Superconductor 2011 Gift Guide Part II: Orchestral Boxed Sets

One of these boxes has music in it.

With the major labels constantly merging and trying to re-sell old recordings, there are excellent opportunities for the collector. The recordings here are all orchestral music, with great conductors tackling familiar works. Buy one of these for someone you know, and they'll be happy you did.

Nielsen: The Masterworks Vol. 1: Symphonies 1-6, Orchestral works (Da Capo, 4 CDs, 2 DVDs)
Danish National Orchestra cond. Michael Schønwandt. 
Those of us who stayed in New York this summer can tell you that Mr. Schønwandt's performance of Nielsen was a concert highlight of those hot months. The Danish conductor brings his razor-sharp ensemble to a complete cycle of the six symphonies. Recommended here: the bold Inextinguishable Symphony (No. 4) and the brisk Four Temperaments (No. 2). The set also includes overtures and rarely heard excerpts from Nielsen's stage works, not often played outside of Denmark.

Bruckner Symphonies No. 3-9, Sacred Works (EMI, 12 CDs)

Munich Philharmonic cond. Sergiu Celibidache

The Romanian conductor Sergiu Celibidache worked at the height of the recording boom. Yet, the maverick maestro famously refused to join the frenzy of record-making, preferring to let his live performances speak for themselves. When he died, his family did not hesitate to make his performances available on CD. These EMI reissues are at a budget price, featuring his mystic approach to Bruckner with the Munich Philharmonic.

Stravinsky: The Complete Ballets and Symphonies (Decca, 7CDs)

Orchestre symphonique de Montreal cond. Charles Dutoit

Cleveland Orchestra cond. Vladimir Ashkenazy

Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra cond. Riccardo Chailly

This is pretty good Stravinsky. Not absolute top-rank: that's Pierre Boulez' DG recordings or the composer's own readings on Sony. There are some great performances here though: Charles Dutoit's Montreal account of The Firebird and Vladimir Ashkenazy's Cleveland Rite of Spring. The set also includes more modern ballet scores like Agon and the composer's neo-classical symphonies and works for piano and orchestra.

Charles Munch: Late Romantic Masterpieces  (RCA 7 CDs)

Boston Symphony Orchestra cond. Charles Munch 
Charles Munch's Boston recordings have enjoyed something of a renaissance this year, with two boxed sets celebrating his musical legacy. Here is your chance to hear his approach to Wagner, with soprano Eileen Farrell joining the orchestra for scenes from the operas. In addition to solid symphony performances (the Tchaikovsky 4, 6, and Dvořák 8) this set also includes classic concertos.  Violinist Henryk Szerying plays the Tchaikovsky, and cellist Gregor Piatagorsky tackles the Dvořák concerto.

The Mahler Symphonies (RCA, 16 CDs, 1 DVD)
Tonhalle Orchester Zurich cond. David Zinman
I'm just going to quote my own review here:
"The Swiss forces are not as showy a "name" as the Vienna or Berlin Philharmonics or the American "big five." But on these recordings, they play Mahler with freshness, enthusiasm and love for this composer's particular genius. They are led by Mr. Zinman, who chooses brisk, but not rushed tempos, with some exceptions."

"It also includes a fascinating documentary, Going Against Fate, that chronicles the sessions for the Sixth Symphony. The film delves into the complexities of playing in a modern state-sponsored orchestra, from the tuba player's need for brass oil to a bassoonist demonstrating the proper way to wrap and blow a double reed."

Check out the rest of the 2011 Superconductor Gift Guide:

Part I: Gigantic Boxed Sets

Part III: Beethoven for Christmas
Part IV: Opera Recordings
Part V: Piano Mania

Superconductor 2011 Gift Guide Part I: Giant Boxed Sets

The Doorstop Division: 20 discs and up.

These boxed sets might not fit under your tree--or down your chimney.
Image by Matt Groening © Gracie Films/20th Century Fox.

In the last decade, as Americans have gotten more obese (see photo) classical music has too. Companies have put out huge, bloated "complete collections":

• All the operas of Richard Wagner including the Ring. (34 discs, on average.)
• All the piano music of Franz Liszt (99 discs) 
• Complete editions of Bach, Beethoven, Brahms and Mozart (157, 60, 85 and 170 discs, respectively.) 
• The Great Pianists of the 20th Century (Now out of print, but it was 200 discs and came in two suitcases.)

You get the idea. It might have had something to do with the millennium, as record labels scrambled to push their music out into the world (again) before the Y2K clock fried their databases. Or it might have been the simple greed that has nearly driven those labels out of business. Only Norman Lebrecht knows for sure.

Despite the bloat (and subsequent devaluing of music to something that you buy the same way you buy cheese)these make  great gifts for the hard-core music lover in your life. They can also make a handy doorstop after spending the holidays ripping the CDs into your hard drive. Which is why Amazon.com is now making it possible to download entire boxed sets with a minimum of effort.

Anyway, here's five picks. They're big, but they're really good. I promise.

Bach: Complete Cantatas cond. Helmuth Rilling (Hänssler Classics, 71 CDs) 

There are several comprehensive sets of Bach cantatas on the market, from Nikolaus Harnoncourt and John Eliot Gardiner. This entry from Helmuth Rilling, the founder of the International Bach Academy in Stuttgart may not be on a flashy major label, but it is more than competitive.

Vivaldi Masterworks Various Artists (Decca, 28 CDs)

When the Philips label was unceremoniously folded into Decca under the banner of Universal Music Group, the catalogue lost the great Vivaldi recordings made by the ensemble I Musici under the direction of Vittorio Negri.

They're all present and accounted for here, along with great performances from period performance  specialists Philip Pickett and Christopher Hogwood. All the Vivaldi you could possibly want, except for the operas. Those will probably be along on another boxed set, as soon as somebody gets around to recording them.

Wilhelm Furtwängler: The Legacy (Membran, 107 CDs) 

Wilhelm Furtwängler was one of the most important conductors of the 20th century, with a unique, flexible approach to Romantic music. This gigantic set preserves his memory with accounts of Wagner, Brahms, Beethoven, Bruckner, and possibly the kitchen sink. Lovingly packaged with small mini-boxes inside the big case for easier management, the whole set is the size of a small Dachsund. This is the gift for the lover of German music.

Tchaikovsky Edition (Brilliant Classics, 60 CDs)

This shelf-bending set of Tchaikovsky is from Brilliant, the same label that brought you the back-breaking editions of Bach, Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven mentioned at the top of the column. It includes the piano concertos, ballet scores, and even the rarely performed early operas. Another weighty entry in a comprehensive series of composer surveys from Brilliant Classics. Includes the major operas alongside lesser-known works like Oprichnik and Mazeppa. 

The Liszt Collection (Deutsche Grammophon, 34 CDs)

If you read this blog regularly, you might remember an article that I wrote comparing (in some detail) the huge boxed sets that were coming out this year to celebrate the 200th birthday of composer, pianist and cigar fancier Franz Liszt. For more detail about the Complete Liszt Piano Music (performed by pianist Leslie Howard) and the other competing sets, please consult this article.

From the out of print Giuseppe Sinopoli recordings of the Dante and Faust Symphonies to the piano music and songs sung by Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, this is a sweeping collection that celebrates Liszt the composer, and not just of piano music. That is certainly the core here, but orchestral works get equal time, and there's even some rarely heard choral music.

But wait, there's more!
Check out the rest of the 2011 Superconductor Gift Guide: 

Part II: Slightly Smaller Boxed Sets

Part III: Beethoven for Christmas
Part IV: Opera Recordings

Part V: Piano Mania

Outside the Box: The 2011 Superconductor Gift Guide

A guide to shopping for the music nut in your life--even if it's you.

You could do worse.

Well, here it is folks, your guide to the very best of classical music and opera. The focus is on releases and reissues within the last year, with some stone classics thrown to make things a little more interesting.

But first, a few words from your editor. That's me.

The arts are struggling in this country. Corporate underwriting has faded with the fluctuations in the market and collapse of big financial institutions. Musicians need to be paid, trips have to be booked, and concert halls have to be heated. Many orchestras are facing program cuts, labor troubles and other signs that have cast a pallor over their seasons. 

If you're an American concert-goer who loves classical music and reads Superconductor, consider donating to your local orchestra or opera company. You get a neat membership card, and in some cases a magazine, newsletter or discounts at local restaurants.

So donate! And then get yourself something nice. After all, it's the holiday season. 

OK. That's the sermon. Now on with the music. The guide this year is in four parts. Well, five if you count this splash page. All products are sold through Amazon.com in my online store.

Part I: Gigantic Boxed Sets

Everything on this page is 30 discs and up. Sounds like a lot of music? It is but these are for bargain-hunters, catalogue completists, or the serious collector who just can't get enough. 

Part II: Slightly Smaller Boxed Sets

A personal favorite: these are cool stocking stuffers. All the discs are in envelopes to minimize shelf space and clutter. Of course if you have a lot of them....

Part III: Beethoven for Christmas
All you want for Christmas is an irascible deaf guy who can't hear very well. That's either your Uncle Al or Beethoven. Beethoven wrote better music.


Part IV: Opera Recordings

The best full-length opera recordings to come out in the past year, on CD and DVD. The weird part is, most of them are from the Metropolitan Opera.

Part V: Piano Mania

For the piano student or the aficionado, classic recordings and new releases. This is going to be a long Liszt, especially since this is the year that all the labels are celebrating the Hungarian pianist's 200th birthday.

The Comprehensive Liszt

Bicentennial Brings Five Big Box Sets.

An old-school "Liszt box." This one plays a Hungarian Rhapsody.
Photo from Harp Gallery

2011 marks Franz Liszt's 200th birthday. Had the old gentleman been around for the birth, death, and (occasional, sputtering) revival of the classical music recording industry, he might have been amused to learn of the slew of boxed sets bearing his name and likeness that have issued forth this year.

Here's a quick overview, organized by weight:

Liszt: The Piano Collection 
(EMI Classics, 10 Discs)Various Artists
This is a solid reissue focusing only on Liszt works for solo piano. It features György Cziffra's energetic versions of the Hungarian Rhapsodies, paired with the ruminative Années de pèlerinage from Italian pianist Aldo Ciccolini. The late, eccentric British virtuoso John Ogdon also contributes to this fine set. Sadly, no opera transcriptions are included.

Liszt: Master and Magician: The Masterworks Collection
(Sony Classical, 25 CDs, 1 DVD). Various Artists
This box features all-star lineup of pianists (Vladimir Horowitz, Evgeny Kissin, Jorge Bolet, Van Cliburn) and conductors contribute to this stellar overview set, which digs deeply into the old Columbia Records catalogue. Newer recordings made under the Sony Classical imprint are also included, and the overall effect is a fairly comprehensive look at the long, varied career of Franz Liszt. Some interesting piano transcriptions here, with Glenn Gould's take on Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, and Schubert songs played by Mr. Kissin. Also includes the Grand Mass and a sampling of Liszt's organ music.

A Liszt Portrait (Brilliant Classics, 31 discs)
Various Artists
A respectable entry with both orchestral pieces, piano music and some choral music--but no Christus. The Brilliant set combines modern performances of good quality, some of them from orchestras and pianists that you may have never heard of, with ten discs worth of historical issues. Some interesting gems here: Maria Yudina playing a set of variations, early Evgeny Kissin performances, Alfred Brendel's Tannhäuser transcription. For the Liszt nut who already has everything else.


The Liszt Collection (Deutsche Grammophon, 34 discs)
Various Artists
Another "limited edition" from DG, this set combines some fascinating out-of-print recordings (Giuseppe Sinopoli conducting the Dresden Staatskapelle in the Faust and Dante Symphonies) with more familiar Liszt works.

The twelve symphonic poems are split between labels, with Solti (Decca) Haitink (Philips) and von Karajan (DG) all contributingto make a "greatest hits" version. Also contains complete reissues of Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau's invaluable two-disc survey of Liszt liederLazar Berman's Annees de un pelerenage and Roberto Szidon's kick-ass Hungarian Rhapsodies. A good overview with the exceptional sound quality one expects from DG. If the set had included Jorge Bolet's nine discs of Decca recordings it would be hard to beat.


Liszt: The Complete Piano Music (Hyperion, 99 Discs)
Leslie Howard, Piano.
Here it is. The heavyweight champion: Leslie Howard's exhaustive, exhausting survery of all the Liszt piano works, recorded for British label Hyperion over the last three decades, all in sparkling, absolutely perfect digital sound.

This bread-box of a set includes all the familiar works, along with the complete opera transciptions, the symphony transcriptions (Beethoven and Berlioz) and a few fascinating works that may or may not be from Liszt's pen. The decision to include multiple and alternate versions of Liszt works, makes this set an invaluable resource to the serious scholar of Liszt or piano music in general. You may not want to load all of these versions into your IPod, but their scholarly value is beyond dispute.

Retailing at over $300 (though it can be found for less with some effort) this is an investment. But is not an overstatement to call this large, handsome box (which includes a comprehensive softcover book) a veritable gold mine of musical inspiration. And a week's worth of listening if you play the whole set without a break.