This series provides a fascinating background into the life and times of a major composer, plus key musical works.
But it's thoroughly confusing. We have come across at least 3 different releases, all Marshall Cavendish, all issued at different times and with different part numbers identifying the same works. One of these, in 30 parts issued around 1995, involved a fat double CD case with music on one side and a mini-magazine tucked into the other. We had this collection at one time but the entire set was bought by a customer in Singapore and we haven't come across another since. In some cases, even when you think it's the same series because the works and magazine numbers coincide, it turns out the performances may be different. To make matters worse, some of the later issues came out with the same appearance but different numbers, usually when the LP was superceded by CD. These are marked with an *. So, if you are looking to fill gaps in your collection, do be careful to choose the right one.
If anyone can enlighten us why there are so many variations, please do. My guess is that the literature was the hardest part to produce and has remained more or less current whereas the recording media have changed enormously over the period. Maybe one day it will all come out on DVD.
Meanwhile, we'll begin by listing what we believe to be the earliest release, from 1985. This first came out on vinyl (a collector informs us it actually began in 1984 but got off to a shaky start and had to be relaunched). We have all the LPs including many still in their original plastic sleeves and never played. We also have many issues on cassette. It's also possible to find CD versions of the first release but, thinking about it, CDs hadn't been around for very long in 1985 so they probably came a little later. We list and price the magazines in order of release, then allow you to choose the CD, cassette or LP (used or mint) as an optional extra. If you just want the music, order the magazine on its own but tell us at checkout that you only want a CD, cassette or record. Please check your requirements against our quoted availability figures against each option. Hope that's clear.
The issues 53-65 are devoted to great works of Opera and, because they came as an add-on to the original release, are generally harder to find. The magazine collections are easily identified because they are often housed in black hardback binders with gold lettering, the mags being held in place with long plastic strips. The mags for this series have a centre-placed box with the title 'Great Composers', the later ('96) release has 'Great Composers' in a larger right-justified serif font.