MOZART NEWS: HAVE 600 DOLLARS* JUST LAYING AROUND?

...then Decca Classics and Deutsche Grammophon have just the gift for you! The iconic classical record labels have partnered with the Salzburg Mozarteum Foundation to release what the foundation calls "the most authoritative, complete and scholarly box set ever devoted to the work of a single composer."

Slated to be released Friday October 28th, 2016, the 200-CD box set (which comes complete with "autographs" - copies of the maestro's famous works as they were handwritten on paper - and two "lavishly illustrated" hardcover books - including a long-awaited new biography on the Salzburg Wonder authored by leading Mozart Scholar Cliff Eisen of King's College London) arrives just five and a half weeks ahead of the 225th annual observation of the famed Austrian's untimely demise at the tender age of 35 at Vienna (after a period of ultimately fatal physical decline from a still undiagnosed, highly speculative illness). The iconic musician died the 5th of December, 1791.

The set promises a fully updated Köchel catalogue and modern performances featuring the latest Mozart-related discoveries, including a recording of the composer's K.477a solo cantata "Per la Ricuperata Salute di Ofelia"- a work only discovered in 2015, which, much to the astonishment of Mozart-Salieri conspiracy theorists around the globe, featured a collaboration between the two famous "frenemies" (listen to the cantata/learn about this exciting discovery here on unraveling musical myths) alongside "600 world-class soloists and 60 orchestras." Perhaps most exciting to fellow Mozart enthusiasts are 5 solid hours of new recordings featuring the use of the Mozart's personal instruments: his violin, fortepiano and viola - currently preserved on display at the Mozarteum (check them out here).

Dubbed "W.A. Mozart 225 - The Complete Edition," this massive box set (which also incorporates latest technology in the form of a so-named "libretto app" featuring full texts and translations) is the perfect gift for the non-discerning listener who wishes to have in his or her possession the illustrious maestro's fully updated oeuvre.

Those curious can preview artist/orchestra selections on the foundation's website by clicking here: MOZART 225

Teaser below (prepare yourself for possible drooling):



Footnotes:

*Approximate value after taxes (Canada). As of August 30, 2016, Amazon's current pre-order price in Canada is $524.36 before taxes and $479.36 in the U.S.A, also before tax. The lowest price for the U.K. I could find on Amazon was £300.50. Do check prices often on this product - I have seen the price fluctuate in Canada from as low as $524 to as high as $700 dollars.

Learn more about the Mozart 225 box set on Youtube.

-Rose.

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