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Amazing Bargain Buys

17K views 75 replies 27 participants last post by  Boothvoice 
#1 ·
Something I've been aware of recently is that from time to time I come across a terrific bargain (usually short-term), and want to publicise it so that others can benefit. For example, some really astounding bargains came up recently of great Ring recordings (eg Bohm/Bayreuth for $6) from one particular seller on Amazon Marketplace. Those offers existed only for hours, and the question then is how to get the information out where it can do most good. Over at GMG they have a Superduper Bargains thread which is really useful, so I thought I'd create one here to see if it helped solve the problem.

The purpose of the thread is not to publicise small reductions - they happen here and there all the time, and would flood the thread. I'm thinking of price reductions that you might have to wait years for before their like is seen again: reductions that are so big, and the consequent value so high, that there's a good chance it might tip the balance for some folks into a purchase they'd otherwise not make.

For example:



I suspect that the Bohm Ring will probably never be as cheap as this again. This is one of the finest sets of the Ring, currently available for £30 at Amazon UK, or $38 at Amazon US.

Another fine bargain at the moment - just the thing for someone on a very limited budget, on the lookout for a good set of Mozart Piano concertos, is this:



This is on offer at jpc for 14.99 euros; and while it may be true that eventually one might look for 'better' performances, these recordings could keep one happy for a long time for very little outlay. They're not period performances, but Masur handles the orchestra with vigour, and Schmidt finds momentary nuances in some of these concertos that I find quite fascinating. (For further comments see here, #30.)This set was offered at this very low price at jpc two years ago (which was when I bought my set). They sold out quite rapidly back then, but now the offer has reappeared.
 
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#3 ·
I recommend we sticky this thread.

It would also be nice if the bargains presented here would be of quality recordings that are good even without the added low monetary cost. I, for one, would be much more interested in a 40$ offering of Solti's Ring than in a 7$ Ring from an obscure conductor that I would most likely be disappointed with.
 
#4 · (Edited)
It would also be nice if the bargains presented here would be of quality recordings that are good even without the added low monetary cost.
Good point. I suppose to a large extent we have to leave that up to the judgment of the individual poster. The guideline would be, I suggest, as I said above: "reductions that are so big, and the consequent value so high". In other words, we're talking about amazing value, not merely low price. For example, I was and still am delighted to have the Schmidt/Mazur Mozart set (see above), but if it cost 50 euros instead of 15, I'd be looking more carefully at alternatives. Even so, I think it's good enough to be a contender - and I think that's the point you're making. Rubbish is rubbish, and doesn't become better for being cheap.
 
#5 ·


Kurt Sanderling's Sibelius symphony cycle now available at $11.01 on Amazon US (both the Amazon default price for now and the smallest vendor price (under "new")). This is a quite highly regarded cycle amongst those who hate Davis/BSO and Maazel/VPO.
 
#6 ·
This is a quite highly regarded cycle amongst those who hate Davis/BSO and Maazel/VPO.
I don't know the Davis/BSO, but am sufficiently dismayed by Davis/LSO to avoid him in any incarnation. By contrast Segerstam/Helsinki comes close to my dream versions. Where do you think that would place me with regard to this Sanderling set, WV? (The set is much more expensive at AmazonUK, sadly.)
 
#9 ·
Bargains are well-represented in the EMI Encore series. Such as, Oistrakh/Klemperer Brahms, Oistrakh Mozart, Chang/Pappano Prokofiev, Muti Mahler, Muti Stravinsky and Mussorgsky, Gelber Beethoven, Tipo Scarlatti, Marriner Mozart, Zacharias Mozart, Zimmermann Mozart, and Jansons Rachmaninov.
 
#10 ·


I was wrong when I said a few days ago that the Bohm Ring would probably never be cheaper. It's now down to a mere £24.99 on Amazon UK (this is a real Amazon price, not a Marketplace spoof).

Bohm Ring for £24.99

Curiously, the price at Amazon US has rocketed to more than $50 during the same time.



Meanwhile, the Solti Ring is currently a snip (relatively speaking) at Amazon UK:

Solti Ring for £62.93
 
#11 ·
The Solti and Karajan Rings remain around $100US while the Clemens Krauss and Hans Knappertsbush recordings are around $40US. Seriously, almost any one of these is a good bargain considering the amount of music.

Other good bargains right now must surely include:

The Solti Rheingold for under $10:

http://www.amazon.com/Richard-Wagner-Das-Rheingold-Classical/dp/B001Q2RVRQ/ref=sr_1_2?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1293582098&sr=1-2

The magnificent Krips Don Giovanni also under $10:

http://www.amazon.com/Mozart-Don-Giovanni-Wolfgang-Amadeus/dp/B001Q2RVQW/ref=sr_1_8?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1293582166&sr=1-8

Bohm's Le Nozze di Figaro for $6:

http://www.amazon.com/Mozart-Nozze-Figaro-Dietrich-Fischer-Dieskau/dp/B000001GX8/ref=sr_1_2?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1293582235&sr=1-2

and Kleiber's Le Nozze... for around $10 (I picked it up for around $6):

http://www.amazon.com/Mozart-Figaro-Lisa-Della-Casa/dp/B002A32HK6/ref=sr_1_3?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1293582308&sr=1-3
 
#13 ·
I just picked up the Bartok-Complete Solo Piano Works by Zoltan Kocsis on 8 CDs for under 25 dollars!

Complete Martinu Symphonies on Brilliant Classics label for around 12 bucks. Love these!
 
#14 ·
Most people may be aware of this already, but just in case ...



The original Brilliant Complete Mozart was brought out a few years ago to general acclaim for the consistently high quality of the recordings for a 'complete' edition. It's recently been reissued in slightly improved form, and at a lower price. This is typically around £100 or so, but at the moment the price on Amazon UK is a mere £70. That's £70 for 170 CDs, encompassing everything Mozart wrote, with mostly historically informed or period instrument performances, and described by the BBC Music Magazine reviewer as 'an unbelievable bargain' at the going price of £110 from BBC Music Direct. If that's already 'unbelievable', one wonders what he'd have said about this £70 Amazon price.
 
#15 ·
Attention everyone!

Bernstein's renowned Mahler cycle is currently selling at a price of $6.44 in the Amazon Marketplace (original price $239.33). Though the quality is deemed only "acceptable", there really isn't anything to lose when a 13-disc set like this is selling for less than the worth of most single disc albums out there. I just picked up a "like new" set for $10, but that was only because the price hadn't dropped even lower yet - now I'm simply stunned. So snatch this deal-of-a-lifetime while you still can!

Now we just have to wait for the Solti Ring to drop to a similarly enticing bargain. :angel:
 
#19 ·
Smetana - Complete Orchestral Works (Kuchar/Janacek Orchestra on Brilliant). A lot of people will already have their favourite Ma Vlast but at £5:99 from Amazon this 3-disc set is great value nonetheless. Just for comparison a similar set on Supraphon (Valek/Prague RSO) is retailing at over £20.
 
#20 ·
Well i have been investigating the music of Samuel Barber.
I cant believe how beautiful his writing is?
Last week i bought Samuel Barber Orchrestral Works Vol.#1
Symphonies #1 and #2
Royal Scottish National Orchestra...Marin Alsop

Then i picked up Shostakovich Symphony#10
R.L.P.O. Vasily Petrenko> what a beautiful score, what a performance and recording on Naxos.

Last disk was Bax Symphony #5
R.S.N.O. David Lloyd Jones on Naxos, beautiful music, all three disks indeed!
 
#26 ·
Wait for the UPS truck, i listened last night to the Shostakovich #10 again.
Wow!
Wait for the Vasily Petrenko cycle. You wont be sorry...

Just my opinion but Mariss Jansons is the best living conductor in the World today.
I have seen and heard his Ex Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra many times, just not enough?
But step aside here comes " Vasily Petrenko " this man is going places.
The best part is he takes us with him...
 
#30 ·


Amazing CD I bought on iTunes a few days ago. I was looking through all the available albums with Dinu Lipatti's 1st Partita on them, and stumbled across a pairing of Glenn Gould playing the Goldberg Variations and Lipatti playing the 1st Partita and other Bach staples. I had been wanting to buy the Partita as played by Dinu for awhile, because I listened to it on YouTube so many times. Not only was this the cheapest option, but it came with a legendary performance of the Goldberg Variations. I had been cold to the Goldberg, but now with Gould I listen to it almost every day.

If you don't have a CD of either of these performances, buy it.

If you use iTunes, this CD will cost you only 5.99 dollars for a download.

If you abhor non-physical CD's, good luck finding a seller on Amazon or somewhere else online. Sorry!
 
#33 ·
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