Amusing review

[makropulos]

So how would you have priced something like the Barbirolli 'Great EMI Recordings' box (10CDs)? Or the 26CD Rostropovich 'Complete EMI Recordings' box (which includes the wonderful recording of the Brahms Double Concerto that he and David Oistrakh made with the Cleveland/Szell partnership)?

Those bargain boxes from EMI are extraordinary value for money and do indeed have plenty of excellence for not a lot of cash. But I don't see the equivalence - this Tokyo concert isn't part of some megabox, and hasn't been widely reissued before. It's available on regular CD for about £17 [JP Yen 2142.00] for the pair of discs from HMV Japan, and from the Cleveland Orchestra website. That doesn't seem excessive to someone who actually wants to hear this concert. This is aside from the SACD version mentioned earlier.

[Parry1912]

Those bargain boxes from EMI are extraordinary value for money and do indeed have plenty of excellence for not a lot of cash. But I don't see the equivalence - this Tokyo concert isn't part of some megabox, and hasn't been widely reissued before. It's available on regular CD for about £17 [JP Yen 2142.00] for the pair of discs from HMV Japan, and from the Cleveland Orchestra website. That doesn't seem excessive to someone who actually wants to hear this concert. This is aside from the SACD version mentioned earlier.

I think the point I was replying to was that CD prices "should reflect musical and sonic excellence." So I think my question still stands.

If people are happy to pay these prices (and careful, the JP Yen 2142.00 price is a multibuy) then they can. Presumably, the limited availability is the choice of Sony's marketing department so it may well receive wider distribution in the future. Personally, I am happy to wait until it becomes available at a lower price point. Anyway, Sony aren't averse to a bargain box. Perhaps they'll include this in one at some point.