Bach by Bismuth: the price is… high, and I Stil (!) don’t have it

One of the CDs I droolingly covet is the 2-CD set of Bach’s Sonatas & Partitas by HIP violinist Patrick Bismuth, on the rare and long-defunct Stil label from France, 01109 SAN 91 barcode 3328370000473. Bismuth is an interpreter of great imagination and originality, and his repertoire is not confined to early music either: his Enescu Third Violin Sonata “in the romanian folk style”, on ZigZag Territories Zebra Collection ZZT 2010801 (link will open new tab to my review), is one of the most daring and imaginative versions of this fiendishly difficult work, full of exaggerations and mannerisms but displaying a unique personality.

But, since I’m very stingy (I make great efforts to pay less for my CDs so that I can buy more) and consider that there’s an upper limit over which it is unconscionable to buy a CD, regardless of its rarity and value, I recognize that ever acquiring the Stil set is a sweet dream, and it won’t happen.

Over the years I’ve seen the set turn up on eBay and noted the selling price – the equilibrium where demand meets offer, and the true measure of an object’s value.

In August 2022: 610 dollars

October 15, 2023: 425 dollars

On December 3, 2023: 560 dollars

…and every time, the same seller, Dukeyip of New York City, who specializes in the sales of rarities. Where does he find all those copies?

And then, look at the original 3-LP set:

February 17, 2023: 1,000 euros = at the time’s exchange rate, 1,067 dollars

Admittedly this was the price demanded by seller and doesn’t prove that it was ever sold, but I think I remember that it was.

And just today, March 16 2025, it sold for 835 dollars:

But the most jaw-dropping is the exceedingly rare “direct-to-disc” edition on a label Mirecourt, a 6-LP set and limited edition of 500:

I wonder if, at that price, the buyer then dares put a needle on the discs to listen. And do they keep it in a vault?

By the way: I just checked, and it’s on YouTube. You get the music, but of course, for a collector, it’s not the same thing. We want the object, “pe’l piacer di porle in lista”.

I’ll now return to my dream of one day acquiring the CD set.