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| Switched-On Boxed Set | 
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| Creators: Johann Sebastian Bach, George Frederick Handel, Claudio Monteverdi, Recorded Sound, Domenico Scarlatti, Wendy Carlos
Label: East Side Digital
Category: Music
List Price: $47.98
Buy New: $37.92
You Save: $10.06 (21%)
Buy New/Used from $37.92
Avg. Customer Rating:  (44 reviews)
Sales Rank: 41507
Format: Box Set, Enhanced, Original Recording Remastered
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 4
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 5.8 x 5.2 x 2.1
MPN: 618142
UPC: 021561814226
EAN: 0021561814226
ASIN: B00002DDS5
Release Date: October 26, 1999
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 Truly A Masterpiece! May 11, 2007
This collection is a treasured addition to our music library here at home, in part because I have long been a fan of the artist. Also, because we all enjoy the spin that Wendy puts on many of the classical works of the old masters of music. I heartily recommend this boxed set to any listener who wants to be delighted by the sounds of the Moog synthesizer, played in a masterful way by Wendy Carlos...
 Definitive, historical, all-in-one March 4, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
If you've loved the Walter/Wendy Carlos recordings over the years, this is a great way to get them all in one place. If you are at all interested in the production process, this is a _must have_ item.
Some have complained about the discussion tracks at the end of some CDs; I guess I can see how some might find them annoying. For pure ambience, you'll want to program your CD player to not play them, or just rip these CDs and burn a new copy minus those tracks.
One minor complaint I have is that the Brandenburgs are scattered throughout. I don't think it should have been all that bad to just have some of them duplicated. But I do understand the rationale, including them as is on the albums where they appeared individually, and then only putting the rest on the actual Brandenburgs pair of CDs. Personally, I love being able to listen to all the Brandenburgs straight through, so again I just made new versions of CD for my own use with them all together in their original order.
And of course, these days so many people aren't even listening to their CDs on the CD player. The music is ripped and then played using an MP3 player, computer, or similar device. Making playlists for your preferred track arrangements obviates any of the above complaints.
Regardless, I think that the value of having an all-in-one collection of these classic electronic instruments and performances far outweighs any minor issues regarding one's opinion of the choice of production arranagement.
Super Coleccion January 3, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Una joya de arte, en su estuche y con un gran contenido de los primeros volumenes de esta gran interprete.
Simplemente una gran coleccion para los fanaticos de Wendy
Loved It All Over Again August 3, 2005
6 out of 8 found this review helpful
When I heard the first piece from the first album as a young boy, I was completely hooked. I don't think Wendy could have picked a better song to start with. The power and expansiveness of the Sinfonia is surely what Bach must have heard in his head when he wrote it over 300 years ago.
Honestly, some of the music on these albums is so good you may never hear Bach, Handel, or Scarlatti the same way again.
When I saw this boxed set for sale, I purchased it with a little trepidation, unsure if it would live up to my memory of it and not sure what my wife or daughter would make of it. I'm glad I got it, though. It's a wonderful recording and the two bonus tracks are fun to listen to. In fact, I wish CDs had the same "commentary" tracks that DVDs have as I would have enjoyed hearing more about how this recording was put together.
Devotion to her art, dedication to her audience. October 7, 2004
51 out of 55 found this review helpful
Wendy Carlos didn't have to do this, you know. Fer pity's sake, the oldest of these recordings is now well past legal drinking age! And, heck, on the average stereo system found in Joe Sixpack's living room (where a vinyl copy of the original "Switched-On Bach" is lost between an LP of "The Byrd's: Greatest Hits" and the soundtrack album to "The Sting"), the original Columbia Masterworks CD of "Switched-On Bach" sounded just fine. Besides, the analog synthesizer has long since taken its place next to the valveless Baroque trumpet and the rare violino piccolo as a "period instrument". "Puh-leez, Wendy!" some might shriek. "Give it a rest!"
But, no. Wendy Carlos knows that her musical medium of choice is rarely heard in live performances. It's largely confined to film scores and recordings. Synthesizer ensemble concerts came and went so fast, who noticed? And, yes, we all ran out and bought "Switched-On Bach 2000" on the Telarc label, eagerly plopped it into our CD players and, quite frankly, wondered where all the fun went. Wendy's experiments with "tuning on the fly" went right over most of our heads. In the ensuing 25 years since the original, Wendy's skill as a musician had grown. Her mastery of digital technology had certainly kept pace with each development, but somewhere along the way, the passion, the verve, the very lfe of the music just wasn't there.
"Switched-On Bach" was a unique recording. It could no more be recreated nor improved upon than could an ensemble of Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and a couple session musicians be dubbed The Beatles for the New Millennium. Even if Wendy dusted off and plugged in every module and submodule of the Moog synthesizer on which it was created, it wouldn't be the same. Part of what makes a great recording is the recording itself.
And this is exactly what Wendy Carlos has chosen to concentrate upon. First, she secured both the rights and all of the master tapes of "Switched-On Bach", "The Well-Tempered Synthesizer", "Switched-On Bach II" and "Switched-On Brandenburgs" from Columbia. Then, she literally scrubbed every second of the music of tape noise, splice pops and all those other delightful little surprises that wound up on the Columbia CD of "Switched-On Bach". She equalized the sound to take full advantage of current 20-bit CD technology. With the help of independent label East Side Digital, she packed it all into 4 CDs with graphics and midi files, a booklet of the original liner notes and another booklet about the whole project. Inside a single slipcase is the turning point of an entire industry and thanks to Amazon.com, it's yours for less than half a C-note.
Thank you, Wendy.
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