Mozart

225 years after the composer's passing, W.A. Mozart: The New Complete Edition chronicles every last note of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's many compositions over a staggering 200 discs. Limited to 15,000 copies worldwide, this box features 240 hours of performance, including five hours of new recordings, some done on instruments the composer personally used.  Eighteen labels, including Decca and Deutsch Grammophon, will be represented, and 70% of the recordings are alternate to Philips Classics' 180CD box set The Complete Mozart Edition, first released in 1991.  The package includes two hardback books (one a new biography by Mozart scholar Cliff Eisen, one a 120,000-word series of essays and commentary from 30 additional scholars), five art prints, copies of Mozart's last authenticated portrait, a handwritten letter and score manuscripts; an updated Köchel catalogue and access to full scores and texts online.  Wow!