The Complete EMI Recordings 1946-1984, Vol. 1: Orchestral [Box Set]

The Complete EMI Recordings 1946-1984, Vol. 1: Orchestral [Box Set] | Hans Hotter, Otto Edelmann, ... | 1 of 2 of the most important boxed sets ever released

classical music:

The Complete EMI R...

	The Complete EMI Recordings 1946-1984, Vol. 1: Orchestral [Box Set] Hans Hotter, Otto Edelmann, ... EMI Classics, 2008 average customer review:based on 5 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

A Priceless, Classic Set

Simply put, there is a ton of music here -- 88 CDs comprising the complete EMI orchestral recordings of Herbert von Karajan -- all in a box smaller than a pair of shoes. It will take me the better part of the rest of this year to listen to it all, but as I have already heard 3/4 of this music, I'll start with the things that have never appeared previously on CD, or have just been impossible for me to ever find. By my count, those performances add up to more than a dozen disc's worth of material, including some fascinating material like Kurt Leimer's Piano Concertos and Leopold Mozart's Toy Symphony, plus a Schubert 5th, Dvorak 9th, Tchaikovsky 4-6th and Wagner Excerpts from the 50s/60s to compare to his better known 70s accounts, and entire discs of late mono and early stereo orcehstral bonbons from the 1950s with the Philharmonia. Of course, it also features some of the greatest renditions of the repertoire ever made -- the Mozart Horn Concertos with Dennis Brain, his first of four Beethoven Cycles, the early stereo Brahms 2nd and "Unfinished," phenomenal Piano Concertos with Lipatti, Gieseking and Weissenberg, the Don Quixote with Rostropovich, and the famous Beethoven Triple with Richter, Oistrakh and Rostropovich. This set is obviously aimed at the most serious of classical music collectors, and if you fit that bill, do yourself a favor -- trade in those old single discs at a used CD store (or better yet, donate them to your local library), save yourself some shelf space, and get this once in a lifetime set.

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1 of 2 of the most important boxed sets ever released

Most people considering this set are probably already familiar with Karajan's work and probably already own quite a few of his EMI recordings. Therefore, there really is no need for me to get into depth with regards to the quality of the conductor's work or the recordings. As previous reviewers have stated, it is at a bare minimum, satisfactory; in most cases excellent.

There was a complaint about the monaural discs, but of course, one must remember that stereo was not a consumer product until the mid-1950s. Does the fact that a work was recorded in mono reduce its validity and importance? Does the fact that Casablanca was filmed in black and white reduce its validity and importance? Obviously, the answer is no.

The real issue here is is it worth spending the money for this set, especially if you already have many of these recordings in the standard jewel case editions? The answer is a resounding yes! Depending on the number of jewel cases you already own, think of the amount of shelf space you will save with this box set. It measures a mere 10 1/2 inches in length, while containing a whopping 88 discs. Donate your old ones to a library, give them to friends, or sell them as "new and used" on Amazon.

There are a couple problems with the packaging however. The first being, the discs are packaged in cardboard sleeves, which in turn are in a box, which in turn is slip-cased. You must be very careful when removing the slipcase because if the CDs are not facing up, they can and will fall out into a confusing mess.

The second problem is more problematic: The cardbord sleeves only list the "theme" of the disc (i.e. Disc One: Strauss Waltzes). Even though this set is at a bargain price, one would think that EMI could have given a complete track listing on each sleeve. Yes, there is a booklet that does, but having to refer to it every time you put on a disc is not very convenient.

In summary, albeit the couple of packaging issues, this set is very much worth the money (at the time of this writing, $2/disc). It is so very complete and saves so much shelf space. Obviously, Karajan's works during this time period are invaluable.

The second of the two best boxed set ever released is Volume 2, the complete EMI/Karajan operas and vocals recordings.

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An awesome classical treasure

A"MUST HAVE" collection for everyone who seriously loves classical music. There are MONO recordings as well as stereo ones but the sound of mono CDs is very satisfying and in many cases they are like recorded recently. If you are new to classical music, don't worry, there are plenty easy listening classical pieces here and over period of time you will fall in love with the rest of the pieces as well. You will get the opportunity to listen to Karajan rehearsing Mozart symphonies with Berliners and that shows how meticulously Karajan dissects the music piece by piece till the players get "it" right. Many many thanks to EMI for achieving this marvelous project. I gave my old single CDs to local library so others could enjoy the marvelous music conducted by maestro Karajan. With the price offered here, this set is a real deal.

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rehearsal extracts

The complete set also included Karajan rehearsal extracts for
Bartók Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta (CD24 mono)
Mozart Symphony No.39 (CD63 stereo)
Mozart Symphony No.40, 41 (CD64 stereo)
The last two have been released before.

Great set, but note that 33 discs are in mono

Just wanted to point out a few things:

* 33 of these discs were recorded in mono, with three more discs containing some stereo tracks and some mono. So about 40% of the music on here is in mono, primarily from Karajan's EMI recordings with the Vienna Philharmonic and Philaharmonia Orchestra. Whether that bothers you or not is up to you. Personally, I do not plan on listening to the mono recordings more than once, if at all. Karajan's recordings here with the Berlin Philharmonic are in stereo.

* All of the older recordings are remastered. Most remasterings were done in the 1990s, although some as late as 2007. Certain recordings, notably the 1950s Beethoven symphonies, were remastered in 1989. For a full listing of tracks and remastering dates, there's a PDF you can download from the official Karajan 100th Anniversary web site.

Apart from those concerns, I'm glad to have this box set. Karajan himself recorded better versions of some of this material with Deutsche Grammophon, but there are still countless hours of discoveries and listening pleasure to be had from this convenient set.

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