Complete Works

Mozart Edition: Complete Works (170 CD Box Set)
$149.98
I have not only bought Brilliant's Complete Mozart Edition, I have also bought their Complete Beethoven and Complete Bach Editions as well. My observations on those two collections are the same as for this one - and I highly recommend them all.

That said - the reason I would not give any of these collections five stars is because Brilliant clearly has not provided definitive versions of any of these works. Nor should you expect that at these prices. But what they have provided are all very good. It is not as though Brilliant commissioned the University of Montana Marching Band to record this music - the caliber of all musicians involved is generally good to excellent. So the quality of the recordings and the musicianship, at least to my layman's ears anyway, is more than acceptable. In the case of the Beethoven Symphonies, the recordings (Kurt Masur - Leipzig) are every bit as good - at least to me - as anything done by Berlin and von Karajan. And in regards to this Mozart collection - I have now listend to nearly 50 of the CDs, and all provide me that instant attitude adjustment that only Mozart's astonishingly positive and sprightly melodies can provide. This is Mozart folks - as someone once observed - EVERYTHING he wrote is miraculous. So why in the world would you not want to instantly buy a copy of EVERYTHING he ever wrote, if you could get your hands on it.

And now you can.

Brilliant is to be congratulated for making a rather obvious idea a reality. To whit: one can buy the rights to not so famous versions of not so famous pieces of music for next to nothing, and then burn copies of the CDs by the thousands for even cheaper. Then all you have to do is package it effectively and efficiently to make the prices competitive, and you will have yourself a cash cow.

And Brilliant has done a great job keeping costs down with simple but effective packaging. The CDs come in clearly identifiable sleeves (not jewel cases). These are packed, in order, in a VERY sturdy box made of heavy gauge cardboard. If you treat this box with care, there is no reason why it won't last for years. On the inside of the box, Brilliant provides labelling, so you know exactly where to look if you want to hear a particular piece. Each CD sleeve contains all the information you would need to know - the piece of music, its length, and the musicians involved. The box fits perfectly on the shelving I built for my standard CDs - meaning it is not oversized in any way.

I am very pleased with this collection, and look forward to a lifetime of listening enjoyment - as I now possess on the order of 500 hours of music from 3 of the greatest composers in history, for less than one dollar per CD. I play this music all the time, and am grateful that I live in an age where such things are possible. For the same price it would take to bring my family to a baseball game or two, I can now hear more music than the richest king or emperor ever could 200 years ago, even if he spent a small fortune hiring dozens of world-class musicians and then set out to locate copies of every manuscript for what amounts to thousands of pieces of music. Good luck with that Emperor Franz - you should have waited 200 years to be born...

Beethoven Edition: Complete Works (85CD Box Set)
$139.98
I cannot believe that the complete work by Beethoven can be bought at such affordable a price. The box has "table of content" printed on it and can be easily see when it is opened. I highly recommend it to classic music lovers.

BRAHMS: Edition - Complete Works
$119.98
A wonderful CD collection indeed! I have bought all of the Brilliant Classics Complete Collections and have not been upset with any set. The only thing I didn't like about this set (and only because I can compare with my others), the information was on the outside instead of the inside. Meaning that all of the works were located on the outside box instead of on the flap like Mozart, Beethoven and Bach.

The set is much more colorful than the last couple also. You can see how much time they spend on making it look "brilliant". Definitely a wonderful deal for the price... and you should not even give it a second thought.

Bach Edition: Complete Works (155 CD Box Set)
$139.98
This is an absolutely astounding value -- the works of Bach, performed very well, for only about 70c (US) per CD! Don't just stand there -- buy it!

Be advised however that a handful of items are missing: First of all, although the documentation mentions the St. Mark Passion (CD V-22 and V-23) and the St. Luke Passion (CD V-24 and V-25), these items are not actually included in the set -- they are not even listed in the directory of vocal works on the inside lid (and these CDs contain other selections).

Secondly, CD III-23 should contain Cantatas #178, 146 and 27 -- the documentation, cover index, CD jacket and the CD itself all list these cantata numbers as the contents of this CD. Instead, I found that this CD contains Cantatas #75, 59, 21; indeed, its contents are identical to that of CD IV-20. So in other words, Cantatas #178, 146 and 27 are nowhere in the collection, possibly due to an error in production. This is the case in my set, but I suspect that many other sets may have the same flaw.

Aside from these glitches, the set is very much worth the purchase price. Thanks to the artists and to Brilliant Classics for making this available.