Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #32823 in Music
• Released on: 2009-01-05
• Number of discs: 30
• Format: Box set
• Dimensions: 2.38 pounds

CD Description
Chandos Records celebrates its thirtieth anniversary in 2009. Founded by Brian Couzens, Chandos quickly established itself as one of the world's leading classical labels. To celebrate thirty years in the classical recording world, Chandos is releasing a limited edition thirty-disc set featuring highlights of the company's recording history.

Customer Reviews

Amazing quality and value
This set is an absolute bargain. It contains a wide range of material but all of it is top quality. Some well known pieces but many pieces that were new to me and have whetted my appetite for further exploration of some of the lesser known composers represented. Why had I never heard of Vanhal before? A nice solid box and each CD comes in a sturdy cardboard sleeve, much more serviceable than the paper sleeves you normally get in large box sets. Only one complaint. The documentation is pretty non-existent (although you can download the CD booklets from the Chandos website). For some CDs, such as the Vaughan Williams film music disk, you will be able to tell which Suite you are listening to but there is absolutely no indication of the contents of each suite or the subject of each track. You will need to get hold of the CD booklet for that. No words for the vocal or choral pieces either but that is not surprising for a box set of this size and price. But I would willingly have given up the copy of the complete Chandos catalogue in the box for better documentation.

Treasure Trove
When you confront a box set like this you are faced with a daunting task to get through them all. Don't force yourself. Just go for the six, ten or dozen that caught your eye in the first place, and enjoy those at less than a fiver each. Then patiently, perhaps one a week, try out each one of the unfamiliar items and know it is for free.

Then don't cavil at the dislike of one or two, or even five or ten of these discs. Chandos make silk purses out of sows' ears with their recording quality. And one man's sow is another man's Venus.

Personally I have been putting off buying so many of these discs that it really is a bargain now to get them at 30 discs for the price of three. Jarvi's Prokofiev 6th, Hough's Hummel concertos, Kennedy's Elgar sonata and Hickox's extended London outing first attracted me . But now I am listening to VW's film music, Albinoni's sublime oboe concertos and the Black Dyke Mills Band with a pint of porter just before supper!

This is the best Label Bargain since BIS offered the cream of their Sibelius collection at 15 for 4.
Oh! I didn't mention it. Chandos sound acoustic and balance is consistently right up there at the top.

Six stars for the 50% that are becoming favourite discs and four stars for the less favoured half. That comes out at 5 stars overall.

Get it now. There won't be a 31 disc collection next year!

OH MY GOD!!! What a collection.
What on earth have Chandos done?

Usually when you get a collection like this you get a box set of good to fairly good cd's.
Chandos have given us for less than £35 several Hickox recordings including the magnificent Vaughan Williams 'A London Symphony', Stephen Hough's 'Hummel Piano Concertos', cd's by The Sixteen, The King's Singers, Nigel Kennedy and many others.

What breadth, what quality, what value.

I cannot imagine any collection surpassing this for a long time to come.

Thank you Chandos.