Yep...that Bach collectors' edition is rather good. I have tones to blame for me getting it, for £9 IIRC (and spending a fortune subsequently at Britannia). Actually, the piece I like the best, even though the critics reckon it's far too fast, is the St John. Still not made it all the way through the St Matt yet though.
RdS: Does Bohm get the same sense of structural cohesiveness as Wand. This is the thing I noticed immediately about both his recent 4th and 8th - you can tell from the opening notes that this is a symphony viewed as a whole, and every note fits into a grand plan. This is something I don't get even with someone like Karajan (who does the grandeur well), but is a bit more "bitty".
PeteH: Those Sawallisch/Kovacevich concerti are pretty wonderful. I've seen Kovacevich play no 1 live twice (the first time at my first eve "prom"), and quite stunning it is too. I have the earlier Wand/NDR symphony set, and they're pretty good too - although more vernal than the usual Brahmsian golden autumnal sound. Also, how does Jansons take the Rachmaninov? Nearly every time I've seen him, I've been initially impressed, but by about halfway through whatever they're playing get exhausted/irritated by the very hard-driven way he approaches everything. The only exception I've found to that is his Tchaikovsky: I love his Oslo 6th (even though it's amazingly fast), and the Pittsburg 4th this last summer was great (although again very hard-edged) - maybe it's because he expunges that even more irritating hysteria that characterises too much Tchaik? I must try that Gurrelieder, as it's had so much good press, although I'm not sure I need two recordings of it, however wonderful the piece is (I have the Chailly).
:yikes: 
The 'sales' have got very stage-managed of late with huge stocks of indifferent offers, but if you get into a physical HMV store early in the sale there are usually a few real bargains to be had.
