Your desert island disc Beethoven symphony recordings.

[Barbirollians]

The Boult/LPO Pastoral is quite wonderful . By no means slow or indulgent it is one of those readings that sounds right from first note to last. I did not think Bohm would be overtaken for me despite Cluytens and E/Kleiber snapping at his heels but the Boult recording is now the one I turn to first if i want to hear the Pastoral.

RO praised it highly on its initial release on EMI see the gramophone archive.

[Bryn]

My 8 disc vinyl Sanderling/Philharmonia set is still in fine fettle and I have no immediate plans to replace these analogue pressing derived from such early digital recordings, though the Silveroakmusic price for the 5 CD set is attractive.

[Karafan]

RO praised it highly on its initial release on EMI see the gramophone archive.

http://www.gramophone.net/Issue/Page...3456+%28399%29.

Thanks Barbirollians, interesting stuff.

[Barbirollians]

....the Colin Davis/Dresden
- yes, I agree, it doesn't get mentioned (maybe because it's largely unavailable?) but it is a very fine set.
Another excellent set is Kempe/Munich Philharmonic Orchestra.

The Colin Davis is available now on Newton Classics and for under £20 too - see above .

[Chris Newman]

Colin Davis's RPO and Pierre Monteux's LSO were astonishingly lively performances of the Seventh. The latter especially so considering Monteux was no spring chicken. More than any recordings I know they live up to Wagner's throw-away line "the apotheosis of the dance".

[Dave2002]

I agree - a wonderful record.

I managed to get a copy of this (Colin Davis, RPO Beethoven 7) on CD a year or two back, when there still seemed to be copies available. It's OK, but I didn't warm to it as much as some others obviously did. It may well be that his later recorded performances with other orchestras are actually better.

There was a very good version of Beethoven 7 by Konwitschny (in B flat?), and when I looked a couple of years ago it was then possible to obtain many of the symphonies conducted by Konwitschny, who it seemed had an interesting reputation.

Re Beethoven 6, I find Walter's version very good, but then I like most performances by Walter.

For historical performances don't forget Weingartner, and maybe some of the other historical performances which are available on Naxos.
I'd say that most of the Weingartner performances are worth hearing, and I recall enjoying number 9.

[Bryn]

Re. the Konwitschny set:

http://www.play.com/Music/CD/-/1145946/-/Product.html?source=9593&_$ja=tsid:11853|prd:78888

[martin_opera]

Few (if any) have mentioned the J E Gardiner set which I have just purchased second hand in its old silvery BIG box incarnation for £10 rather than the new postage stamp less silvery re-release for £14. On first listen I have to say i am very impressed with the 3rd, 5th, 6th and 7th. I'm not overly familiar with symphonies (relative newcomer to classical - opera's more my thing) have until now only heard the HvK, the Rattle, the Harnoncourt and the Norrington. My desert island would include JEG, Harnoncourt and Norrington and I'd leave Rattle and Karajan on the sinking ship.

[Biffo]

'only heard the HvK' - which HvK? He recorded the complete cycle four times and there are various other versions of individual symphonies.

The Gardiner cycle is excellent but no single performance was good enough to make it on to my list and it is after all a personal desert island selection, not necessarily a list of the finest performances.

[Petrushka]

Somewhat to my surprise I find that I have managed to acquire 14 complete LvB symphony cycles. The two I would rescue from the burning building are Konwitschny and Clutyens. Three I want to hear are Cleveland/Szell, Columbia SO/Walter and Concertgebouw/Jochum. The first two are surely candidates for reissue in the excellent new Sony boxes series though I see that NYPO/Bernstein has just appeared.

[Bryn]

Somewhat to my surprise I find that I have managed to acquire 14 complete LvB symphony cycles.

Well at least it's a start, I suppose.

I must admit that despite having both the 1939 radio, and the early 1950s RCA Toscanini sets, I only eventually got round to purchasing a complete Furtwangler set this past month (in the EMI 21 disc box).

[jayne lee wilson]

Surprised to find I'm alone in my admiration for Scherchen. The recent Tahra transfers of a composite cycle are excellent, as are the Pristine downloads of 2,4 and 8, available in 24/48 if you're keen. The Vienna performances are very characterful, the Royal Philharmonic more polished and virtuoso.

As for sheer numbers, a quick shelf tour has only revealed a mere paltry 10 complete cycles. "Head hang low".

[Bryn]

Surprised to find I'm alone in my admiration for Scherchen.

Not so much lack of admiration on my part, more lack of familiarity with such recordings. I must investigate.

[Roehre]

As for sheer numbers, a quick shelf tour has only revealed a mere paltry 10 complete cycles. "Head hang low".

I am not saying anything. Knowing a lot of cycles quite well, I've got only two complete cycles plus a couple of "loose" recordings

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

I have only four cycles: Toscanini in the '50s, Josef Kripps [a delightful set; Bruno Walter with a twinkle in his eye!], Karajan in the '60s and Bernstein in the '80s.
In a parallel universe I also have the complete Frans Bruggens, not, alas, available in these territories ("yet" he added in forlorn hope).