Richter in Prague needs reissuing

[dirkronk]

Maybe it's just me, but $800+ seems a tad high, even for this superb set.
But...easy for me to say. I already have my copy (of the earlier edition, actually).

http://www.amazon.com/Sviatoslav-Richte ... 21_rsrssi0


Surely it's time for Praga to reissue at a more reasonable cost.

Dirk

[Lance]

This is positively ridiculous - and yet there will SOMEONE out there who is so anxious to have this they will pay the price. Like you, Dirk, I have the original edition which came in around $10/USD per disc in 1999 when I got it, that's around $150 for the set - which then, I thought to be very expensive. BUT, it was Richter and it was something I really wanted badly. I have never regretted having it.

[dirkronk]

This is positively ridiculous - and yet there will SOMEONE out there who is so anxious to have this they will pay the price. Like you, Dirk, I have the original edition which came in around $10/USD per disc in 1999 when I got it, that's around $150 for the set - which then, I thought to be very expensive. BUT, it was Richter and it was something I really wanted badly. I have never regretted having it.

Yep. This set was actually the very first thing I bought in CD format. Up to 1999, I'd managed to eschew the little plastic beer coasters and confine myself to LPs. But I knew these Richter recordings would never be released on vinyl. Ergo...

Oh, BTW, Lance. Amazon actually has one set of the original issue, like ours, and for LESS than $800. Like $750-something. Still ridiculous.

Dirk

[Chalkperson]

I have thirteen, i'm missing two...

[Lance]

Let's see, at the going rate of $825/USD for the set, that's $55.00 per disc PLUS postage. Which two are you missing and I'll send them right out!

I have thirteen, i'm missing two...

[slofstra]

Check eBay. There is a set for sale right now.
The auctioneer says "I don't know if this is just piano or what".
You wonder how she got the set in the first place.

[Lance]

Henry, do you recall what the bid was at thus far?

Check eBay. There is a set for sale right now.
The auctioneer says "I don't know if this is just piano or what".
You wonder how she got the set in the first place.

[slofstra]

Here is the link:
Richter in Prague on ebay

It's at $50, but that doesn't mean anything because the top bidder's maximum may be much higher.

[Chalkperson]

Here is the link:
Richter in Prague on ebay

It's at $50, but that doesn't mean anything because the top bidder's maximum may be much higher.

That's a Box Set of Mini LP Sleeves, I only ever saw this set as normal Plastic CD Cases, what kind do you have, Lance...

[Lance]

I have the original edition, full-fledged jewel boxes all within an outer cardboard box. Some truly wonderful Richter within this set.

Here is the link:
Richter in Prague on ebay

It's at $50, but that doesn't mean anything because the top bidder's maximum may be much higher.

That's a Box Set of Mini LP Sleeves, I only ever saw this set as normal Plastic CD Cases, what kind do you have, Lance...

[Lance]

Current bid as of 11:15 p.m., Sunday, April 26th is $153.50/USD. That's about normal retail, at least it was for the original jewel-case edition from Praga. There's 11 hours left on the bid. If anyone has a chance to "watch" this, I'd be curious to know what the HIGH bid shows as we reach about 10:00 a.m. If you find out, please keep me posted. (Thank you!)

Here is the link:
Richter in Prague on ebay

It's at $50, but that doesn't mean anything because the top bidder's maximum may be much higher.

[Chalkperson]

Oh, Great, we, the Plebs, have to monitor it, wake you up at 9.57 and help you procure this rare and valuable document...

Current bid as of 11:15 p.m., Sunday, April 26th is $153.50/USD. That's about normal retail, at least it was for the original jewel-case edition from Praga. There's 11 hours left on the bid. If anyone has a chance to "watch" this, I'd be curious to know what the HIGH bid shows as we reach about 10:00 a.m. If you find out, please keep me posted. (Thank you!)

[Lance]

Why ... why ... not at all. I already HAVE the set. You've only got 13/15ths of it! Right now, it is almost 2:00 a.m. - still working on my Aafje Heynis program. I figured you get up at 6:00 a.m., so you might be able to watch eBay's bid on this product. Why do I have the feeling that the $153.50 is YOUR bid, eh? Ho, ho, ho! I'm just curious to see what the final price will be on a bid. If you can catch it for me, that would be a fine thing! None of the CMGers are "plebs!"

Oh, Great, we, the Plebs, have to monitor it, wake you up at 9.57 and help you procure this rare and valuable document...

Current bid as of 11:15 p.m., Sunday, April 26th is $153.50/USD. That's about normal retail, at least it was for the original jewel-case edition from Praga. There's 11 hours left on the bid. If anyone has a chance to "watch" this, I'd be curious to know what the HIGH bid shows as we reach about 10:00 a.m. If you find out, please keep me posted. (Thank you!)

[RebLem]

Oh, I have a different Richter in Prague set. Its also on Praga/harmonia mundi, a 4 CD All Beethoven set of Czech radio broadcasts from 1959, 1965, 1975, and 1986. Its the Piano Sonatas 3, 7, 12, 17, 18, 23, 27, 28, 29, and 31 plus the Diabelli Variations. How many Richter in Prague sets are there, anyway?

[Lance]

I believe the Praga CD company broke up the sets, putting all the Beethoven in one four-CD set. For a time, I believe each disc was also available separately. Some people only want one composer or another and Richter's Beethoven ranks high. The 15-CD set was, apparently, all (or most) of his Prague performances.

Oh, I have a different Richter in Prague set. Its also on Praga/harmonia mundi, a 4 CD All Beethoven set of Czech radio broadcasts from 1959, 1965, 1975, and 1986. Its the Piano Sonatas 3, 7, 12, 17, 18, 23, 27, 28, 29, and 31 plus the Diabelli Variations. How many Richter in Prague sets are there, anyway?

[dirkronk]

I believe the Praga CD company broke up the sets, putting all the Beethoven in one four-CD set. For a time, I believe each disc was also available separately. Some people only want one composer or another and Richter's Beethoven ranks high. The 15-CD set was, apparently, all (or most) of his Prague performances.

Oh, I have a different Richter in Prague set. Its also on Praga/harmonia mundi, a 4 CD All Beethoven set of Czech radio broadcasts from 1959, 1965, 1975, and 1986. Its the Piano Sonatas 3, 7, 12, 17, 18, 23, 27, 28, 29, and 31 plus the Diabelli Variations. How many Richter in Prague sets are there, anyway?

I recall the separate Beethoven box, mainly because when it first came out I was hoping that the contents would be different from the big set, but no such luck. Also, while the "full" boxed set was 15 CDs, Praga issued three other individual CDs--with the same type of graphics AND the Richter In Prague imprimatur--that were NOT included in the box. One of these was a Prokofiev disc (sonatas 2, 6 & 9) which I bought, but I don't recall the contents of the other two; at the time, I contemplated purchasing them all, but IIRC I decided against those others because they replicated items I already had by Richter.

FWIW,

Dirk

[Imperfect Pitch]

Lance, it looks like the winning bid was $260.55.

For future reference, you can choose to "watch" an item and monitor its progress in your eBay account. Even after the auction ends, you will be able to check back and see what the winning bid was. I've found this to be a very handy feature.

Also, if you want to place a bid, eBay has this thing called "proxy bidding" which means you simply enter the maximum price you are willing to pay. The system automatically generates the smallest bid necessary to make you the highest bidder, without exceeding your cap. The only way you can lose an auction is if another bidder is willing to pay more than your maximum. So, all you have to do is decide on a price beyond which you would rather lose the auction than have to pay - and enter that price as your maximum bid.

Then, there's eBay "sniping" but that gets a bit labor-intensive.

[Lance]

These are the PRAGA Richter recordings I have:

•Praga CD 250.016 Dvorak: Piano Concerto + Sym #9 (New World) w/Prague Sym/Radio Sym, V Smetacek, cond
•Praga CD 250.048 Grieg: PC w/Konrashin, cond; Grieg: Vln Sta in G w/D Oistrakh, L Oborin (live, 1977, 1972) + others
•Praga CD 254.024 Beethoven: PCs 1, 3 w/Brno State Phil, B Bakala, cond (Live)
•Praga CD 256.002 Liszt: PC #1 w/Czech Phil, Ancerl, cond; Prokofiev: Pno Stas 2, 6 (all live) 1954 (Liszt/mono) Prok rec 1965
•Praga CD 354.001-15 [15cd] Richter in Prague Beethoven Brahms Chopin Haydn Liszt Schumann Mozart etc [Live]

There may be others as well, but I have not seen or know about them at this point. Probably the Prokofiev one you bought, Dirk, as 256.002, Prokofiev Piano Sonatas 2 & 6 and the Liszt PC #1, yes? You have to watch Praga very carefully because then tend to reissue material in new packaging - same performances.

I recall the separate Beethoven box, mainly because when it first came out I was hoping that the contents would be different from the big set, but no such luck. Also, while the "full" boxed set was 15 CDs, Praga issued three other individual CDs--with the same type of graphics AND the Richter In Prague imprimatur--that were NOT included in the box. One of these was a Prokofiev disc (sonatas 2, 6 & 9) which I bought, but I don't recall the contents of the other two; at the time, I contemplated purchasing them all, but IIRC I decided against those others because they replicated items I already had by Richter.

FWIW,

Dirk

[Kevin R]

Great set and a must have for Richter fans. I think some of his best performances came from these recitals (I say that as an admirer of the Kiev set and his Moscow and New York performances). If one really wants this set, there are several torrent sites that have all 15 CDs in a handy download........not that I condone such scandalous behavior.

[Holden Fourth]

I'm lucky to have the LvB set from the Praga series.

[Bösendorfer]

I'm also happy to have all the LvB issues. I found all four of them as single cds in a used shop two years ago (but none with any other composer...).

Florian

[AntonioA]

A reissue will make that set worthless. Was any of this recorded material released in the LP era?

[Chalkperson]

There is a new Richter Release on DoReMi of his 1967 Recital in Budapest, it contains the only Recording, other than the EMI from Paris in 1963, of Schubert's Wanderer, as well as Schumann's Novelettes and Beethoven's 7th and 17th Sonatas, as far as I know this has only ever been available on Private Tapes, two of Schubert's Impromptu's from the same Recital were released on DoReMi's Carnegie Hall disc...good sound too...

http://www.doremi.com/richter.html