Haydn Masterworks

A special limited-edition 50 CD set of the world's favourite piano concertos, sonatas and other solo pieces. A host of famous pianists perform music from J.S.Bach to Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov, Prokofiev and Gershwin. This collection of discs includes the five Beethoven Concertos, three Rachmaninov Concertos as well as concertos by Brahms, Grieg, Mendelssohn, Liszt, Schumann and Ravel as well as six Mozart Concertos.

These were the six quartets that caused Haydn to tell Mozart's father that his son was the finest composer in the world–and Haydn wasn't just saying that because Mozart dedicated the pieces to him. In richness of invention, density of thought, length, and melodic appeal, these pieces set new standards for the medium. However, they are not easy pieces to play or to listen to, and the Juilliard Quartet's lean, emphatic approach works very well in clarifying the busy textures and maximizing the music's dramatic impact. And at budget price, this three-disc set belongs in every string-quartet lover's collection. – David Hurwitz

Comprehensive overview of the piano repertoire in classic performances! Super-budget pricing: 50 CDs for less than the price of 6! Includes all the major concertos, sonatas and other solo works. An obvious and quite reasonable question about this set is just how did Decca come to produce this diverse set of recordings involving so many high quality pianists? The most likely way – to simply box 50 previously produced disks – does appear to have been the main method used, but perhaps not always.