Andre Cluytens The Complete Orchestral & Concerto Recordings 61 CD Boxset 2017

André Cluytens, though born in Belgium, achieved fame as one of the supreme French conductors of his era, renowned for his refinement and the sheer joy of his music-making. In the mid-20th century he built a substantial, varied and distinguished discography and became. The first conductor to record the complete Beethoven symphonies with the Berliner Philharmoniker. This 61-disc set, uniting all his. Recordings of orchestral, concerto and choral repertoire, embraces the mainstream and the esoteric, and includes numerous items. Making their debut on CD or retrieved from the archives and released for the very first time. The boxes, for there are two, are made of tough cardboard.

The first box with all the details printed on, has a second box with the CDs, fits inside perfectly, a rather unique solution I think. There are 4 CDs available for the first time which were originally issued on 78s.

The rest are taken from LP's with the original sleeves on the outside, also having the CD number on the front and back. So they are divided into MONO (CD 1-35) STEREO (CD 35-65).

The CDs are white with a big CD number, music played and orchestra. Included is a booklet which has no translations of the Choral work and spoken French, but does have brief details of Cluytens life and a article by Anja Silja. The complete set without the operas, is published by Warner music group company.

So like the two big Warner boxes Callas and Perlman, there is Cluytens signature on the top of this greeny blue box. D the complete Beethoven symphonies with the Berliner Philharmoniker. This 61 disc set, uniting all his recordings of orchestral, concerto and choral repertoire, embraces the mainstream and the esoteric, and includes numerous items making their debut on CD or retrieved from the archives and released for the very first time. Great big box of goodies, splendidly remastered.

Reviewed in Canada on 12 November 2018. Almost everything in this gigantic collection is worth your time. A terrific complete Ravel, a fine complete Beethoven symphonies with the BPO, excellent versions of music by Debussy, Franck, Berlioz (two versions of L'Enfance du Christ), Bizet, lots of Roussel, concerto recordings with Marcelle Mayer, Marguerite Long, Solomon, Gilels, Francescatti, and much, much more.

Most of the recordings are with the Paris Conservatoire Orchestra, and it sounds a lot better here than in some other recordings. Cluytens is a master of sound balance, of revealing every strand of winds, strings and percussion, and also of tempo and momentum. The interpretations range from the fully satisfactory to the revelatory. After decades of putting up with EMI sound from the 1950s that was flat and clotted, we can finally hear how good these EMI and Erato period recordings really are. There is depth, there is detail, there is bass, and there is clarity instead of screeching in the upper strings.

When I first ordered this set I really wondered about my sanity; now I'm just a very happy camper. There are 4 CDs missing from this set they are numbers 5,6,7 and 35. The photos form part of the description please message me if you need any further information. The discs have been checked and are in excellent condition.

The cardboard sleeves are in very good condition. The booklet is in very good condition but has some marks on the back outer page. The outer cardboard box shows some signs of wear on the edges and corners and some dents which are visible on the photos. I have hundreds of new and used classical CDs being listed.