Classical Collectors’ Paradise?
Posted by: Todd A on 17 June 2003
I was browsing the Berkshire web-site yesterday (www.berkshirerecordoutlet.com) and noticed that a dozen Andante titles are currently on offer at $7 per disc. That’s about 60% off full price. I have often drooled over some of the collections they offer, but I have cringed at the idea of paying full price for recordings 50, 60, and 70 years old. Since the opportunity arose, I splurged and just ordered four of the sets. I got a Vienna Philharmonic set with Maurizio Pollini playing three Mozart concertos (from 1981) and a number of other performances; a comparative survey of the Beethoven piano concertos (with 2-3 versions each of the last three); a collection of historical Schumann performances; and, to top it all off, Bruno Walter’s 1937 Le Nozze de Figaro. After I digest them, I’ll report back on at least some of them are. If any of the Andante sets interest you, get on over to Berskshire before they are gone; they won’t last long.
Oh, and while I’m at it, I noticed in July’s Gramophone listing of new releases (for the UK) that Sony is reissuing a boatload of potentially interesting box sets. There’s the Bruno Walter Beethoven symphony cycle; the Bernstein Sibelius, Tchaikovsky, and Haydn London Symphony cycles; the Lili Kraus Mozart sonata cycle; and a number of others. Not all are interesting, and long-time collectors no doubt have many of the recordings (I have some of the Walter Beethoven, but not all), but here’s a chance to fill some holes. That Kraus box sure sounds enticing, as does the early Bernstein Sibelius. So many recordings, so little time.
Oh, and while I’m at it, I noticed in July’s Gramophone listing of new releases (for the UK) that Sony is reissuing a boatload of potentially interesting box sets. There’s the Bruno Walter Beethoven symphony cycle; the Bernstein Sibelius, Tchaikovsky, and Haydn London Symphony cycles; the Lili Kraus Mozart sonata cycle; and a number of others. Not all are interesting, and long-time collectors no doubt have many of the recordings (I have some of the Walter Beethoven, but not all), but here’s a chance to fill some holes. That Kraus box sure sounds enticing, as does the early Bernstein Sibelius. So many recordings, so little time.