Franz Schubert - The Masterworks

Brilliant Classics' "Masterworks" series are a great way to amass a significant library of the works of several great composers. The production values and the performances themselves are uneven, and the interpretations are not always historically-informed. But there are numerous gems in the rough in The Masterworks, and the economic value is unsurpassed, even if you were to throw away half of the CDs in each set.
You're unlikely to throw away much of this Schubert collection though. This seems to be the finest of the Masterworks sets, with a succession of solid, often first-rate performances of most of the major Schubert works.

Performers:
Jurij Kruglov, John Shirley-Quirk, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Hanover Band, Virtuosi di Praga, Amati Quartet, Amati Chamber Ensemble, Israel Piano Trio, Berlin Philharmonic Octet, Marta Benackova, Lenka Smidova, Sarah Walker, Klára Würtz, Peter van Winkel, Frank van de Laar, Folke Nauta, David Kuyken, Bart van Oort, Alwin Bär, Tamara Rumiantsev, Martijn van den Hoek, Walter Olbertz, Num Grubert, Steuart Bedford, Charles Spencer, Roger Vignoles, Hartmut Höll, Stephanie Brown, Bracha Eden, Alexander Tamir, Zdena Kloubova, Ludmila Vernerova-Novakova, Marta Filova, Donna Brown, Sibylla Rubens

Orchestras:
Prague Chamber Orchestra, Oregon Bach Festival Orchestra, Stuttgart Bach Collegium, Bläser Orchester

Conductors:
Roy Goodman, Andreas Weiser, Romano Gandolfi, Ulrich Backofen, Jack Martin Handler, Helmuth Rilling, Gerhard Schmidt-Gaden


Symphonies (discs 1-4)

The Masterworks (disc 1: Symphonies 1 & 2) (The Hanover Band feat. conductor: Roy Goodman)
The Masterworks (disc 2: Symphonies 3, 5 & 8) (The Hanover Band feat. conductor: Roy Goodman)
The Masterworks (disc 3: Symphonies 4 & 6) (The Hanover Band feat. conductor: Roy Goodman)
The Masterworks (disc 4: Symphony No. 9) (The Hanover Band feat. conductor: Roy Goodman)

Masses (discs 5-9)

The Masterworks (disc 5: Mass No. 1) (Pražský komorní orchestr)
The Masterworks (disc 6: Masses 2-4) (Pražský komorní orchestr)
The Masterworks (disc 7: Mass No. 5) (Oregon Bach Festival Choir & Orchestra feat. conductor: Helmuth Rilling)
The Masterworks (disc 8: Mass No. 6) (Bach-Collegium Stuttgart)
The Masterworks (disc 9: Deutsche Messe) (Tölzer Knabenchor)

String Works (discs 10-13)

The Masterworks (disc 10: String Quartets) (Brandis Quartet)
The Masterworks (disc 11: String Quartet / Quartettsatz) (Brandis Quartet)
The Masterworks (disc 12: String Quintet) (Brandis Quartet)
The Masterworks (disc 13: Trout Quintet / String Quartet) (Amati Chamber Ensemble)

Piano Trios (discs 14-15)

The Masterworks (disc 14: Piano Trio No. 1) (Israel Piano Trio)
The Masterworks (disc 15: Piano Trio No. 2) (Israel Piano Trio)

Octet (disc 16)

The Masterworks (disc 16: Octet) (Berlin Philharmonic Octet)

Piano Works (discs 17-27)

The Masterworks (disc 17: Piano Works) (Klára Würtz)
The Masterworks (disc 18: Piano Works) (Frank van de Laar)
The Masterworks (disc 19: Piano Works) (Folke Nauta)
The Masterworks (disc 20: Piano Works) (Frank van de Laar)
The Masterworks (disc 21: Piano Works) (David Kuyken)
The Masterworks (disc 22: Piano Works) (Klára Würtz)
The Masterworks (disc 23: Piano Works) (fortepiano: Bart van Oort)
The Masterworks (disc 24: Piano Works) (Alwin Bär)
The Masterworks (disc 25: Piano Works) (Tamara Rumiantsev)
The Masterworks (disc 26: Piano Works: Impromptus) (Martin van den Hoek)
The Masterworks (disc 27: Piano Works: Wanderer Fantasie & Deutsche Tänze) (Martijn van den Hoek)

Lieder (discs 28-34)

The Masterworks (disc 28: Die Schöne Müllerin) (feat. tenor: Peter Schreier, piano: Walter Olbertz)
The Masterworks (disc 29: Winterreise, D911) (feat. bass-baritone: Robert Holl, piano: Naum Grubert)
The Masterworks (disc 30: Schwanengesang D. 957) (feat. baritone: John Shirley-Quirk, piano: Steuart Bedford)
The Masterworks (disc 31: 15 Lieder) (feat. soprano: Gundula Janowitz, piano: Charles Spencer)
The Masterworks (disc 32: Goethe Lieder) (feat. soprano: Arleen Augér, piano: Walter Olbertz)
The Masterworks (disc 33: 19 Lieder) (feat. mezzo-soprano: Sarah Walker, piano: Roger Vignoles)
The Masterworks (disc 34: 16 Lieder) (feat. baritone: Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, piano: Hartmut Höll)

Works for Violin and Piano (discs 35-36)

The Masterworks (disc 35: Works for Violin and Piano, Volume 1) (feat. violin: Jaime Laredo, piano: Stephanie Brown)
The Masterworks (disc 36: Works for Violin and Piano, Volume 2) (feat. violin: Jaime Laredo, piano: Stephanie Brown)

Lazarus (disc 37-38)

The Masterworks (disc 37: Lazarus Oratorio, Part 1) (Bach-Collegium Stuttgart feat. conductor: Helmuth Rilling)
The Masterworks (disc 38: Lazarus Oratorio, Part 2) (Bach-Collegium Stuttgart feat. conductor: Helmuth Rilling)

Piano Duets (discs 39-40)

The Masterworks (disc 39: Piano Duets, Volume 1) (feat. piano: Bracha Eden, Alexander Tamir)
The Masterworks (disc 40: Piano Duets, Volume 2) (feat. piano: Bracha Eden, Alexander Tamir)