Complete Beethoven Edition for FIFTY EURO!!!

[Peter]

Thanks for keeping us informed Michael of all the choices available in the complete set world!

[JA Gardiner]

Mm this one does sound good... However having just bought the Sony one which I'm very much enjoying and is a distinct improvement on the set from Germany that some of us bought, I think I can't justify splashing out again for a while That said I've just bought Music 101 by Fred Plotkin and will want to buy some of his recommendations... anyone else used this book? Its one of the most interesting, unpatronising and intelligent introductions for non-specialists that I've come across and I'm sure will inspire me to listen to a lot of piecesi thought I knew with fresh ears.

[Michael]

I hope I haven't led people astray with the really cheap edition. I was at pains to point out that it was handy for filling gaps and I, for one, have got great value out of it. It contains some really good recordings of the more obscure works but should not form the basis of a Beethoven collection. It was somewhat spoilt by a number of slipshod edits but was still worth the very low price. And it was practically "complete" - only two short items were missing from the WoO section and it contained a more than decent amount of Hess and Biamontis, etc.
The new one should be much better (at twice the price) but I'll soon find out!

[PDG]

Call me irresponsible (isn't that a song title?) but I have just purchased another "complete" Beethoven set. It's the 100 CD Brilliant Classics described here:

http://cgi.ebay.ie/Beethoven-Complet...QQcmdZViewItem

I bought it off an eBay online store which is in my backyard (Dublin) for the princely sum of 99 euro. What really sold me on it was the line-up: Symphonies by Masur, sonatas by Gulda, string quartets by the Guarneri, piano works by Brendel, etc. It also contains 15 extra discs of famous historic performances by Schnabel, Bush, Cortot and Casals. The clincher was the inclusion of the Furtwangler Fidelio from the early fifties (there are two Fidelios in the set, plus Leonora) which was my first and favourite version of the opera.
This is not a compilation for those who want the latest digital sound - the sonatas date from 1967 - but the main body of the works are (I hope) recorded in analogue stereo which I personally prefer. Period instrument fanatics also should beware.
Anyway, I will report on it when it arrives.

There is a cheaper 85 disc version available which does not include the 15 discs of historical performances.

Hi Michael. Am I right in thinking that this set does not contain Beethoven's splendid Piano Trio version of Symphony 2, Op.36? The arrangement is also missing from this site's Works list but is one of my favourites. Cheers!

[Michael]

Hi Michael. Am I right in thinking that this set does not contain Beethoven's splendid Piano Trio version of Symphony 2, Op.36? The arrangement is also missing from this site's Works list but is one of my favourites. Cheers!

Yes, Peter, it doesn't seem to be on the list, but I have two recordings already, one on the DGG set and another on the Cascade/Amado set (the cheap one!). I must say that the "cheap" edition went to extraordinary pains to include everything as per the Barry Cooper list in the Beethoven Compendium and it lacks only two small WoO items, as I may have mentioned earlier.
This newBrilliant set also seems to be missing a few small items - the ten-minute "Vesta's Fire" fragment - but it does contain one or two items not found in either of the other two sets. I guess every publisher's idea of a "complete" edition differs in some way. It also depends on whatever obscure material they can get hold of without too much hassle or expense.
All three editions contain the same recordings of the secular vocal works with orchestra, such as "Primo Amore", etc.

[PDG]

Thanks for that, Mike. I have now ordered the cheap set (and also the cheap set of 171 Mozart discs!). If I am not entirely satisfied, you will of course fully refund me.

My statutory rights are not affected.

[Michael]

Thanks for that, Mike. I have now ordered the cheap set (and also the cheap set of 171 Mozart discs!). If I am not entirely satisfied, you will of course fully refund me.
My statutory rights are not affected.

Just prepare yourself for the first CD. As I mentioned elsewhere, a few chords have been lopped off the introduction to the first symphony.
And rightly so! The bloody symphony is supposed to be in C major and what does that eejit Beethoven do but begin with a discord in the key of F! Whoever took the artistic decision to delete this rubbish deserves a medal.
Seriously, Peter, I hope you enjoy the edition in spite of the glitches. This set is being merrily offered on eBay and other online stores for over a hundred euro but it is still available from the German site for fifty (plus eight euro postage) so don’t pay a cent more than that. (You could get the Brilliant Edition for a hundred euro).
I hope you have read my reservations about the set in general but it is well worth the low price because of the more obscure items (and there are a lot of them) These are very well recorded and performed, especially the partsongs, the non-sonata piano works and the folksong arrangements - oops, sorry! I haven't played a lot of the standard repertoire yet because I have more than enough recordings of the string quartets, etc, although the Kodaly recordings of those works have had good reviews.
I kept a list of the discs I considered very good (you might not agree) so just jot this down for future reference: 16-17, 30-35, 48-49,52,58, 63-65, 67-68. (These are just a few of the good discs). On the later discs, 69-77, they have mixed in lieder with folksong arrangements which makes for a more entertaining programme as a full CD of folksong arrangements alone is a bit much. The piano trio arrangement of the Second Symphony is on Disc 48.
Coming towards the end of the set, there is a sense of “Oh my God, we almost forgot this” and you will find one of the opus 14 piano sonatas shoehorned into a set of really rare piano works and there is even a disc of organ preludes and fugues.
The bottom line is: this set is great fun!
I would strongly recommend that you print out the PDF catalogue as the booklet is useless. After all, there are more than 700 works in this set. Each cardboard sleeve gives full details of the recording but it lacks an overall list (except on the inside and bottom covers of the box).
A list of the Opus Numbers, etc. can be printed from this site and this would be useful too.

[Michael]

After reading your message, PDG, I decided to give a quick listen through the CDs in the cheap Beethoven set. I have been listening only to the non-standard works and haven’t found anything wrong with them but I must warn you about the Piano Sonata section of the edition. I am afraid it’s a disaster area – opening notes missing on several and on one disc a wrong movement!
I got alarmed then and skimmed through the Kodaly string quartet discs and found them to be perfect – all taken from the Naxos label. I then logged onto another Beethoven website and found that other purchasers had the same complaints about the sonata section of the edition. Some felt that they could disregard that when all the other works came at such a cheap price but at least one has returned his set.
I would advise you to check out these sonata discs first and then weigh them against the rest of the set which seems to be okay – but I HAVE NOT LISTENED TO ALL 87 DISCS.
If you bought the Mozart edition from the same Munich website, I think you need have no worries as this is the acclaimed Brilliant edition which has amassed huge sales in America and Europe. If the Brilliant Beethoven set is anything to go by, it should be well worth the money.
The cheap set is by Cascade/Amado and is being advertised all over the internet for twice the price we paid for it. I think Susan and JA Gardiner bought it - and I wonder if they have reached the sonata part yet! It is the top seller on the Munich site but I shudder to think how many returns they will get. I just don't realise how the glitches on the sonata discs were not picked up by quality control.
I am holding onto mine because of the good quality of the rest of the discs but, PDG, you might re-consider and check out the Brilliant edition. Don't take my recommendations but a trawl around the net will give you information on their Bach and Mozart sets which were massive sellers.
There is a provision on the Munchen Mail Order site for returning items that are unsatisfactory.

[gardibolt]

OTOH, many people getting the Amado set will be doing so for the minor and less readily available works as opposed to the symphonies and sonatas, so maybe there won't be too much dissatisfaction. I have plenty of other recordings of the First Sym. so the butchery there doesn't bother me at all. I just need to remember not to listen to the first disc!

[Michael]

OTOH, many people getting the Amado set will be doing so for the minor and less readily available works as opposed to the symphonies and sonatas, so maybe there won't be too much dissatisfaction. I have plenty of other recordings of the First Sym. so the butchery there doesn't bother me at all. I just need to remember not to listen to the first disc!

Yes, that's the way I feel about it but I'm concerned about other buyers. Unless you already have a complete set of the symphonies and the piano sonatas, this set is NOT for you!

[PDG]

Thanks for all the helpful info, Michael. I have replied to your PM. To think that all of Beethoven's music would fit in a shoe box. But where to find a Schu box?...

[Michael]

Thanks for all the helpful info, Michael. I have replied to your PM. To think that all of Beethoven's music would fit in a shoe box. But where to find a Schu box?...

Good question. Why isn't there a Complete Schubert - or will you have to wait until 1828? I believe Brilliant are bringing out a complete Haydn next year and it will run to 230 CDs. Wait until they get around to Telemann........

[Sorrano]

You can Telamann but not much. ;-)

[Michael]

You can Telamann but not much. ;-)

I can't handel jokes like that. Sorrano, you deserve a haydn.

[Sorrano]

I can't handel jokes like that. Sorrano, you deserve a haydn.

Alright....I'll leave, but I'll be Bach in a minuet.