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| Alban Berg Collection / Various (Coll) | 
 enlarge | Creators: Dietrich Fischer-dieskau, Sabine Meyer, Alban Berg, Johann Ii Strauss, Claudio Abbado, James Levine, Pierre Boulez, Boston Symphony Chamber Players, Ensemble Intercontemporain, Anne Sofie Von Otter, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre De L'opera De Paris, Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Aribert Reimann, Bengt Forsberg, Daniel Barenboim, Geoffrey Parsons, Georges Pludermacher, Oleg Maisenberg, Juliane Banse
Label: Deutsche Grammophon
Category: Music
List Price: $63.98
Buy New: $35.99
You Save: $27.99 (44%)
Buy New/Used from $35.99
Avg. Customer Rating:  (6 reviews)
Sales Rank: 60131
Format: Box Set, Collector's Edition
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 8
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 5.1 x 5 x 0.9
MPN: 000205102
UPC: 028947465720
EAN: 0028947465720
ASIN: B0000B09Z4
Release Date: March 9, 2004
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews: Read 1 more reviews...
One-stop atonal heaven July 10, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
No one will ever mistake Alban Berg for the more tuneful figures in the Viennese musical pantheon, but his oeuvre remains indispensable - as is this comprehensive, challenging, and high quality set. Interested opera folk should endeavor to locate Manfred Gurlitt's parallel 'Wozzeck' to accompany Berg's much better known version, included (w/'Lulu') here.
 Fabulous bargain, but Berg needs texts! February 5, 2006
8 out of 8 found this review helpful
This is a great set for anyone who wishes to be immersed in Alban Berg's lurid, hothouse, hallucinogenic world. Both performances and sound quality are mostly excellent: No record company has ever made as great a commitment to Berg as Deutsche Grammophon. Based on the performances alone, this deserves six stars.
But the budget price comes with a catch: No texts or librettos. (There are at least scene synopses for "Wozzeck" and "Lulu.") With some composers, this wouldn't be a serious problem, but Berg was one of the greatest control freaks in music history. Without knowing exactly where each word is placed, listeners who don't understand German will miss an important facet of this intricately multi-layered music.
Superb Berg performances ... good value! January 5, 2006
This might be the best box set I own. First of all you get what is most likely the best available versions of the Violin Concerto,Wozzeck,Lulu (3 act ver.),Lulu suite,7 Early Songs with van Otter,Der Wein and much more. The only real sub-par performance on it is the Piano Sonata op1 with Barenboim which can be found in many other recordings for a decent price. So, if you are new to Berg and you buy this, you are getting really an outstanding set of recordings which are top of the heap with great conductors and orchestras.
Real Estate Saver October 3, 2004
10 out of 12 found this review helpful
This little box is an elegant, SPACE-SAVING means of acquiring classic performances (all of them stellar) from the DG catalog of Berg's major works, including two by my adored Lasalle Quartet that I believe have recently gone OOP. The set contains eight CD's housed in somewhat hard-to-remove cardboard sleeves that clearly identify the contents therein, and includes a booklet which, despite not containing lyrics for any of the vocal works, is very informative. The lack of libretti is possibly less an issue in the case of Wozzeck; chances are that listeners already own at least one other recording and so can refer to its libretto. Lulu, however, is more problematic because more listeners probably opt to purchase this "complete(d)" performance over all others and may even be purchasing this set on that basis.
Not being particularly fond of lieder in general, I feel less qualified to make an educated call as to who might own which recordings of the songs other than to remark that I already own this recording of Op. 2 (which, of course includes the lyrics). In fact, as is the case with a previous reviewer, I already own a number of recordings from this set (which I received as a gift). No matter, it's still worth owning, and I agree with yet another reviewer's suggestion to grab it while it's available. True, one might prefer different performances here or there but honestly, this affords the best way of acquiring everything in one fell swoop, and there's not a clinker in the whole set.
In that vein, I might suggest that fans of the VC seek out Szeryng's performance with Kubelik, now available remastered on DG Eloquence at budget price. It's much less emotional than Mutter's beautiful reading but I find this proves an enhancement rather than a detraction; I also feel that Kubelik, possibly due to his Austro-Hungarian heritage, ultimately has a better grasp of this repertoire than Levine (although I love his OOP Lulu Suite/Wozzeck excerpts on Sony and Mahler 4 on RCA).
Best Set; Good Price... May 11, 2004
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
This is a really nice set at a good price. It features all DG's Berg recordings--which really are about the best around. This "Collectors' Edition" is certain to disappear soon and increase in value.
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