Symphony - BBC4

[palpnorte]

Can't believe that £25 is regarded as pricey for 11 discs of first rate recordings and performances!

I was only being facetious, Alan! During the last twelve months, among many others, I have picked up the EMI Messiaen 14 disc Anniversary Box for £17, the 22 disc Sony Stravinsky set for £16 and the EMI Britten box (37CDs) for £40. And that's not counting this week's £9.99 H von K Beethoven & the week before's Klemperer etc. etc. (thanks to the Gardiner thread )

It seems odd that Brilliant, the originators of the Classical-By-The-Yard concept are now also-rans in this race to the bottom. Looking in my copy of the first Penguin Guide to Bargain Records from 1966, the limit for a bargain disc was £1 5s (£1.25). It is unbelievable that forty years later, they can be cheaper.

 

[Barrymagrec]

There is a huge number of great recordings available now for very little in real terms. The downside is that it doesn`t pay the record companies to finance new recordings with the current crop of top performers, so we will suffer in years to come.

 

[alanbeeb]

I was only being facetious, Alan! During the last twelve months, among many others, I have picked up the EMI Messiaen 14 disc Anniversary Box for £17, the 22 disc Sony Stravinsky set for £16 and the EMI Britten box (37CDs) for £40. And that's not counting this week's £9.99 H von K Beethoven & the week before's Klemperer etc. etc. (thanks to the Gardiner thread )

It seems odd that Brilliant, the originators of the Classical-By-The-Yard concept are now also-rans in this race to the bottom. Looking in my copy of the first Penguin Guide to Bargain Records from 1966, the limit for a bargain disc was £1 5s (£1.25). It is unbelievable that forty years later, they can be cheaper.

Whoops - my radar was malfunctioning....
I wonder how the unit cost of a CD today compares to vinyl in the 1960s - what with the price of oil nowadays.

I have always wondered how the big classical companies ever managed to make any profit? The costs of the venue, the performers, soloists never mind the costs around the recording itself must be huge. I heard once - no idea if its true or not - that Decca never ever got back the money they spent on the Culshaw/Solti/VPO Ring.

Its pretty obvious that almost all new orchestral recordings nowadays are from live public performances - fine by me and it seems that sound quality doesn't suffer, except where they are made in unsympathetic concert venues such as the Barbican (IMO), whereas in the old days the LSO would have gone to Watford town hall to make recordings.

 

[irons1965]

you could do a lot worse than Petrenko on Naxos and many are discounted on HMV or Play.

Looking at what people are saying, Petrenko could be a cheap way of acquiring the symphonies- Am I correct in saying that the Naxos cycle has not yet been completed?

I'm thinking of waiting and getting the whole lot in the obligatory box set.

 

[Basil]

I've barely scratched the surface of this set:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Complete-Symphonies-box-D-Shostakovich/dp/B000G6BJS0/ref=sr_1_2?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1322738127&sr=1-2

But for £16.39, I don't see a down side.

 

[Barrymagrec]

Whoops - my radar was malfunctioning....
I wonder how the unit cost of a CD today compares to vinyl in the 1960s - what with the price of oil nowadays.

I have always wondered how the big classical companies ever managed to make any profit? The costs of the venue, the performers, soloists never mind the costs around the recording itself must be huge. I heard once - no idea if its true or not - that Decca never ever got back the money they spent on the Culshaw/Solti/VPO Ring.

Its pretty obvious that almost all new orchestral recordings nowadays are from live public performances - fine by me and it seems that sound quality doesn't suffer, except where they are made in unsympathetic concert venues such as the Barbican (IMO), whereas in the old days the LSO would have gone to Watford town hall to make recordings.

The longtime price of an LP in the sixties was about 2 pounds. To put that into perspective I was on less than 10 pounds a week when I started work in 1967.
I once read that Wallter Legge bumped into John Culshaw while he was recording Valkyrie and told him he wouldn`t sell 50 copies - but that may have been envy.

 

[duncan]

I've barely scratched the surface of this set:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Complete-Symphonies-box-D-Shostakovich/dp/B000G6BJS0/ref=sr_1_2?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1322738127&sr=1-2

But for £16.39, I don't see a down side.

I don't know these recordings. Jansons' Shostakovich (the live version I've heard) is usually exciting and the reviews are encouraging. Should be a valid competitor to Barshai and Haitink and the price is a steal.

The 10th symphony, second movement test

 

[irons1965]

I've barely scratched the surface of this set:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Complete-Symphonies-box-D-Shostakovich/dp/B000G6BJS0/ref=sr_1_2?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1322738127&sr=1-2

But for £16.39, I don't see a down side.

Certain reviews complain about the recording quality being variable (churlish I know considering what you get for sixteen quid).

 

[lordsummit]

There's a Brilliant Classics Shostokovich box, the performances are very good, and the quality is universally excellent

 

[Basil]

Certain reviews complain about the recording quality being variable (churlish I know considering what you get for sixteen quid).

As I said, I've barely scratched the surface of this set, but of the ones I've played so far; 1, 2, 5, 6, 7 & 11, the sound is excellent...

I'll post back when I've played more or found one with poor sound.

 

[irons1965]

As I said, I've barely scratched the surface of this set, but of the ones I've played so far; 1, 2, 5, 6, 7 & 11, the sound is excellent...

I'll post back when I've played more or found one with poor sound.

Cheers for that Basil.

As I say, the recording quality issues are from people on A*az*n....If they sound excellent on your Harbeth's that'll do for me

 

[johnnym]

Certain reviews complain about the recording quality being variable (churlish I know considering what you get for sixteen quid).

I've had this box set for a few years and can't think of any sound quality issues with it. Excellent value for money.

Back to the program in question I was a little disappointed that they finished with his 9th Symphony when the 10th is excellent and the last movement to his 15th and final symphony is some of his best ever work. For me the final movement of the 15th shows what an excellent understanding of harmony Shostakovich had weaving in and out of key constantly.

 

[alanbeeb]

Totally agree with above.... Why is there so much attention given to the 7th when much of it is fairly standard propaganda hack doggerel? Shostakovich wrote far far better symphonies.... 1, 4, 6, 10 and 15 are much more important works from a musical if not political point of view.

 

[Barrymagrec]

7th on R3 now