Tír Na HiFi

as per other thread...



99p on ebay.... well, it's just not fashionaable after Xmas, is it?? ;-)

meanwhile, this arrived in the post this morning.... I bought it on Amazon when the Amazon price suddenly dropped by £11, then the next day it went back up by £11... don't you just love it when that happens??

seriously though, I don't normally buy 'complete edition with various artists' sets like this, preferring normally to collect best performances of each work separately, which means I've ummed and arghhed about this set for a long time...

so, why have I decided to take the plunge?

a) The set has a really strong line-up of artists... yes, there are a few unfamiliar names, but most disks contain top performers of Chopin repertoire.
b) It contains a number of lesser known works which I'd struggle to get elsewhere, without a great deal of repetition and expense. Particularly intrigued to hear his lieder...
c) It takes up the shelf space of just under 5 CDs, which is becoming critical.
d) I still have quite a bit of Chopin repertoire to introduce myself to, and this simply has to be the best way... (?)

Thoughts on my reasoning for such a purchase? It's the first time I've ever bought a collector's edition of this nature...

Whenever I buy these kind of sets I expect a low percentage of discs I'll actually listen to, and I judge the price accordingly. Here, I think there are far more hits than misses, and for me this is a really top set.

Following one of the recommendations on the recent relevant thread this purchase arrived today....

fergus wrote:Following one of the recommendations on the recent relevant thread this purchase arrived today....

I hope you like it Fergus.

Do I *really* need another set of Bach organ works? And if so, do I really need *this* one? Time will tell.

Jose Echenique wrote:

fergus wrote:

I hope you like it Fergus.

Haitink can be very good as you know Pepe so I am sure that I will like it. I will let you know anyway.

Diapason wrote:Do I *really* need another set of Bach organ works? And if so, do I really need *this* one? Time will tell.

I have tended to shy away from that particular cycle over the years Simon due to various reviews (not least from your good self LOL!!!) so I will be very interested to see how you eventually get on with it!

fergus wrote: I have tended to shy away from that particular cycle over the years Simon due to various reviews (not least from your good self LOL!!!) so I will be very interested to see how you eventually get on with it!

Well, it was never on my radar, but then amazon sent me one of their "I see you're interested in box sets" emails and I'm a sucker for a bargain. As I think I've written before, the Preston recording of the Orgelbuchlein was the first full-price classical CD I ever bought (IR£15.49 if I remember correctly) and I coveted this set at the time but it was miles beyond my means. I just couldn't resist the chance of getting all 14 CDs for £25, for closure if nothing else.

As it happens, I really like that Orgelbuchlein disc, even if my views on performance have changed a bit over the years. I think the organ used is ravishing, and my understanding is that similar instruments (and recording techniques) are used throughout the set, so it will be interesting for that alone.

I'm also gradually building up my collection of the Hanssler Bach organ series (which I'm really enjoying), I've been over to Ciaran's to sample the M-C Alain and Andre Isoir sets, and next on my agenda is Margaret Phillips. I will eventually start that long-promised thread to tie all my thoughts together.

yes, those collector's editions really are producing some incredible bargains at the moment... it just feel like it's the Universal Classics 'swansong' as they trawl through their immense back-catalogues in an attempt to wring the last penny from our generation of listeners, before MP3 city takes over...