''The Complete Mozart Edition '' is a 180-CD collection released in 1990–91 featuring all works by

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition r ...

(known at the set's publication) assembled by

Philips Classics Records Philips Classics Records was started in the 1980s as the new classics record label for Philips Records. It was successful with artists including Alfred Brendel, Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Sir Neville Marriner and the Academy of St. Martin in the Fi ...

to commemorate the bicentenary of the death of Mozart (December 5,

1791 Events January–March * January 1 – Austrian composer Joseph Haydn arrives in England, to perform a series of concerts. * January 2 – Northwest Indian War: Big Bottom Massacre – The war begins in the Ohio Country ...

). It has been re-released in 2000 in a modified version as the ''Complete Compact Mozart Edition''.

Overview

''The Complete Mozart Edition '' comprises 180

compact discs The compact disc (CD) is a digital optical disc data storage format that was co-developed by Philips and Sony to store and play digital audio recordings. In August 1982, the first compact disc was manufactured. It was then released in Octobe ...

arranged into 45 themed volumes. Each volume in the series is accompanied by a deluxe booklet with detailed information about the works, with many illustrations. Indicating the significance of this particular series, the words of the accompanying Compactotheque state, "...after the complete

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

, the complete

Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as treat ...

, or the complete

Molière Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (, ; 15 January 1622 (baptised) – 17 February 1673), known by his stage name Molière (, , ), was a French playwright, actor, and poet, widely regarded as one of the greatest writers in the French language and world ...

in book form, here is the Complete Mozart on discs." A modified version of ''The Complete Mozart Edition'', the ''Complete Compact Mozart Edition'', was released in 2000. It consists of 17 individual boxed sets. This version also contains stripped down versions of the booklets that accompanied the original series. ''The Complete Mozart Edition'' and ''The Complete Compact Mozart Edition'' are both accompanied by a 200-page booklet which presents a condensed biography of Mozart with many photographs, describes in detail all boxes content and contains a complete index of all the musical works following the

Köchel catalogue The Köchel catalogue (german: Köchel-Verzeichnis, links=no) is a chronological catalogue of compositions by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, originally created by Ludwig Ritter von Köchel, in which the entries are abbreviated ''K.'', or ''KV''. The nu ...

. This set is not to be confused with the similar complete edition (on 170 CDs) by

Brilliant Classics Brilliant Classics is a classical music label based in the Dutch town of Leeuwarden. It is renowned for releasing super-budget-priced editions on CD of the complete works of J.S. Bach, Mozart, Beethoven and many other composers. The label also sp ...

entitled ''Complete Works''. In addition, a boxed set entitled ''The Best of the Complete Mozart Edition'' was also released on November 14, 1995. This set contains 25 compact discs and represents a selection of the 1990–91 or 2000 sets.

The original ''The Complete Mozart'' series

''The Complete Compact Mozart Edition''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Complete Mozart Edition Philips Classics Records albums 1990 classical albums 1991 classical albums 2000 classical albums Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Classical music compilation albums