 | Mozart: Symphonies Nos.35, 38, 39, 40 & 41 by Staatskapelle Dresden
Buy new: £9.79 / Used from: £9.89 Five of Mozart's late symphonic masterpieces for 12 quid! Staatskapelle Dresden were one of the finest orchestras in the world when Mozart specialist Colin Davis made these wonderful recordings.
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 | Symphony 8
Buy used from: £3.79 The masterly Evegni Mravinsky leads the Leningrad Phil in the greatest recording of this great symphony - and all for under a fiver. Any questions?
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 | Mahler: Das Klagende Lied / Lieder by Brigitte Fassbaender
Buy new: £8.98 All of Mahler's must-have song cycles are included on this bargain double disc set, with Fassbaender the equal of anyone in this repertoire and Chailly a superb accompanist.
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 | Bach: Solo & Double Violin Concertos (BWV 1041-1043, 1060) /Manze · Podger · AAM by Johann Sebastian Bach
Buy new: £7.17 / Used from: £5.73 Unsurpassed performances by Manze and Podger, with gorgeous sound - if you scout about you can pick this up for a fiver.
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 | J.S. Bach: Cantatas 39, 73, 93, 105, 107, 131
Buy new: £7.98 / Used from: £4.79 Anyone wishing to dip an exploratory toe into Bach's cantatas should start here - six of the best, beautifully performed by Collegium Vocale and leading Bach specialist Philippe Herreweghe.
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 | Olivier Messiaen: Turangalîla-Symphonie; Quatuor pour la fin du temps
Buy new: £6.98 / Used from: £4.35 Excellent recordings of two seminal Messiaen works, the Turangalila Symphony and the Quartet for the End of Time, re-issued as a double and cheap as chips.
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 | Janacek: Kata Kabanova by Elisabeth Söderström
Buy new: £15.98 / Used from: £20.00 Charles Mackerras' recordings of Janacek's operatic masterpieces are legendary. This is unbelievalbe value.
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 | Beethoven: Symphonies Nos. 5 & 7 by Ludwig van Beethoven
Buy new: £5.78 / Used from: £3.55 THE recording of the Fifth - at a silly price.
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 | Mascagni: Cavalleria Rusticana
Buy used from: £4.00 You won't find a better recording of Mascagni's sumptuous love-and-death-fest.
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 | Haydn - Die Schöpfung (The Creation) - Spering
Buy new: £8.79 / Used from: £5.75 An awesome performance of Haydn's greatest work, surpassed only by Karajan's classic - and pricier - version. Complete with libretto and unusually fine sound for NAXOS, too.
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 | Elgar: Cello Concerto; Sea Pictures; Overture 'Cockaigne'
Buy new: £6.47 / Used from: £4.98 The Cello Concerto is a classic - but the sunken treasure here is Sea Pictures. Janet Baker's dusky mezzo soars over orchestral sea sounds, evoking the journey of a questing soul.
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 | Bruckner - Complete Symphonies /Eugen Jochum
Buy new: £22.98 / Used from: £19.98 Eugene Jochum and the mighty Staatskapelle Dresden deliver classic performances of Bruckner's monumental cycle of symphonies. One of the best bargains in the catalogue.
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 | Schubert: Symphonies Nos. 1-6, 8 & 9
Buy used from: £20.34 Once again Staatskapelle Dresden with Davis at the helm produce magnificent performances. This is gorgeously warm and vivid string playing, recorded in glowing sound - an amazing value box set.
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 | Villa-Lobos: Guitar Concerto; Preludes; Etudes
Buy new: £5.78 / Used from: £7.99 Your one-stop-shop for Spanish guitar music, and a testimony to the genius of both Villa Lobos and Julian Bream, who is beautifully supported by Andre Previn.
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 | Fauré: Requiem, Op. 48; Duruflé: Requiem, Op. 9
Look no further than this for a fine version of Faure's Requiem. Conducted by Andrew Davis and featuring Kiri Te Kanawa.
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 | Debussy: Etudes by Mitsuko Uchida
Buy new: £6.98 / Used from: £4.50 Rightly regarded as one of the greatest piano recordings of all time - and less than a fiver. Uchida brings out the proto-modernism of Debussy's revolutionary late works.
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 | Vaughan Williams, Delius: Orchestral Works
Buy used from: £9.09 Get your hands on Vaughan Williams' most loved orchestral pieces for less than £3. Surprisingly in this most English of repetoire, Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra rank with the best.
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 | Schubert: The Late String Quartets; String Quintet by Franz Schubert
Buy new: £10.48 This four-disc set includes the late String Quartets and the Quintet - indispensible masterpieces all - performed by the Lindsays, one of the best quartets of recent times.
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 | Pärt: Fratres/Festina lente
Buy new: £4.98 / Used from: £2.13 At this price there's no excuse for the uninitiated not to explore Arvo Part's classic works, Fratres and the Cantus in memory of Benjamin Britten.
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![Beethoven: Symphonies; Concertos; Overtures; Creatures of Prometheus; Missa Solemnis [Box Set]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/5105mlW%2BU6L._SL75_.jpg) | Beethoven: Symphonies; Concertos; Overtures; Creatures of Prometheus; Missa Solemnis [Box Set]
Buy new: £51.47 / Used from: £36.00 These stupendous performances by Harnoncourt and the COE are nothing short of revelatory. All of Beethoven's essential orchestral works are here, plus the Missa Solemnis. Unbelievably good value.
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 | Strauss, R.: Tod und Verklärung; Metamorphosen; Vier letzte Lieder by Gundula Janowitz
Buy new: £7.98 / Used from: £4.50 Gundula Janowitz? In Strauss' Four Last Songs? With Karajan? For less than five quid? etc etc
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 | Bartók: The 6 String Quartets by Emerson String Quartet
Buy new: £11.69 / Used from: £7.50 A bargain to beat all bargains - this double set of Bartok's cycle of six String Quartets by the Emersons swept the board when it was released. Now they're giving it away.
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 | Verdi: Aida by Renata Tebaldi
Buy new: £15.69 / Used from: £9.09 A landmark recording from Karajan with Tebaldi and Bergonzi. This and many other classic opera recordings have been re-released in the 'Originals' series at daft prices - snap them up!
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 | Schoenberg: Verklärte Nacht; Pelleas und Melisande by Berliner Philharmoniker
Buy new: £7.98 / Used from: £7.06 More Karajan, this time with his undisputed classic recording of Schoenberg's early tonal masterpieces. Wallow in the fin-de-siecle romanticism of it all!
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 | Prokofiev/Rachmaninov/Shostakovich: Russian Cello Sonatas by Lynn Harrell
Buy new: £8.98 Two CDs of fine performances of Russian cello masterworks by leading artists in this repertoire. For more reviews by this author visit: http://culturecrammer.com
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