MP3 Recommended and Bargain Titles

As you may or may not know, the classical labels have undergone some dramatic changes of late, with a lot of labels merging. Sony/BMG carries the Sony, CBS, Columbia and RCA/BMG lines, Universal now owns DG, Archiv, and Philips, while EMI still carries its own music, including the old Angel line. Many recordings have been reissued in different sets, or are now out of print. Luckily, the labels have been making more recordings available at online stores such as iTunes and Amazon, so there is some great downloadable music. Also, DG has opened up its deep catalog with some MP3 only reissues which is a veritable treasure trove of excellent recordings.

While I will be the first to admit the sound quality of earlier online store releases was questionable, the new releases sound almost as good as their CD counterparts, and with the advantage that the recordings should stay in print, hopefully for a very long time. There is a separate page for the Philips Duo line coming soon, since Amazon has these MP3 versions at about half the price of the CD sets, and there are a lot of them. Listed here are various albums that are out of print and some great bargains I have discovered. The links are mostly for the AmazonMP3 Store unless otherwise noted.

This great compilations of adagios by Bernstein.

Szell and the Cleveland Orch is an all Strauss program.

Ormandy, Stern and Brahms' Violin Concerto.

Fleisher and Szell in 2 classic piano concertos.

Barenboim conducts Bruckner's 8th.

Reiner and the Chicago SO perform Rossini overtures.

Gluck:
Orfeo et Euridice
in a FREE download, just go to the bottom of the page for the MP3s. Read more info about the recording here at my blog.

Stravinsky's basic works in a great 2 album set by Rattle.

100+ Haydn symphonies in this excellent 33 album set.

Dutoit conducts Debussy in this 2 album set. A great performance.

Naxos Early Music Sampler is FREE.

The 99 track Mozart sampler at a great price!

Mehta conducts 6 Hungarian Rhapodies by Liszt.

10 CDs worth of Berlioz by Munch and the Boston SO is a great bargain!

Bernstein conducts Mozart's Late Symphonies in this 3 album set.

A good 2 disc selection of Shosh Quartets from the Borodin Quartet.

Bargain set of Brahms' Op. 116-119 solo piano works.

Mozart's 4 Horn Concertos plus other works in this bargain 3 album set.