The postman just brought me the DG 30-CD "complete" Stravinsky set. Lots of Boulez, a bit of historic stuff. It looks excellent. I've dipped in a bit and am very pleased.

Question: How essential is the new Sony set (56 CDs) of all the Columbia recordings, including 23 CDs of previously unreleased material? It's due for release about now. Must I get that, or will the 22-CD set of Stravinsky conducting Stravinsky that has been around for a while be adequate? I don't have that either, though I do have some of Stravinsky's own recordings.

As an aside, the Rite of Spring is the work most represented in my collection at some 56 versions. This is greatly helped by the marvellous set dedicated to the Rite with 38 different versions, including 3 of the piano 4-hands recordings. That came out a few years ago, and I have listened to nearly all now. It does not have Stravinsky's own account with Columbia, presumably for copyright reasons.