Tír Na HiFi

Diapason wrote:Would you recommend any one of those sets over the others, mcq? I mean for musical and sonic reasons.

Three excellent box sets and very well chosen performances (unlike the mammoth DG boxes that I passed over a couple of years ago and which contained some undeserving selections - I really don't think Lang Lang's recordings are ones "for the ages") in amazing sound. They are very pricey though. All three boxes are limited editions and I think stock of the Living Stereo box is running low at the moment. The Mercury one is the most recent release and really surprised me. The sound that they were getting in the Fifties matches the best of what EMI and Decca were producing in Europe during the same time. Janos Starker's amazing versions of the Bach Cello Suites are some of the best I've heard. Dorati's recordings of Bartok and Stravinsky sound so fresh and vibrant after all these years, as do violinist Henryk Szeryng's and pianist Byron Janis's. I've never heard pianist Gina Bachauer before and her recordings of the major piano concerto repertoire are a pleasure to hear. And even the discs devoted to American composers that I would never have thought of buying separately are very enjoyable thanks to the dedicated performances that they receive.

There is probably more variety on the Decca box and the other two seem to concentrate on 19th century Romantic fare. All in all, though, if I had to choose one, it might be the Living Stereo box. Fabulous, life-afirming performances in natural, lifelike recordings.

Thank you!