Sony's 9-DVD set

[K620]

Does anyone know the full contents of the 9-DVD boxed set of Karajan's Telemondial films, due for release by Sony in the USA & Japan in March this year?

So far, I've been able to find out only that it will include the Beethoven Symphonies, Missa Solemnis, and Violin Concerto. That would occupy, at most, 5 discs (if the Violin Concerto is allowed a full disc to itself... which it might not).

I presume that the box is also likely to include the Beethoven/Brahms overtures being released by Sony as a separate DVD at the same time.

But that still leaves 3 discs, or more, unaccounted for.

I'm asking because companies sometimes enrich boxed sets with special bonus items not necessarily available in any other form. I don't want to re-purchase the Beethoven Symphonies and Violin Concerto... but I may have to do so, if the boxed set includes items that can't be obtained any other way!

[darkehmen]

See, that's an extremely interesting question. I suppose it all depends on whether Sony will be using the new couplings of the symphonies as redone by Adam (in which case they are compressed into 3 discs), or issuing them according to their initial releases, which were two symphonies per DVD.

If it's the latter, then we have the following discs:

1. Symphonies 1&8
2. Symphonies 2&3
3. Symphonies 4&5
4. Symphonies 6&7
5. Symphony 9
6. Violin Concerto
7. Symphony 3 from the Jubilee Concert, 1982
8. Missa Solemnis (at last)
9. Overtures

Sadly, that would mean no extras -- although I'd love to believe that you might be right, and that the complete set would have something unique to it.

For example, from what I gather, the Overtures disc will comprise Egmont, Fidelio, Leonore III, and the Brahms Tragic.

Well, where's the Coriolan Overture, which was filmed at the same time as the other three?

When A&E broadcast the overtures film, it showed the same four noted above -- no Coriolan. And yet it was obviously filmed.

I can understand that for LD, it might have been left out to keep the material to one side of the disc, but for DVD, it could certainly be included. Coriolan rivals the Egmont as Beethoven's greatest overture, and the 1985 recording was a profound one from HvK. It will be a tragedy if it becomes another "missing" film...

[K620]

Ah! That might well be the explanation. Thanks very much.

It seems strange that a company should issue (at the same time & in the same country) the labours of Adam in separate releases, and yet the pre-Adamite versions in a 9DVD box. But I suppose Sony would have remaining stocks of fossilized pre-Adamite discs on their shelves... in which case the box would be one way of trying to market them.

[K620]

Definite information at last. Two Japanese websites (cdjournal.com and yamano-music.co.jp) have now given full contents lists for the 9-DVD set. It's very much as Darkehmen predicted:

1. Symphonies 1 & 8
2. Symphonies 2 & 3
3. Symphonies 4 & 5
4. Symphonies 6 & 7
5. Symphony 9
6. Symphony 3
7. Violin Concerto
8. Overtures: Fidelio, Egmont, Leonore 3, Tragic
9. Missa Solemnis

All items by Beethoven except the Brahms Tragic Overture. And definitely no Coriolan.

[darkehmen]

You can read Japanese? That's pretty impressive. I tried both the sites you mentioned and ran into incomprehensible script. Perhaps if I employed Google Translator on it, I could make some headway.

I'm not surprised about the contents, since when the Overtures film was shown on A&E, Coriolan was missing then too. But I am still disappointed. Why this overture would not be released is beyond me. With Uli Maerkle dead, I despair of ever having the rest of the Telemondial films published (the Mozart 29th, the Rhapsodie Espagnol, etc.). If the Centrum were still in operation, one could ask there, but that door too is now closed.

[mahalo]

k620 said:

Definite information at last. Two Japanese websites (cdjournal.com and yamano-music.co.jp) have now given full contents lists for the 9-DVD set. It's very much as Darkehmen predicted:

1. Symphonies 1 & 8
2. Symphonies 2 & 3
3. Symphonies 4 & 5
4. Symphonies 6 & 7
5. Symphony 9
6. Symphony 3
7. Violin Concerto
8. Overtures: Fidelio, Egmont, Leonore 3, Tragic
9. Missa Solemnis

All items by Beethoven except the Brahms Tragic Overture. And definitely no Coriolan.

Thank you for your information.

I also have found that HMV Japan announced the contents.
The site is written in Japan, however you can translate it if you
use any translation-services site.

www.hmv.co.jp/product/detail/2672994

HMV Japan has created a special information site to Karajan's
centenary year. Its URL is:

www.hmv.co.jp/fl/12/272/1/

[darkehmen]

mahalo said:

HMV Japan has created a special information site to Karajan's
centenary year. Its URL is:

www.hmv.co.jp/fl/12/272/1/

Ah, what a fine page. Thank you for the link.

Browsing through that link, I found a picture of what DG's complete set of Karajan's recordings will look like:



Sure enough, it comes with its own case -- not its own slipcase, but its own bookcase! What an elegant presentation, but what a pity it's out of any reasonable price range.

[darkehmen]

Here they are at last.

Found on amazon.co.jp, here are the covers for the three forthcoming releases. I'm delighted to see that they're packaged in the original style, and not in the rather pathetic white covers of the Adam re-issues.

Here is the cover of the Missa Solemnis (pinch me -- it's really here):

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Here is the cover of the Overtures film (exceptionally fine photograph -- the best cover in the entire series):

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And here is the cover of the 9-DVD boxed set:

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For me, these are the musical events of the year. How amazing that 20 years after his passing, the most exciting, most eagerly-awaited recordings in the world of classical music are still...new HvK releases.

The maestro continues to share new music with us from beyond the veil...

[Rosy]

darkehmen, please,
video and audio quality , are excellent, super - excellent?
Covers are beautiful!
Thank you!

Rosy

[Rosy]

Unfortunately, my confidence shop, give me the " 3 DVD Sony " redone by Adam........................very poor covers!!!! ( € 45,00!)
I'll wait Japanese package!

Rosy