Schubert: The Complete Songs (40 CD box set, FLAC)

Composer: Franz Peter Schubert
Audio CD
Number of Discs: 40
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Hyperion
Size: 10 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes

Vol. 01 – Goethe & Schiller Settings
Janet Baker (mezzo-soprano), Graham Johnson (piano)

Vol. 02 – Schubert’s Water Songs
Stephen Varcoe (baritone), Graham Johnson (piano)

Vol. 03 – Schubert & his Friends I
Ann Murray (mezzo-soprano), Graham Johnson (piano)

Vol. 04 – Schubert & his Friends II
Philip Langridge (tenor), Graham Johnson (piano)

Vol. 05 – Schubert & the Countryside
Elizabeth Connell (soprano), Graham Johnson (piano)

Vol. 06 – Schubert & the Nocturne I
Anthony Rolfe Johnson (tenor), Graham Johnson (piano)

Vol. 07 – Schubert in 1815 I
Elly Ameling (soprano), Graham Johnson (piano)

Vol. 08 – Schubert & the Nocturne II
Sarah Walker (mezzo-soprano), Graham Johnson (piano)

Vol. 09 – Schubert & the Theatre
Arleen Auger (soprano), Graham Johnson (piano)

Vol. 10 – Schubert in 1815 II
Martyn Hill (tenor), Graham Johnson (piano)

Vol. 11 – Schubert & Death
Brigitte Fassbaender (soprano), Graham Johnson (piano)

Vol. 12 – The Young Schubert I
Adrian Thompson (tenor), Graham Johnson (piano)

Vol. 13 – Lieder Sacred & Profane
Marie McLaughlin (soprano), Graham Johnson (piano)

Vol. 14 – Schubert & the Classics
Thomas Hampson (baritone), Graham Johnson (piano)

Vol. 15 – Schubert & the Nocturne III
Margaret Price (soprano), Graham Johnson (piano)

Vol. 16 – Schiller Settings
Thomas Allen (baritone), Graham Johnson (piano)

Vol. 17 – Schubert in 1816
Lucia Popp (soprano), Graham Johnson (piano)

Vol. 18 – Schubert & the Strophic Song
Peter Schreier (tenor), Graham Johnson (piano)

Vol. 19 – Songs about flowers & nature
Felicity Lott (soprano), Graham Johnson (piano)

Vol. 20 – An 1815 Schubertiad I
Graham Johnson (piano)

Vol. 21 – Schubert in 1817 & 1818
Edith Mathis (soprano), Graham Johnson (piano)

Vol. 22 – An 1815 Schubertiad II
Graham Johnson (piano)

Vol. 23 – Songs of 1816
Christoph Prégardien (tenor), Graham Johnson (piano)

Vol. 24 – A Goethe Schubertiad
Graham Johnson (piano)

Vol. 25 – Die schöne Müllerin
Ian Bostridge (tenor), Graham Johnson (piano)

Vol. 26 – An 1826 Schubertiad
Graham Johnson (piano)

Vol. 27 – Schubert & the Schlegels
Matthias Goerne (baritone), Christine Schäfer (soprano), Graham Johnson (piano)

Vol. 28 – An 1822 Schubertiad
Graham Johnson (piano)

Vol. 29 – Schubert in 1819 & 1820
Marjana Lipovšek (mezzo-soprano), Graham Johnson (piano)

Vol. 30 – Winterreise
Matthias Goerne (baritone), Graham Johnson (piano)

Vol. 31 – Schubert & Religion
Christine Brewer (soprano), Graham Johnson (piano)

Vol. 32 – An 1816 Schubertiad
Graham Johnson (piano)

Vol. 33 – The Young Schubert
Graham Johnson (piano)

Vol. 34 – Schubert 1817-1821
Graham Johnson (piano)

Vol. 35 – Schubert 1822-1825
Graham Johnson (piano)

Vol. 36 – Schubert in 1827
Graham Johnson (piano)

Vol. 37 – The Final Year
Graham Johnson (piano)

Vol. 38-40 – Songs by Schubert’s contemporaries

Run, Don’t Walk…

If, like me, you’ve wistfully stared at this box as one of the holy cornerstones of a good music collection, it’s time to take action now. A particular vendor has somehow found the ability to offer this jewel for the insanely low price of $175, less than $4.40 per CD. If you check the prices of the individual CD releases from this collection, this is a huge deal. As long as that price remains available, all concerns about paper CD notes and the like fly by the wayside. With the money you save, you can buy The Schubert Song Companion as I did, as well as take advantage of Hyperion’s PDF files that accompany each individual release on the Hyperion website in order obtain all of Mr. Johnson’s notes. You can download every note on every CD now, people! Heck, you can even get every original issue’s album cover and photoshop a collage, if you want to! So what complaints and/or excuses does that leave us? There may indeed be better interpretations of certain lieder on other CDs, but that’s not why we’re getting this set, is it? It isn’t to provide a definitive version of these songs, but rather to lay the foundation upon which you can place your other recordings for added dimension and appreciation. I do this all the time where I create an itunes file with two different recordings of the same work. In forming an audial comparison, we greatly add to our understanding. For this same reason, I often turn to the contents of the Brilliant Classics Mozart box or their Bach box. It’s time to make this investment in the art and understanding of one of song’s greatest masters.