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EuropaDeals 2020 - the annual Europadisc CD deals have started!


Jurassic Shark

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5 hours ago, Jurassic Shark said:

A new label discount each day, thirty days in total.

 

5 hours ago, Jurassic Shark said:

I've already taken advantage of the deal three out of four days!

 

And *now* you tell us? So we've already missed some label discounts?

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15 hours ago, Marian Schedenig said:

 

 

And *now* you tell us? So we've already missed some label discounts?

 

They've been doing these deals for many years already, so I was expecting you of all people to know about it!

 

The EuropaDeals aren't any better than their usual sales. The advantage is that you cover a lot of different labels in a short time, so you won't have to wait a year or something for the labels you're interested in being on sale. The regular special offers are found here:

 

https://www.europadisc.co.uk/category/SpecialOffers/

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4 hours ago, Jurassic Shark said:

They've been doing these deals for many years already, so I was expecting you of all people to know about it!

 

I didn't even know about the store.

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11 hours ago, Marian Schedenig said:

 

I didn't even know about the store.

 

I've mentioned it many times earlier.

 

https://www.jwfan.com/forums/index.php?/search/&q=europadisc&quick=1

 

You must pay better attention to stuff that matter!

 

;)

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11 hours ago, Jurassic Shark said:

 

I must have seen your mention of it in the recent Chandos thread, but since I think I have all the Chandos film music albums I need right now, I didn't follow it.

 

11 hours ago, Jurassic Shark said:

You must pay better attention to stuff that matter!

 

In fairness, it's not always easy to decide which of your posts really matter.

 

320_sabrina.gif

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1 hour ago, Marian Schedenig said:

In fairness, it's not always easy to decide which of your posts really matter.

 

At least I keep my replies short. ;)

 

1 hour ago, Marian Schedenig said:

matter.

 

320_sabrina.gif

 

JW trying to guide the Wieners through Jaws?

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The deal of today is 20% off the Orfeo label!

 

https://www.europadisc.co.uk/offer/2710/EuropaDeal no.7 - Orfeo.htm?utm_source=Post-GDPR+subscribers&utm_campaign=4afe37fc5c-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2018_11_23_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_250d0548b0-4afe37fc5c-411830165

 

Don't let the (mostly) boring covers fool you - this is a great label, specializing in releasing live recordings from various archives. If you're purchasing only one album, I recomment this one:

 

https://www.europadisc.co.uk/classical/49866/Beethoven_-_Piano_Concerto_no.3,_Symphony_no.5.htm

 

And this one's a close second recommendation:

 

https://www.europadisc.co.uk/classical/50046/Beethoven_-_Symphony_No._7_in_A_major,_Op._92.htm

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Orfeo, first label in this thread I've actually heard of before. ;) 

 

I've got their Thielemann Frau ohne Schatten on my list (I've been at the performance at the Wiener Staatsoper, and I still don't have any version of this on CD because this is apparently the first recording that's (a) good and also (b) complete*). But even at the discount, it's still more expensive than it originally was at Amazon when I first saw it's been released (though their price is also slightly higher at the moment).

 

*) Actually, I saw that production twice. First during the premiere season 2018/19, but I only caught the last performance, when half of the cast was sick and they had to find so many replacements that they actually had to reinstate all the usual cuts on short notice (then director Meyer personally apologised that, saying that because it's so unusual to play the full work, there are no singers in the entire world who have memorised the full work, aside from those in the production). I went to another performance during the followup season, luckily still with Thielemann and mostly the same cast, this time without replacements. This recording is from one of those two series of performances.

9 hours ago, Jurassic Shark said:

Don't let the (mostly) boring covers fool you

 

And don't complain about the covers, at least you get Johan Botha wielding a lightsaber. ;) 

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Deal No. 8: 20% off Brilliant Classics!

 

A super budget label, their issues range from poor to excellent. They have a lot of re-issues of deleted items from other labels.

 

https://www.europadisc.co.uk/offer/2711/EuropaDeal_no.8_-_Brilliant_Classics.htm

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3 hours ago, Jurassic Shark said:

A super budget label, their issues range from poor to excellent. They have a lot of re-issues of deleted items from other labels.

 

They've picked up catalogue box sets from other labels and apparently also lost some of those again (they had EMI's excellent Kempe RIchard Strauss 9CD box for a while, but that seems to have gotten another remaster now and the Brilliant box I have is no longer listed), but they also have good stuff among what I assume is their own original catalogue. The Van Zweden Brahms symphony set is good, for example, as far as I can tell (as someone who has never become great friends with Brahms' symphonies).

 

They also have the Barshai Shostakovich box (image link):

Shostakovich - Complete Symphonies (slipcase) | Brilliant Classics 6324

 

Everyone with in depth knowledge will give different "best" versions for each individual symphony, but as far as I know everyone agrees that these are very solid (and Barshai certainly knows his Shostakovich, it was he who arranged the chamber symphony).

 

Personally, I only have a few select other recordings and have always been very happy with this box. Love the 11th.

 

In any case, the price is hard to beat if you don't already have most of the symphonies in decent versions.

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6 hours ago, Marian Schedenig said:

They've picked up catalogue box sets from other labels and apparently also lost some of those again (they had EMI's excellent Kempe RIchard Strauss 9CD box for a while, but that seems to have gotten another remaster now and the Brilliant box I have is no longer listed), but they also have good stuff among what I assume is their own original catalogue. 

 

Of their boxes, I've got the Berlioz orchestral works, Smetana orchestral works, Rachmaninov complete works, Prokofiev symphonies, the Strauss box you mentioned, and I recently purchased their Alkan box. I used to own their biggest Brahms box, but sold it because several of the CDs had glitches, including the Van Zweden symphonies.

 

6 hours ago, Marian Schedenig said:

The Van Zweden Brahms symphony set is good, for example, as far as I can tell (as someone who has never become great friends with Brahms' symphonies).

 

Van Zweden's didn't click with me. Try the cycles by Szell, Sawallisch (two, on Philips and EMI), and Sanderling, and tell me what you think.

 

6 hours ago, Marian Schedenig said:

They also have the Barshai Shostakovich box (image link):

Shostakovich - Complete Symphonies (slipcase) | Brilliant Classics 6324

 

Everyone with in depth knowledge will give different "best" versions for each individual symphony, but as far as I know everyone agrees that these are very solid (and Barshai certainly knows his Shostakovich, it was he who arranged the chamber symphony).

 

Personally, I only have a few select other recordings and have always been very happy with this box. Love the 11th.

 

In any case, the price is hard to beat if you don't already have most of the symphonies in decent versions.

 

I've got the Jansons/Oslo complete symphonies on EMI, which is on the save price level.

 

I'm thinking about perhaps getting Brilliant's Weber box and the Respighi box, but I need to investigate a bit more first.

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2 minutes ago, Jurassic Shark said:

 I used to own their biggest Brahms box, but sold it because several of the CDs had glitches, including the Van Zweden symphonies.

 

You sold glitchy CDs on to someone else? I hope you were honest about it, at least.

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On 11/20/2020 at 11:16 PM, Thor said:

 

You sold glitchy CDs on to someone else? I hope you were honest about it, at least.

 

It was mastering glitches, so all copies of the box presumably had the error. The box was still sealed and the glitches were minor (I read about them in a review). I didn't like the tracks I'd sampled on Spotify and other places, so I sold the box. I can't remember if I mentioned the glitches, but I usually link to the best reviews I can find when I list a big box on ebay.

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3 hours ago, Jurassic Shark said:

Van Zweden's didn't click with me. Try the cycles by Szell, Sawallisch (two, on Philips and EMI), and Sanderling, and tell me what you think.

 

I've had the Szells for some 25 years, but they never clicked with me much. Zweden's seemed to have a bit more pep and were cheap, so I tried them, but they didn't click much more. At which point I decided that I'm simply clearly on the Wagner/Bruckner side of the Viennese Brahms split. (And that was before I learned about Hans Rott and how, according to Mahler, Brahms effectively murdered him)

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4 hours ago, Marian Schedenig said:

 

I've had the Szells for some 25 years, but they never clicked with me much. Zweden's seemed to have a bit more pep and were cheap, so I tried them, but they didn't click much more. At which point I decided that I'm simply clearly on the Wagner/Bruckner side of the Viennese Brahms split. (And that was before I learned about Hans Rott and how, according to Mahler, Brahms effectively murdered him)

 

They're not my favourite Szell recordings, they lack a bit oomph. His mono 1st is good. But when it comes to Brahms, the 4th symphony is the best entry point, IMO. What about Harnoncourt's cycle, or Marriner's? Also check out Brahms' own piano arrangements on Naxos.

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4 hours ago, Jurassic Shark said:

What?

 

Well, if you'd said the label can't be good because you're not familiar with them, that would have been a very conceited statement.

 

320_boom_tzz.gif

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Actually, I like to explore unfamiliar, niche labels. After all, Deutsche Grammophon isn't the alpha and omega of record labels. ;)

 

... which brings us to deal No. 12: 30% off Albion Records, which is the recording label of the Ralph Vaughan Williams Society.

 

https://www.europadisc.co.uk/offer/2715/EuropaDeal no.12 - Albion.htm?utm_source=Post-GDPR+subscribers&utm_campaign=914e237c01-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2018_11_23_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_250d0548b0-914e237c01-411830165

 

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9 hours ago, Jurassic Shark said:

... which brings us to deal No. 12: 30% off Albion Records, which is the recording label of the Ralph Vaughan Williams Society.

 

My favourite classical composer.

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Btw, I see that @Smeltington is one of the top posters of this topic, with only one post, which also is unrelated to the topic. I sense a dark future for classical music...

 

Just now, Thor said:

Know? Yes, quite a few. Own? Far too few.

 

Recommendations, please!

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These two are great:

 

https://rvwsociety.com/earth-and-sky/

https://rvwsociety.com/the-forgotten-rite/

 

Also most of the albums with choral music. I'm less keen on the reductions for piano and vocals. I also prefer other compilations for his film music than Albion's, like the one from Chandos.

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4 minutes ago, Thor said:

These two are great:

 

https://rvwsociety.com/earth-and-sky/

https://rvwsociety.com/the-forgotten-rite/

 

Also most of the albums with choral music. I'm less keen on the reductions for piano and vocals. I also prefer other compilations for his film music than Albion's, like the one from Chandos.

 

Thanks! From the label site:

 

Postage is fixed at £3 per order – to anywhere in the world – irrespective of the number of CDs in the order.

 

That's not bad!

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1 hour ago, Jurassic Shark said:

Yeah, I'd expect that. You haven't heard any?

 

No. I've had one or two on my list, but I find that with all the RVW stuff I already have, I keep returning to my favourites rather than paying due attention to all the rest I don't yet know so well, so I hesitate to pick up more of his stuff at random.

 

32 minutes ago, Thor said:

Also most of the albums with choral music.

 

Any a cappella recommendations?

27 minutes ago, Jurassic Shark said:

You can change it. It's all in your mind.

 

tenor.gif?itemid=12263544

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1 minute ago, Marian Schedenig said:

No. I've had one or two on my list, but I find that with all the RVW stuff I already have, I keep returning to my favourites rather than paying due attention to all the rest I don't yet know so well, so I hesitate to pick up more of his stuff at random.

 

I can recommend EMI's 30 CD RVW box. I think it was rereleased on Warner after the "merger".

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I follow the deals more or less each year. So far this year, I've used three of the deals to buy the following albums, all of which have been on my to-get list for quite some time:

 

Chandos:

 

eyJidWNrZXQiOiJwcmVzdG8tY292ZXItaW1hZ2Vz

 

eyJidWNrZXQiOiJwcmVzdG8tY292ZXItaW1hZ2Vz

 

Testament:

 

eyJidWNrZXQiOiJwcmVzdG8tY292ZXItaW1hZ2Vz

 

eyJidWNrZXQiOiJwcmVzdG8tY292ZXItaW1hZ2Vz

 

Simax:

 

eyJidWNrZXQiOiJwcmVzdG8tY292ZXItaW1hZ2Vz

 

I also used some of their regular deals to fill up the orders.

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45 minutes ago, Marian Schedenig said:

 

This looks interesting. I need more big band/swing stuff.

 

It's the best Goodman tribute album I've found, and the only one I considered worth buying. Of course, the big band tracks on the Swing Kids OST, some of which are Goodman arrangements, are mandatory.

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