Overview of Beethoven Symphony sets - reviews

[Barbirollians]

Anyone with a desire to dip a toe into Karajanesque waters, might be interested to learn that his sonically (and interpretively) spectacular 1970s cycle has been given a new lease of life by DGG - without having to shell out for the massive 'Karajan 1970s' megabox.

The remasterings are getting some plaudits and the set can now be had rather inexpensively: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B...A3P5ROKL5A1OLE



Karafan.

I am surprised Bryn hasn't been along to warn us about the AMSI process yet !

[silvestrione]

Anyone with a desire to dip a toe into Karajanesque waters, might be interested to learn that his sonically (and interpretively) spectacular 1970s cycle has been given a new lease of life by DGG - without having to shell out for the massive 'Karajan 1970s' megabox.

The remasterings are getting some plaudits and the set can now be had rather inexpensively: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B...A3P5ROKL5A1OLE



Karafan.

Thanks for this Karafan, I have ordered it. Only own the EMI complete set, which is one of my favourites, though I have some of the 60s and 80s sets. Will be great to listen and compare.

[verismissimo]

I recently acquired Blomstedt on the strength of the enthusiasm of the reviewer at the top of this thread. I think Richard has it precisely. Good playing and recording, but... somewhere in between.

Too quick on the draw there. I put off listening to the 9th (which I generally don't enjoy for domestic listening) and Blomstedt and the Dresdeners are MAGNIFICENT in it.

[Karafan]

I am surprised Bryn hasn't been along to warn us about the AMSI process yet !

'Tis doubtless only a matter of time

[Bryn]

'Tis doubtless only a matter of time

Were they but recordings I cared for ...

[Karafan]

Were they but recordings I cared for ...

[Roehre]

I am afraid I stick to one cycle (karajan 1960s) and some loose recordings, like Böhm's 6 and Kleiber's 5 + 7.
Not too much inclination to spend time and money on more.
I want to avoid overfamiliarity at all costs - I want to be surprised by these works, not bored.

[muzzer]

The Rattle arrived today. I can't claim to know the works well enough to be able to pronounce, but I am enjoying this set immensely. A modern well-played bargain imho.

[Petrushka]

I am afraid I stick to one cycle (karajan 1960s) and some loose recordings, like Böhm's 6 and Kleiber's 5 + 7.
Not too much inclination to spend time and money on more.
I want to avoid overfamiliarity at all costs - I want to be surprised by these works, not bored.

These inexhaustible masterpieces can never bore and it is the joy of finding each interpreter having something different to say that makes me keep on buying new sets.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

These inexhaustible masterpieces can never bore

and it is the joy of finding each interpreter having something different to say that makes me keep on buying new sets.

- surely "overfamiliarity" could only become a possibility if someone only had the one set? Krips, Walter, Klemperer, Karajan, Toscanini, Gardiner, Krivine, van Immerseel, Barenboim, Furtwangler, Bernstein etc etc etc - all of them revealing different facets of the constantly expanding universe that is the Beethoven Symphonies. Even the ones I don't particularly like have something to say that isn't in any of the others. "Inexhaustible masterpieces [that] can never bore" - absolutely spot on, Pet.

[richardfinegold]

Too quick on the draw there. I put off listening to the 9th (which I generally don't enjoy for domestic listening) and Blomstedt and the Dresdeners are MAGNIFICENT in it.

I agree, the 9th is a strength of the set. I find the 7th and the Eroica a bit to routine for my taste, but not bad in an absolute sense. For the price, the recording quality, the level of playing, one could do far worse.

[Stanfordian]

I am afraid I stick to one cycle (karajan 1960s) and some loose recordings, like Böhm's 6 and Kleiber's 5 + 7.
Not too much inclination to spend time and money on more.
I one cycle (karajan 1960s)want to avoid overfamiliarity at all costs - I want to be surprised by these works, not bored.

Hiya Roehre,

I also admire Karajan in Beethoven. If I had to have just one cycle it would be Karajan with the Berliner Philharmoniker on DG from 1961/62 at the Jesus Christ Church, Berlin.

[EdgeleyRob]

Hiya Roehre,

I also admire Karajan in Beethoven. If I had to have just one cycle it would be Karajan with the Berliner Philharmoniker on DG from 1961/62 at the Jesus Christ Church, Berlin.

That's the only set I have,plus one or two individual discs.

[Dave2002]

That's the only set I have,plus one or two individual discs.

You should definitely try some others, then, or at least some different discs of individual symphonies.

I was resistant to Karajan for a long while, but I eventually came to the conclusion that his recordings of the 9th are among the best. However, I probably prefer other recordings of some of the other symphonies. Of course I may be making an assumption that you only listen to recordings you own - you may already have experienced other performances, but if not, then there are many which are not by Karajan which are worth checking out. At one time I was very partial to two versions of the Eroica - one by Bernstein, the other by Barbirolli - different, but not less enjoyable for that. The slow movement of Beethoven 7 by Norrington in his recording with the London Classical Players really amazed me when I heard it the first time - it moves along much faster than many others - and not only that, but it does seem to make sense, which can't always be said of some of Norrington's speeds in other works. Szell's Amsterdam 5th (usually c/w Sibelius) is another performance to watch out for.

It is often the case that there are only a few performances by any one conductor in a set of Beethoven symphonies which really hit the mark. That doesn't mean one should not listen to the others, but often just one or two symphonies stand out, though this impression by the listener can change over time with repeated listening.
Bruno Walter is good in 1,2 and 4 and 6, Klemperer in 3 and 5 for example, and in the case of Klemperer there are different recordings - some might be preferred to others. OTOH, Klemperer in 7 plods along relentlessly - particularly in the last movement. Another performance which personally I really don't like is Böhm's version of 9 with Domingo and Norman - dreadfully slow (though some Amazon reviewers actually like it), whereas I usually enjoy hearing Ansermet in that work with Sutherland etc. Schmidt Isserstedt is very good in 9 - and enjoyable like Ansermet.

I rather like Hogwood - particularly in 3 and 7 - though some would find his performances hard. Toscanini is good in 8 IMO, because he pushes it along - but some might hate that. Cluytens joins Walter in being good in 6, though Karajan is OK there too.

I'd also say that it's worth hearing some of the other HIP versions - Bruggen, Immerseel and Krivine, as well as some performances by chamber orchestras. Smaller orchestras sometimes bring Beethoven to life in a way which is almost impossible with large ones. I'd really recommend some of the performances by Paavo Järvi with the German Chamber Orchestra. Live performances by this combination are well worth hearing too, if you can get to them.

[verismissimo]

I am afraid I stick to one cycle (karajan 1960s) and some loose recordings...
I want to avoid overfamiliarity at all costs - I want to be surprised by these works, not bored.

I took the Roehre route with these works for several decades. My basic set was Masur on LP, plus a handful of sundries. More recently I've become more interested in different approaches and so have progressively acquired Schmidt-Isserstedt, Zinman, Konwitschny and Blomstedt, plus Toscanini's BBCSO recordings (and many sundries).

And now that I've broken that taboo, I'm unlikely to stop there. Krivine next?

BTW I can't listen to the Masur any more. Like wading through mud...