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62 of 64 people found the following review helpful
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Along with Sony's Stravinsky box (22 CDs for £17.99) I would class this as one of the most astonishing bargains available in classical CD sets. These 37 CDs cover almost every important work by Britten and find space from some intriguing rarities as well. The performances never fall short of satisfying and are often among the best available. You do miss out, by and large, on performances conducted by Britten himself (he was a Decca artiste latterly, though there are some early recordings here - a little Purcell, some folk song arrangements, the Donne Holy Sonnets and the Michelangelo Sonnets, all recorded in the 1940s for HMV - and all sounding remarkably clear and immediate, with Pears in fine voice). But you have Rattle, Pesek, Iona Brown (excellent Frank Bridge Variations), Isserlis, Hickox, Marriner, Alexander Gibson, Knussen, the Endillion String Quartet, Truls Mork, Hough, Julian Bream, Previn, Soderstrom, Robert Tear, Thomas Allen, Janet Baker, Willcocks, Robert Lloyd, Donald Maxwell, Neil Mackie, Barry Tuckwell, Bedford, Bostridge, Haitink, Goodall and others - not a bad cast. The list of works is almost exhausting (the CDs play for about 42 hours) - you can find it separately on the Web. Of the operas, you have 'Peter Grimes' (Haitink), 'Paul Bunyan', 'The Turn of the Screw', 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' (an excellent cast directed by Richard Hickox - wonderful!) and 'The Rape of Lucretia', with some additional scenes from 'Peter Grimes' recorded in 1948 with Peter Pears, Joan Cross and Reginald Goodall. Quality is very high, the CDs come in an adequate box and presentation is good, with a fine photo of Britten at Aldeburgh on the box front and an atmospheric photo on each disc sleeve. The 50-page booklet lists all works, performers and recording dates fully and thoroughly. There are no notes, which might be seen as a disadvantage, but really, when there is so much here for so little outlay, it would seems carping to criticise. Very highly recommended.
9 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Amazon Verified Purchase
I am still about half way through listening to these discs, it is all a bit over whelming but the things which is obvious is the consistent quality of bot the composition and of the recording and playing. Everything I have played so far I have found to be really good to totally splendid. If anyone has heard bits of Britten, in my case it was largely the operas and wants to hear more this is highly recommended , there is a wide variety, Britten's writing is fascinating he is neither completely modern , nor stuck in a more traditional mode. I cannot get over the sheer volume of good music that there is here, and at this price it is a give away!
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
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3 reviews
49 of 53 people found the following review helpful
The Ultimate Britten Collection
15 Mar 2009
Amazon Verified Purchase
I can only try to be helpful so that you can make up your own mind as to whether or not to purchase this 37 CD set.
1. There is included a 50 page booklet that contains only a listing of the compositions and performers. There is nothing about the composer and no words to any of the singing, including the operas. EMI should be ashamed.
2. The 37 discs are divided approximately as follows: 10 orchestral, 6 chamber, 11 church, songs, and choral, 10 opera.
3. All performances are excellent, including the War Requiem and 5 operas.
4. A dedicated Britten fan will have to obtain the booklet or a similar listing in order to determine how many of the selections would be duplicative of discs presently owned.
5. The purchaser not too familiar with Britten will have to decide if he wants to buy so many discs that feature the voice, particularly since no words are printed.
6. Based on the quality of the performances (EMI recordings) and the price (about $2.00 per disc) this is an amazing bargain and for that reason alone rates 5 stars.
1. There is included a 50 page booklet that contains only a listing of the compositions and performers. There is nothing about the composer and no words to any of the singing, including the operas. EMI should be ashamed.
2. The 37 discs are divided approximately as follows: 10 orchestral, 6 chamber, 11 church, songs, and choral, 10 opera.
3. All performances are excellent, including the War Requiem and 5 operas.
4. A dedicated Britten fan will have to obtain the booklet or a similar listing in order to determine how many of the selections would be duplicative of discs presently owned.
5. The purchaser not too familiar with Britten will have to decide if he wants to buy so many discs that feature the voice, particularly since no words are printed.
6. Based on the quality of the performances (EMI recordings) and the price (about $2.00 per disc) this is an amazing bargain and for that reason alone rates 5 stars.
3 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Britten soars high again!
12 Jan 2011
Amazon Verified Purchase
I have loverd Britten ever since I was a child, which was in my pre-Pink Floyd days. I was thrilled to find this collection, even though I own recordings of almost everything Britten wrote (I must have at least 10 recordings of the War Requiem, my all-time favorite alongside PF's 'The Wall'). I'm a liturgical composer and admire Britten's attention to text scoring. Well done, Amazon!
4 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Seems a bit over the top
13 Jan 2011
I suppose you'd have to be a tremendous BB fan to buy this set. Personally I would stick to individual pieces. The "War Requiem" is a tremendous masterpiece and deserves to be bought in the original recording with Britten recording ( as do most performances). "The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra" ( "Variations on a theme of Purcell") is also tremendously enjoyable, likewise the "Simple Symphony", a compilation of his childhood compositions. If you are into opera "Peter Grimes" is easily the best and, if not, the "Sea Interludes" are fine post-Debussy pieces. I'm sorry to say I find a lot of the rest of Britten's music rather minor, but you are welcome to disagree.
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