Fantastic value, wondrous performancesRecently, I have come to enjoy several boxes of prominent conductors. I have worked my way through the delightful Ricardo Muti box, I am in the midst of the first Furtwangler box, but right now I am obsessed with this delightful Sulieman John Barbirolli box. This is a bargain at twice the price. at approximately $120 for the box, you’re paying a dollar and a few pennies for each CD. Every CD is chock-full of fantastic conducting by the ever insightful Mr. Barbirolli. In the past, I consumed boxes, mainly by composers. This is a wonderful way to get to know a particular composer, and their point of view. However, listening to a box by an outstanding conductor, gives you a very wide exposure to a broad repertoire, much of which will be familiar to those who are classical music aficionados, but it’s the small delights of unknown composers that often bring the most pleasure. Sometimes it is the unexpected tangent, or the new insight that a composer brings that a conductor can illuminate. John Barbirolli has done just that on multiple occasions for me. His versions of Vaughan Williams, Fantasia on Greensleeves, and the Arctic symphony were simply heart racing. Listening to his Peleus ER Melisandre by Gabriel Faure is a treat. The first several discs in the series are all transfers from 78, which should not concern you in the least. The sound is completely reasonable for what it is, and it is such a treasure to hear music from almost a century ago, live once more. When it moves into the long play albums, the set really begins to shine. The sound is frequently fantastic, and the orchestras, whether it be the Hallé orchestra, or the Berlin Philharmonic, are all just a delight. Get this. You will not be disappointed.1