest I would spend either choral work by Palestrina or Tomas Luis de Victoria, or maybe jump to Debussy's Melodies.


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## Cnote11

Stash the 200 dollars and download everything.


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## Llyranor

I went with the cheapest used copies, otherwise the limit is going to drive me insane.

http://www.amazon.com/Bach-J-S-Sona...9R/ref=sr_1_58?ie=UTF8&qid=1329404500&sr=8-58
My favorite interpretation of Bach's Sonatas and Partitas for solo violin.

http://www.amazon.com/Bach-Cello-Su...2RUY/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1329404477&sr=8-3
Can't go without Bach's Cello Suites, either.

http://www.amazon.com/Bach-Violin-C...74YW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1329404468&sr=8-1
And his Violin Concertos.

http://www.amazon.com/Johann-Sebast...57D8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1329404512&sr=8-1
..... And his Brandenburg Concertos.

http://www.amazon.com/J-S-Bach-Mass-B-Minor/dp/B004HF0PF4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1329404709&sr=8-1
And to top it off, his Mass in B Minor. If I only have one choral work, this would be it.

http://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Beet...MF5I/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1329404531&sr=8-1
I went with his box set, mainly because of the cheap price, and it has my main Beethoven treasure in there, the Violin Concerto with Szeryng playing. Since getting a CD with just the VC costs about the same, I might as well add some extra symphonies/piano concerti/etc. I don't even know if those interpretations are any good, but I'm mainly here for the VC.

http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Symp...WM/ref=sr_1_16?ie=UTF8&qid=1329404539&sr=8-16
Brahm's Symphonies and Concerti (and a few other orchestral pieces)

http://www.amazon.com/Violin-Concer...7DNX/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1329404550&sr=8-4
My absolute favorite interpretation of Sibelius' Violin Concerto (by Ida Haendel).

http://www.amazon.com/Sibelius-Comp...NVSU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1329404556&sr=8-1
And a complete set of Sibelius' Symphonies.

http://www.amazon.com/Tchaikovsky-C...PW4A/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1329404565&sr=8-1
Add in Tchaikovsky's Symphonies.

http://www.amazon.com/Dvorak-Sympho...41WV/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1329404571&sr=8-1
And Dvorak's.

http://www.amazon.com/Best-Saint-Sa...41AP/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1329404664&sr=8-4
Which leaves me about 5$ left. Again with a bargain 'best of' bundle, hahaha. Now, I'm picking this one because it has Szeryng playing the 3rd Violin Concerto and Introduction & Rondo Capriccioso, which are again my favorite interpretations. The 3rd Symphony is a very nice bonus, but I don't know how good a version this is.

All this adds to pretty much 200$. This was a fun exercise.


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## Llyranor

I went with the cheapest used copies, otherwise the limit is going to drive me insane.

http://www.amazon.com/Bach-J-S-Sona...9R/ref=sr_1_58?ie=UTF8&qid=1329404500&sr=8-58
My favorite interpretation of Bach's Sonatas and Partitas for solo violin.

http://www.amazon.com/Bach-Cello-Su...2RUY/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1329404477&sr=8-3
Can't go without Bach's Cello Suites, either.

http://www.amazon.com/Bach-Violin-C...74YW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1329404468&sr=8-1
And his Violin Concertos.

http://www.amazon.com/Johann-Sebast...57D8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1329404512&sr=8-1
..... And his Brandenburg Concertos.

http://www.amazon.com/J-S-Bach-Mass-B-Minor/dp/B004HF0PF4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1329404709&sr=8-1
And to top it off, his Mass in B Minor. If I only have one choral work, this would be it.

http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Symp...WM/ref=sr_1_16?ie=UTF8&qid=1329404539&sr=8-16
Brahm's Symphonies and Concerti (and a few other orchestral pieces)

http://www.amazon.com/Violin-Concer...7DNX/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1329404550&sr=8-4
My absolute favorite interpretation of Sibelius' Violin Concerto (by Ida Haendel).

http://www.amazon.com/Sibelius-Comp...NVSU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1329404556&sr=8-1
And a complete set of Sibelius' Symphonies.

http://www.amazon.com/Tchaikovsky-C...PW4A/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1329404565&sr=8-1
Add in Tchaikovsky's Symphonies.

http://www.amazon.com/Dvorak-Sympho...41WV/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1329404571&sr=8-1
And Dvorak's.

http://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Beet...MF5I/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1329404531&sr=8-1
I went with his box set, mainly because of the cheap price, and it has my main Beethoven treasure in there, the Violin Concerto with Szeryng playing. Since getting a CD with just the VC costs about the same, I might as well add some extra symphonies/piano concerti/etc. I don't even know if those interpretations are any good, but I'm mainly here for the VC.

http://www.amazon.com/Best-Saint-Sa...41AP/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1329404664&sr=8-4
Which leaves me about 5$ left. Again with a bargain 'best of' bundle, hahaha. Now, I'm picking this one because it has Szeryng playing the 3rd Violin Concerto and Introduction & Rondo Capriccioso, which are again my favorite interpretations. The 3rd Symphony is a very nice bonus, but I don't know how good a version this is.

All this adds to pretty much 200$. This was a fun exercise.


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## kv466

Very easy answer for me,...The Glenn Gould Original Jacket Collection...$200 is, of course, what I originally paid for the set just after it was released,...now, however, it is up to $1500...still completely worth the money.


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## poconoron

Complete works of Mozart, $117:









Complete Beethoven piano sonatas, #35:









Complete Beethoven symphonies, $12:









Haydn London symphonies, $19:









Brahms complete symphonies, $17:









Total $200.


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## Sofronitsky

poconoron said:


> Complete works of Mozart, $117:
> 
> View attachment 3250
> 
> 
> Complete Beethoven piano sonatas, #35:
> 
> View attachment 3251
> 
> 
> Complete Beethoven symphonies, $12:
> 
> View attachment 3252
> 
> 
> Haydn London symphonies, $19:
> 
> View attachment 3253
> 
> 
> Brahms complete symphonies, $17:
> 
> View attachment 3254
> 
> 
> Total $200.


I have no objection to anything but the Mozart! Good list


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## tgtr0660

While not all performances would probably be ideal, I'd have to spend all my money on this: (of course I'd cry for not having my Beethoven, Mozart, Handel, Bruckner, among many others)


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