Beethoven: Creatures of Prometheus

On this CD:

1. Die Geschöpfe des Prometheus (The Creatures of Prometheus), ballet, Op. 43
Composed by Ludwig van Beethoven
Performed by Cyprien Katsaris

Tracks:

Egmont Overture - Ludwig Van Beethoven
Symphony No. 5 In C Minor - Ludwig Van Beethoven
Piano Sonata No. 21 In C Major - Alfred Brendel
Piano Sonata No. 14 In C Sharp Minor - Jerome Rose
Piano Sonata No. 8 In C Minor - Jerome Rose
Piano Sonata No. 23 In F Minor - Jerome Rose
Symphony No. 6 In F Major - Ludwig Van Beethoven
Symphony No. 7 In A Major - Ludwig Van Beethoven
'The Creatures Of Prometheus' Ballet - Ludwig Van Beethoven
Violin Concerto In D Major - Susanne Lautenbacher
Sonata For Violin And Piano No. 5 In F Major - Aaron Rosand
Piano Trio In B Flat - Mannheimer Trio
Fse - Various Artists
Quintet In E Flat For Piano And Winds - Abbey Simon
'Chorale Fantasy' In C Minor For Piano, Chorus And Orchestra - Walter Klien
Piano Concerto No. 2 In B Flat - Alfred Brendel
Piano Concerto No. 3 In C Minor - Ludwig Van Beethoven
Piano Concerto No. 4 In G Major - Alfred Brendel
Piano Concerto No. 5 In E Flat - Alfred Brendel
Symphony No. 3 In E Flat - Ludwig Van Beethoven
'The Ruins Of Athens,' - Ludwig Van Beethoven
'Corolian,' - Ludwig Van Beethoven
Ecossaise For Piano - Alfred Brendel
Symphony No. 9 In D Minor - Ludwig Van Beethoven
Symphony No. 9 In D Minor - Ludwig Van Beethoven

Customer Reviews:

Great for the road.......2007-05-11

I found this to be a nice collection of favorites, especially to keep in the car and listen to. It is a variety of well known compilations. Although not encompassing, it is perfect as a review for driving, relaxing, and enjoyment. Plus, the price is right!

Beethoven 25 Favorites.......2006-11-21

Very good! I ordered it especially for Piano Sonata No. 8 Pathetique

25 Beethoven Favorites.......2006-11-05

Good overview of his works----an introduction into his depth as a composer

bEtHoVeN mAnIaC.......2005-11-03

[...] Honestly, it isn't THAT THAT great, but its good enough for its price. I'd say that your $ pays off, for a while. I've noticed how after a long time, it gets aggrivating at times. No harm meant, "Beethoven lover". I just mean don't plunge into this cd with all the hopes in the world. Besides, it's just my opinion, so you may like it more than me. All i can say is; a) listen to some samples before you buy, b)know this is not REALLY the great Beethoven himself, and c) enjoy YOUR music, whatever it may be.

Great Price...Not so good itself.......2005-05-19

This a great priced cd, but the content is why it is so cheap. It's a true-amateur album. Beethoven Lover is over her/his head. This is the real world, not a fantasy-everyone-likes-every-type-of-music world. Deal with it and agree with me. It isn't so great.

Beethoven: The Complete Symphonies and Piano Concertos

Average customer rating:

Great Performance
Great Analog Beethoven Cycle
An essential collection
The best value in classical music on CD at the moment...
Wonderful Performances

Beethoven: The Complete Symphonies and Piano Concertos

Manufacturer: EMI Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Beethoven - The Complete String Quartets / Alban Berg Quartet
Mozart:The Complete Piano Sonatas and Variations
Beethoven: Complete Piano Sonatas / Daniel Barenboim
Dvorák: The Symphonies
Furtwangler Conducts Beethoven - Beethoven: symphonies no 3,4,5, & 9, Leonore

ASIN: B00004YA0S
Release Date: 2000-11-07

Tracks:

I: Adagio Molto - Allegro Con Brio
II: Andante Cantabile Con Moto
III: Menuetto & Trio: Allegro Molto E Vivace
IV: Adagio - Allegro Molto E Vivace
I: Allegro Ma Non Troppo
II: Andante Molto Mosso
III: Allegro - In Tempo D'allegro - Tempo I
IV: Allegro
V: Allegretto

Tracks:

I: Allegro Con Brio
II: Marcia Funebre: Adagio Assai
III: Scherzo & Trio: Allegro Vivace
IV: Finale: Allegro Molto - Poco Andante - Presto
Gross Fuge

Tracks:

I: Adagio Molto - Allegro Con Brio
II: Larghetto
III: Scherzo & Trio: Allegro
IV: Allegro Molto
I: Allegro Con Brio
II: Andante Con Moto - Piu Mosso - Tempo I
III: Allegro -
IV: Allegro - Presto

Tracks:

I: Adagio - Allegro Vivace
II: Adagio
III: Menuetto: Allegro Vivace - Trio: Un Poco Meno Allegro
IV: Allegro Ma Non Troppo
I: Poco Sostenuto - Vivace
II: Allegretto
III: Presto - Assai Meno Presto
IV: Allegro Con Brio

Tracks:

I: Allegro Vivace Con Brio
II: Allegretto Scherzando
III: Tempo Di Menuetto
IV: Allegro Vivace
Overture
Overture
Overture
Overture

Tracks:

I: Allegro Non Troppo, Un Poco Maestoso - Christa Ludwig
II: Molto Vivace - Presto - Christa Ludwig
III: Adagio Molto E Cantabile - Andante Moderato - Christa Ludwig
IV: Presto - Recitativo - Allegro Assai - Alla Marcia - Christa Ludwig
Overture - Christa Ludwig

Tracks:

I: Allegro Con Brio
II: Largo
III: Rondo: Allegro Scherzando
I: Allegro Con Brio
II: Adagio
III: Rondo: Molto Allegro

Tracks:

I: Allegro Con Brio
II: Largo
III: Rondo: Allegro
I: Allegro Moderato
II: Andante Con Moto
III: Rondo: Vivace

Tracks:

Fantasia For Piano, Chorus And Orchestra
I: Allegro
II: Adagio Un Poco Mosso -
III: Rondo: Allegro

Amazon.com essential recording

Otto Klemperer's Beethoven is one of the towering achievements in the history of recordings. By today's standards, these performances are hopelessly old-fashioned: dark, heavy, and frequently very slow. But they are also the grandest, most unsentimental, most purposeful versions in the catalog. In addition, the relatively slow tempos (only in the fast movements--the slow ones are pretty swift) and forward wind balance permit more detail to be heard than in most original-instrument performances. At budget price and with the entire piano concerto cycle thrown in for good measure, this is greatness incarnate. --David Hurwitz

Customer Reviews:

Great Performance.......2007-07-07

There are many different ways to perform Beethoven and each one is valid.
If you like it fast - go to Toscanini or Norrington. If you prefer slow, powerful and majestic, this is your set. Towards the end of his distinguished career, the great Otto Klemperer set down his final views of the performance of these symphonnies. The set is a coherent whole and will give great pleasure for ever. The challenging mix of the young Barenboim and the aged Klemperer worked surprisingly well and thus the concertos may also be recommended. There are odd additional items which add to the pleasure. Finally do not forget to purchase his memorable set of 'Fidelio' to complete your traversal of a great conductor giving great performances of a composer that he loved. Finally the price is ridiculously low and provides quality and quantity at a great price. Thus you should be able to buy the opera set from the savings made!

Great Analog Beethoven Cycle.......2007-05-07

This Klemperer cycle is just one of a dozen or so GREAT analog Beethoven symphony cycles that were recorded during Analog's golden age starting about 1958. These cycles are easily a match for digital and they should still be around for another 1,000 years, if the Lord tarries. These sets include: Karajan (twice, early 60s and late 70s) Bohm, Krips, Jochum, Bruno Walter, Leinsdorf, Rene Leibowitz, Szell, Ormandy, Bernstein, Steinberg, and Solti. This morning I listened to the Klemperer recordings of Beethoven's symphonies 5, 6, & 7. Very enjoyable, I got my Beethoven RDA fix.

Of all these Analog sets, I most enjoy the Leibowitz Spring 1961 cycle with the Royal Philharmonic. I have this cycle on an audiophile early 90s European import Edition Phoenix label special pressing "on extra virgin vinyl." These are by far the best analog symphonic lps I have ever heard from a recording standpoint. BY FAR! And they will rock your house.

You can almost justify Karajan's 4 recorded Beethoven cycles and one video based upon improvements in recording technology. Thru Rhapsody, I have listened to his mid 50s cycle and the orchestra sounds great, but the recording quality is sub par compared to Analog's golden age. So the rational for 4 cycles would be, (1) recent great improvements in recording technology (early 60s), (2) it has been 15 years and he has grown as an artist (late 70s), (3) we now have digital! Let's do one of the first Beethoven digital cycles (80s).

Klemperer is a no-brainer. I do not have to think twice about plopping one of his lps onto my turntable or hitting the play button at Rhapsody. When the music starts, the listening pleasure begins. Don't miss his Bruckner symphony recordings!

An essential collection.......2007-04-25

How best to describe Otto Klemperer's perspective on Beethoven's symphonies: grand, heroic, intense, insightful, stubborn, obstinate, detailed, dramatic, monumental, granitic, deeply emotional, never sentimental. This boxed set of the complete symphonies and concerti embodies all of these elements as stands as one of the great achievements of recorded music.

These performances were recorded with the Philharmonia Orchestra at its peak, in the sumptuous acoustics of Kingsway Hall in London and in fine and detailed sound, and mostly in the mid-1950's during one of the brief charmed periods of Klemperer's life. EMI's impresario Walter Legge had made him permanent conductor of the Philharmonia, and when Klemperer embarked on this project in his 70's, he was in relatively good mental and physical health (Klemperer could show symptoms of manic depression and survived many health crises - brain tumor, broken bones, paralysis - which would have stopped most people).

By this time Klemperer had slowed the tempi of the fast movements of the Beethoven symphonies (listen to his early 1950's recordings of the 5th and 6th on Vox to hear by how much). This tendency is more pronounced in these studio recordings than in the live performances which were recorded during that era. The slowness is mostly saved by Klemperer's use of "sprung" rhythms, which keep the slow tempi from feeling laggardly.

Klemperer's earliest recordings in this series - symphonies 3, 5 and 7 - predate stereo and were recorded in excellent monaural sound. He rerecorded all three of these symphonies in stereo, but those recordings were made after he burned himself by falling asleep while smoking in bed. All three performances feature slower tempi than the earlier ones (whether this was the conductor's preference or the result of physical incapacity is open to conjecture). In particular, the rerecorded 7th suffered from lax phrasing, inattentiveness and perverse tempi. That is NOT the version contained in this set: fortunately, EMI had simultaneously recorded the earlier version of the 7th in "experimental" stereo, and it is that earlier version which is released here (and in remarkably good stereo). The versions of the 3rd and 5th are the rerecorded stereo ones.

You will find no finer studio versions of the 2nd, 4th, 6th, 7th or 8th. All are insightful, beautifully detailed and powerful. The 2nd clearly looks forward to the 3rd and not back toward Hayden, the 4th is boisterous and vital, the 6th bucolic and sumptuous (not a quality normally associated with Klemperer), the 7th gains in drama what it loses in swiftness and lightness, and in the 8th in particular we see the conductor's empathy to Beethoven's sense of humor. Klemperer had a deep affinity for the "Eroica", and the rerecorded version here, while slower than the 1955 recording, was dubbed by "High Fidelity"'s Harris Goldsmith (no Klemperer fan, he) as "the best Eroica going slow" and is a monumental masterpiece (the second movement is shattering). The 1st, while leisurely, is a lovingly crafted.

That leaves the 5th and 9th. There is no doubt in my mind that the earlier, mono 5th is superior to the remake in this set. We lose that sense of an inevitable onslaught, especially in the outer movements. And the 9th, while similar in conception to the live versions recorded around the same time (on Testament with the Philharmonia and on Music&Arts with the Concertgebouw), suffers from diffuse sound and occasional lack of focus. I emphasize that these recordings of both symphonies are still head and shoulders above most of the competition; we're talking about different levels of greatness here.

Are there superior Klemperer recordings of these symphonies? Yes; but all are live, and despite the relatively good reprocessed sound, they don't reveal the same level of detail that these studio recordings do. Klemperer was a very different conductor in front of an audience, and there is more vitality and drama in the live versions of the 3rd (Testament, with the Danish Symphony), 6th 7th and 8th (Music&Arts with the Concertgebouw) and the 9th (see above). Music&Arts' set of the complete symphonies, recorded live in Vienna in 1960, is long out of print and had cramped sound with poor detail - a supplement to this set, not a replacement.

As to the piano concerti: they are better than one might expect. Barenboim, although steeped in the Germanic performance tradition, is more naturally aligned with the Furtwangler and Edwin Fischer than with Klemperer. However, the two of them actually work together extremely well and this is a fine, insightful set.

Any complete cycle of Beethoven, symphonies or concerti, will have drawbacks. There will be unevenness in the performances, as there are here. But there are advantages to hearing one musician's perspective on the works, especially when (as here) the performer has depth of understanding, integrity of vision, and a structural understanding of the pieces.

The digital remastering is excellent and the sound barely shows its age. This may not be your only complete set of Beethoven's symphonies, but it should be one of them. And at a price this low, it's a bargain too.

The best value in classical music on CD at the moment..........2007-01-02

What is the best value in classical discs available today ? Who knows, but I defy anyone to beat the EMI compilation of Klemperer' recordings of the complete Beethoven Symphonies, Piano Concertos (with Barenboim), several overtures the Choral Fantasia etc etc. 9 discs for only $44 ( well that was the price I paid). You have got to be kidding... I only had two concerns with buying this. First on the age of the recordings, all more than 40 years old. No worry at all. This is a masterpiece of reconstruction. The sound quality indistinguishable from any modern recording. Secondly , the performances themselves. I had been warned that Klemperer notoriously chose rather slow tempi. Again I needn't have worried. I immediately went to the slow movements of the 2nd piano concerto and the fourth symphony, where many slow tempists have in the past come unstuck. The piano concerto was an absolute revelation. The combination of the youthful Barenboim and the Philharmonia's masterful playing time and gain had me on the edge of my seat. " Yes,go on, well...." Slow it may have been. Boring, never. The same applies in spades to the slow movement of the fourth. Right from the eerie opening, which is yes, very slow indeed, I knew this movement would be a revelation and I can honestly say I have never hear it better played. Follow this with a scherzo bounding in energy and thumping finale and you will never get a better performance of this, one of Beethoven's "lesser" symphonies. And I haven't even got round to the "biggies" yet! The box set looks unattractive and the portrait of Klemperer makes him appear a first class nerd. Pay absolutely no attention to this....

Wonderful Performances.......2006-04-07

I have admittedly not made it through the entire set as of yet, but feel sufficiently blown away by the First Symphony and the Eroica - particularly the second movement of the latter - to weigh in here. With respect to the tempo issue, I must - at least so far - argue in favor of Klemperer's decision to slow things down a bit. I think the effect is, as someone else has observed, a clearer and more visceral experience of Beethoven's composition. It brings out the feeling. The sound comes up a little short on the low end, but it isn't a major distraction. My only problem lies in EMI's inexplicable lack of any discussion of the performances. The notes are bland, dry descriptions of the pieces themselves, with some basic history thrown in. Given the fact that there are probably hundreds of different CDs of Beethoven's symphonies out there, all with similar explanatory notes, it is infuriating that nothing is said about these particular performances. This is in contrast with the EMI Bach set (with Yehudi Menuhin) in which there is a wonderful essay that discusses Menuhin's work in historical context.

Average customer rating:

Beethoven for Babies
Nicest classical CD I have found for my baby (& me)
Ode To Beethoven
Pseudoscientific crap, but some of the music is good here
Nicest classical music CD I've found for my baby (& me)

Beethoven for Babies

Manufacturer: Philips
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Quartets | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

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General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

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General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

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Build Your Baby's Brain
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The Mozart Effect: Music For Babies: Nighty Night

ASIN: B000009OU6
Release Date: 1998-08-11

Tracks:

Six National Airs With Variations, Op. 105: The Cottage Maid (Welsh)
Six National Airs With Variations, Op. 105: The Last Rose Of Summer (Irish)
Six National Airs With Variations, Op. 105: Chiling O'Guirg (Irish)
Six National Airs With Variations, Op. 105: English Bulls (Irish)
Ten National Airs With Variations, Op. 107: St. Patrick's Day (Irish)
Ten National Airs With Variations, Op. 107: O Mary, At The Window Be (Scottish)
Ten National Airs With Variations, Op. 107: Oh, Thou Are The Lad Of My Heart (Scottish)
Ten National Airs With Variations, Op. 107: Fur Elise
Ten National Airs With Variations, Op. 107: Piano Sonata No. 8 In C Minor ('Pathetique') - Adagio cantabile
Ten National Airs With Variations, Op. 107: String Quartet No. 13 In B-Flat - Alla Danza Tedesca. Allegro assai
Ten National Airs With Variations, Op. 107: Piano Sonata No. 7 In D - Menuetto (Allegro)
Ten National Airs With Variations, Op. 107: The Creatures Of Prometheus - Finale. Allegretto
Ten National Airs With Variations, Op. 107: Piano Sonata No. 18 In E-Flat - Menuetto (Moderato e grazioso)
Ten National Airs With Variations, Op. 107: Piano Sonata No. 20 In G - Tempo di menuetto
Ten National Airs With Variations, Op. 107: Symphony No. 8 In F - Allegro scherzando
Ten National Airs With Variations, Op. 107: Symphony No. 9 In D Minor ('Choral') - Ode To Joy
Ten National Airs With Variations, Op. 107: Piano Sonata No. 15 In D ('Pastoral') - Rondo (Allegro ma non troppo)
Ten National Airs With Variations, Op. 107: Symphony No. 6 In F ('Pastoral') - Hymn Of Thanksgiving

Amazon.com

For the parent looking to ease their child into a familiarity with classical music, this is a very well chosen set of Beethoven works. It begins with a generous selection of airs composed late in the composer's life. The presence of the flute as the lead instrument on these selections has a soothing quality that moves the ear in an ideally subtle way, especially as it gives way to the more excited piano sonata pieces. Zoltán Kocsis's reading of "Pathétique" is followed by Claudio Arrau's take on the 7th, 15th, and 18th sonatas and Sviatoslav Richter's lyrical take on the 20th ("Pastoral"). Programmed amidst the piano pieces, which are great studies in dynamics and musical spacing, are some fine orchestral snippets, none longer than five minutes. The collection does a fine balancing act, condensing works that don't inherently lend themselves to shortened renditions and carefully managing moods, entry, and egress to each segment. This is fine anthology work. --Andrew Bartlett

Customer Reviews:

Beethoven for Babies.......2007-05-21

My baby and I really enjoy this CD. It is so fun to feel the baby get excited when I play it. I have a pillow speaker and just place it right up against my stomach. It evens helps me to get in a nap or just rest for a while.

Nicest classical CD I have found for my baby (& me).......2005-09-01

This is a very pleasant CD to listen to, and I think the quality of the music is excellent. I enjoy listening to this with my 10 month old son, and we also listen to the radio and lots of modern music. I recently purchased 5 of the classical "Baby Einstein" CDs and I consider them to be inferior to this Beethoven for Babies CD. The Baby Einstein are very synthesized sounding and I think they are annoyingly mellow and kind of dopey. This Beethoven CD is beautiful. In fact I'm going to buy 1 or 2 more from this series.

Ode To Beethoven.......2005-05-13

The actual reason I bought this cd is for "Fur Elise" but it turned out to be much more than I bargained for. Before road rage sets in while sitting in a traffic jam during rush hour, play this. If you need to take it easy and escape from your reality, play this. Need something to play at work that's not explicit or offensive, play this. Of course, it's not Beethoven himself, but if you need some quiet time, play this. Even while you read, you could play this. If you want some authenticity to your collection, get Beethoven for Babies.

Pseudoscientific crap, but some of the music is good here.......2004-05-27

The 3 stars is only because the hucksters that put this together at least had the decency to tracks featuring Arrau & Richter on this CD. A lot of these "turn your baby into a genius with classical music" CDs and tapes feature only lousy musical performances from hack musicians you have never heard of.

That having been said, if you are stupid enough to believe any of this "Mozart Effect" horse manure --- which continues to have no support in any sort of controlled test environment --- then your babies will probably inherit your limited intellectual capacities & no amount of Beethoven & Mozart will ever be able to help them.

If, on the other hand, you are introducing Junior to classical music, you could do worse --- but you could also do better. Go get Arrau's complete Beethoven sonatas & concerti, get the Berg Quartett's complete Beethoven quartet cycle, and get John Eliot Gardiner's complete Beethoven symphonies --- just for a start. Also, don't stop with Beethoven & Mozart. My 9-month old daughter gets a diverse exposure to a thousand years of music, and very little is off limits. She got acquainted with the Bartok Quartets within her first couple of months, and it doesn't look like we have created an axe murderer or anything like that.

Anyway, if you want to create a classical music lover, do it right and go the distance, rather than doing it piecemeal with CDs like this. Your baby may still be a moron, but at least will be a moron with exquisite taste.

Nicest classical music CD I've found for my baby (& me).......2003-11-23

Average customer rating:

Great value!

The Story of Beethoven

Manufacturer: Vox (Classical)
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Ballets | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

Dances | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

Minuets | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

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The Story of Mozart
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ASIN: B000001KCZ
Release Date: 1995-04-16

Tracks:

Tempo Di Minuetto - Guiomar Novaes
Bach: Two-Part Invention No. 9 - Guiomar Novaes
Minuet in G Major, Wo0 8, 10/2 - Guiomar Novaes
German Dances, Wo0 8, Nos. 1 & 2 - Arthur Hannes
Sonatina, Anh. 5/2 - Guiomar Novaes
Appassionata - Guiomar Novaes
Overture to 'To Creatures of Prometheus,' Op. 43 - Arthur Hannes
Andante Con Moto - Arthur Hannes
Emperor - Guiomar Novaes
Andante Ma Non Troppo - Guiomar Novaes
Allegro Con Brio; Marcia Funebre - Arthur Hannes
Allegro Con Brio; Allegro - Arthur Hannes
Poco Sostenuto - Arthur Hannes
Pastorale (Excerpts) - Arthur Hannes
Allegretto - Arthur Hannes
Leonore Overture No. 3, Op. 72 - Arthur Hannes
Coriolan Overture, Op. 62 - Arthur Hannes
Adagio Sostenuto; Presto Agitato - Guiomar Novaes
Allegro Ma Non Troppo; Presto - Guiomar Novaes
Allegro - Guiomar Novaes
Adagio Un Poco Mosso - Guiomar Novaes
Rondo: Allegro - Guiomar Novaes

Customer Reviews:

Great value!.......2007-01-04

Though I haven't listened to all of the CD's in this series which I ordered, I am very impressed with the ones I have listened to. Very enjoyable and informative, and the price couldn't be any lower!!!

Average customer rating:

Wonderfully fresh
Great -- All Around
Old (but Very Fine) Wine, New Skins--A Revelatory Listening Experience
Much-needed fresh interpretation of the overtures

Beethoven: Complete Overtures

Manufacturer: Arte Nova Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Ballets | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

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ASIN: B0007X9TKC
Release Date: 2005-04-12

Album Description

"Of course this is what Beethoven is supposed to sound like. All the warmth, the breadth, the depth, the height, the solemnity, the hilarity, the agony, and, of course, the wild-eyed ecstasy that are in Beethoven in these performances of his complete Overtures by David Zinman leading the Tonhalle Orchestre Zurich. As Zinman proved in his cycle of the nine symphonies, he knows Beethoven, knows his music and his moods, knows when to hold back and when to let loose, when to dance and when to sing in blissful rapture. In his cycle of the 11 overtures, Zinman soars with Die Geschöpfe des Prometheus, rails with Egmont, roars with Coriolan, and laughs with König Stephen. Zinman is as heroic as Fidelio, as passionate as Leonore, and as countrapuntally intoxicated as Die Weihe des Hauses. The Tonhalle Orchestre, which showed itself an adept and powerful Beethoven orchestra in the symphonies, once again shows its colors, its strength, and its tenderness in the overtures. ! Arte Nova's sound is deep, lush, and real."-ALL MUSIC GUIDE

Customer Reviews:

Wonderfully fresh.......2007-06-06

David Zinman and his Tonhalle Orchestra of Zurich deliver what is, hands down, the best overture to the Ruins of Athens on disc. Zinman opens the work with great energy at a quick tempo - those of us familiar with Masur's slow and stately introduction will certainly feel as if they are hearing this familiar music for the first time. The oboe cadenza is delightfully zippy as Zinman plunges headlong into the allegro proper with such authoritative vitality that one almost feels foolish for not liking this work more, slight though it is on musical argument. Horns wail, strings dig, and winds bite in this marvelous traversal. This performance gave me several impressions. First, how nice it is to hear Beethoven (here and in his traversal of the symphonies) with smaller forces married to historically informed performance practices - hard mallets for the timpani, violins divided stereophonically, winds forwardly balanced. It has a tremendous amount of textual clarity which enhances the musical argument in no small part. Secondly, how impressive that even two hundred years after some of these pieces were composed they can still be played to the hilt with fresh energy and conviction. Even with the reduced string section, I would be curious if anyone could find other versions of these overtures with this much vigor. And finally, as always, its wonderful to hear a music director and his orchestra bring something new to familiar music, all the while maintaining the highest performance and musical standard. And the love both Zinman and the Tonhalle have for this music is immediately palpable.

The same level of energy Zinman brings to The Ruins of Athens runs throughout the entirety of this two-disc release. Prometheus certainly benefits from the scaled-down proportions of the orchestra, finding the perfect balance between classical grace and Beethoven's rougher energy. Coriolan is just as bit as convincing, free from the overly-romanticized patina that this work has amassed over the years. The Overture in C receives a particularly convincing interpretation. Listen to how Zinman maintains tension throughout the overly-repetitive music and certainly makes the most sense out of the often odd-sounding scales at near the end of the piece. It just goes to show that even less convincing works can sound convincing when played with this level of conviction. Fidelio is another winner, a performance of lively grace but imbued with appropriate power.

The Consecration of the House is a delight. Zinman shapes a cogent and appropriately Baroque sounding opening to the piece and, although the trumpets are a bit reticent in their fanfares, the textual clarity of it all is quite refreshing. The allegro certainly benefits from the antiphonal violin placement, a reading of uncanny transparency, culminating in a roaring conclusion. I still have the slightest preference for Masur's performance and no one can match Charles Munch's Boston Symphony reference interpretation in this work, but all in all it is simply a matter of taste and certainly Zinman offers steep competition. Zinman's reading of King Stephen is one of balanced, proportional energy befitting its classical nature but, when all is said and done, I still prefer Szell's all-or-nothing Cleveland traversal, which possesses unbelievable physicality. As for the three Lenore Overtures, Zinman's approaches are period appropriate, but it is slightly difficult to listen to Lenore No. 3 in this leaner state. I still prefer Gunter Wand's performance, one of almost excessive weight and physicality, but the excitement is unquestionable. Egmont again is wonderful, but seems slightly undernourished when compared to the competition. But preferences aside, Zinman's interpretations are as convincing as ever and offer tremendous musical nourishment.

Recorded sound is excellent throughout but the microphone placement seems to differ from work to work. In the performances where the orchestra is most distant, the horns can often sound recessed and slightly pinched (such as in Prometheus and Fidelio) or the timpani overly reverberant (Overture in C). Still, the playing is uniformly spectacular and these are small quips that in no way detract from the listening experience and become less noticeable after repeated outings.

This set is certainly a welcome addition to a field that, until now, had virtually no competition. That Masur's performances were uniformly splendid made the dearth of great Beethoven Overture compilations less frustrating, but this set, in modern sound with period performance techniques, is almost self-recommending. Comparing Masur to Zinman seems unfair as both offer so much and say such individual things that I could not imagine having one over the other. This is a welcome addition to the catalog, one that no Beethoven fan should be without.

Great -- All Around.......2006-01-16

Wonderful recordings. Great musicianship and superb sound. A real joy! Highly recommended.

Old (but Very Fine) Wine, New Skins--A Revelatory Listening Experience.......2005-11-22

Beethoven's great overtures need no special pleading, and yet David Zinman gets down so effectively to where this music lives that in some cases, it is like hearing a thrice-familiar work for the first time. Even the Zur Namensfeier Overture, easily the least distinguished of the pieces collected here, has both sparkle and bite in Zinman's reading. The similar but much finer King Stephen Overture is always a smile-inducing surprise among Beethoven's dramatically charged overtures, given its simple joviality. Here it smiles with a youthful freshness that you don't hear in every interpretation.

The most revelatory performance for me, though, is of the Coriolan Overture, a darkly brooding piece that usually seems a bit dour despite its obvious craftsmanship and the undying memorability of its poignant second melody. Zinman succeeds in bringing out the fiery drama in this piece, which seems more often to smolder than to burn outright. Zinman's is a truly captivating performance and will be the way I choose to hear this wonderful work from now on.

Another piece that can seem pedantic and overwrought, The Consecration of the House Overture, is in Zinman's hands perfectly proportioned. Here as elsewhere, Zinman is faster than a lot of conductors but without sacrificing any of the grandiosity of this very grand piece. The one place where I'd say he rushes things too much is in the slow introduction to Egmont: the "quasi allegro" at which he takes the opening fails to provide contrast to the true allegro that is to follow. A small misstep given the many, many felicities of this set. Overall, in fact, it should let you hear these tried-and-true masterworks with a new set of ears.

In writing of Zinman's Beethoven Symphonies series, some critics have complained that the Tonhalle Orchestra produces an anemic sound. I don't hear evidence of that on these discs. There is real heft in the lower strings at the start of the Zur Namensfeier and Egmont Overtures, and the consciously "big" pieces such as the Leonore 2 and 3 and The Consecration of the House Overtures have a proper Beethovenian robustness. Sometimes, I'd say, the horns sound overtaxed, but just as often they produce a blaze of glory for Zinman. So I can't find any great objection to the playing of this mostly very fine orchestra.

I also like the sound the engineers have captured in the lively Tonhalle. It provides depth as well as detail: there is sheen to the high strings; punch and heft to the brass, timpani, lower strings.

In fact, I like just about everything these discs have to offer, including their super bargain price.

Much-needed fresh interpretation of the overtures.......2005-06-12

Surprisingly, there are relatively few choices currently available when it comes to complete collections of the Beethoven overtures, long part of the standard repetoire of any respectable orchestra. The Masur/Leipzig collection has been around for about 30 years, but until Zinman's collection was released this year, it has been pretty slim pickings.

At first, I did not know quite what to think, because Zinman offers a much leaner, fast-paced interpretation of nearly every overture. On average, his tempi are over a minute faster than the more traditional tempi of Masur's, which means that the Tonhalle Orchestra is really on a brisk clip. The orchestra's sound is also considerably lighter than one might expect (unless you are dealing with Gardiner & his period instruments, who have not yet recorded the overtures as far as I know). Whether this a result of reduced personnel or careful mike placement, I don't know, but the result is a much less heavy sound than what normally hears.

Initially, I did not care for what I found to be unfamiliar, but the more I listened, the more Zinman's tempi made sense and the more accessible these overtures became. Also (unlike Masur's edition), the three Leonore overtures do not run consecutively which is to the overall benefit of the collection. There are occasional moments of weakness in the horns & the violins, but they are brief and do not particularly detract from the performances. The recording appears to be a little bass-heavy at times, but not oppressively so; most of the time the sound has a light freshness to it that is most pleasing to the ear.

It also doesn't hurt that Arte Nova has made these CDs dirt-cheap. A mediocre performance for this little money could be easily forgiven; it is made all the better that these performances are top-notch. Anyone who loves Beethoven overtures (and who doesn't?) would be mad to overlook this collection.

Average customer rating:

All of Beethoven's Orchestral Overtures: A Great Collection
Great bargain, OK performances --- but there are better
One of my ten 'desert island' recordings
Glorious
Fine Collection!

Beethoven: Complete Overtures

Manufacturer: Philips
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B00000417D
Release Date: 1994-02-15

Tracks:

Overtures: Coriolano, Op.62
Overtures: Egmont, Op.84
Overtures: King Stephen, Op.117
Overtures: The Creatures of Prometheus, Op.43
Overtures: Leonore No. 1, Op.138
Overtures: Leonore No. 2, Op.72a
Overtures: Leonore No. 3, Op.72b
Overtures: The Consecration of the House, Op.124

Tracks:

Overtures: Fidelio Overture, Op.72c
Overtures: Overture in C, Op.115 (Nameday)
Overtures: (The Ruins of Athens Overture), Op.113
Twelve Minuets, WoO 7: No. 1
Twelve Minuets, WoO 7: No. 2
Twelve Minuets, WoO 7: No. 3
Twelve Minuets, WoO 7: No. 4
Twelve Minuets, WoO 7: No. 5
Twelve Minuets, WoO 7: No. 6
Twelve Minuets, WoO 7: No. 7
Twelve Minuets, WoO 7: No. 8
Twelve Minuets, WoO 7: No. 9
Twelve Minuets, WoO 7: No. 10
Twelve Minuets, WoO 7: No. 11
Twelve Minuets, WoO 7: No. 12
Twelve German Dances, WoO 8: No. 1
Twelve German Dances, WoO 8: No. 2
Twelve German Dances, WoO 8: No. 3
Twelve German Dances, WoO 8: No. 4
Twelve German Dances, WoO 8: No. 5
Twelve German Dances, WoO 8: No. 6
Twelve German Dances, WoO 8: No. 7
Twelve German Dances, WoO 8: No. 8
Twelve German Dances, WoO 8: No. 9
Twelve German Dances, WoO 8: No. 10
Twelve German Dances, WoO 8: No. 11
Twelve German Dances, WoO 8: No. 12
Twelve Contredanses, WoO 14: No. 1
Twelve Contredanses, WoO 14: No. 2
Twelve Contredanses, WoO 14: No. 3
Twelve Contredanses, WoO 14: No. 4
Twelve Contredanses, WoO 14: No. 5
Twelve Contredanses, WoO 14: No. 6
Twelve Contredanses, WoO 14: No. 7
Twelve Contredanses, WoO 14: No. 8
Twelve Contredanses, WoO 14: No. 9
Twelve Contredanses, WoO 14: No. 10
Twelve Contredanses, WoO 14: No. 11
Twelve Contredanses, WoO 14: No. 12

Customer Reviews:

All of Beethoven's Orchestral Overtures: A Great Collection.......2005-09-24

Once again, the Phillips Label has released another great collection of classical music for any devotee. This is the complete collection of Beethoven's overtures. In truth, and technically speaking, there is only one true overture on this recording- the Overtures to Leonore/Fidelio, Beethoven's only opera. The rest, while still dubbed "overtures" by musicologists, remain in the "incidental music" department. They are brilliantly performed by the expert orchestra of the Gewandhaus in Leipzig, Germany, the oldest orchestra in the world and one of the finest in Europe. The principal conductor in this 2 disc recording is Kurt Masur, though the final tracks are courtly dances- German Dances and Contredanses, in a kind of homage to Mozart, and are performed by The Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields conducted by the virtuoso Neville Marriner.

The Coriolan Overture is an appropriate opening track, with its compelling orchestral fortissimi and romantic style. It is followed by the Egmont Overture, and this is pure Beethovenesque romanticism. The King Stephen Overture tops off these incidental musical scores, which Beethoven had annotated with a particular story or idea. To Beethoven, music was poetry/drama, his theories foreshadowed the later Wagner who would write that "Poetry is the reason for music and drama is the reason for both." Theese are all superb pieces of music, and any true fan of Beethoven should own these along with his 9 symphonies. The other "program" overtures include Ruins of Athens, which even contains chorus, Name-Day Celebration Overture and Consecration of the House, which was a commission given to Beethoven for music for the social event of the opening of a new theater, a theater which still stands intact in Austria.

While Kurt Masur is brilliant, he finds that he has an equal in the other featured conductor Sir Neville Marriner, who just happens to be the more famous of the two. Marriner conducted his Academy of St Martin in the Fields for the soundtrack to the 1984 film Amadeus, about the life of Mozart. Marriner has long been associated with conducting Classical and Baroque repertoire, keeping faithful to the original scores. The German Dances are jubilant and a pleasure to hear as are the Contredances, both which number 12 in total. This is a great recording to add to your Beethoven collection. I highly recommend it.

Great bargain, OK performances --- but there are better.......2005-06-12

Until recently, I believe Masur's cycle has been the only commercially available collection of the overtures, so it has (by default) been the standard. A number of people would consider this to be the definitive collection, but I think serious consideration has to be given to Zinman's new release of the complete overtures with the Tonhalle Orchestra of Zurich, which takes a significantly different approach to the overtures.

Is the performance Masur and the Leipzig Gewandhaus great and definitive? Certainly the orchestra sounds typically lush throughout, but the overtures at times seem ponderous & almost soggy. The rather arch quality of the brass section can really detract from the overall performance at times, and who really can ignore the appallingly out of tune winds section in the 2nd Leonore? The performances are generally good but they only occasionally approach greatness.

Marriner & the ASMF turn in an outstanding performance, but I don't think anyone is buying this collection for the Minuets, German Dances, and Contradances, which are expertly rendered, Haydnesque tunes, but which are hardly an example of Beethoven pushing the envelope. Noone will ever mistake this for being nice, incidental music of little significance. These pieces will only matter to those collectors in search of a totally complete Beethoven collection.

Still, this is a reasonable collection for the price, and one could certainly do worse where the performances are concerned.

One of my ten 'desert island' recordings.......2005-01-13

Masur's recordings of Beethoven's overtures (complete) stand out from a crowded field. They have a drive and intensity that grab your attention and don't let go. After playing them for the first time, I had to immediately play them again. And now they are available at a bargain price. You owe it to yourself to hear them.

Glorious.......2002-07-18

Words fail me on this one. Beethoven's music always brings me to tears, and the recordings here are, well, glorious.

The world is a better place for having hosted the genius that was Ludwig van.

Fine Collection!.......2002-05-25

First of all, this CD is a rare find; normally, when we hear the Beethoven overtures, we hear a few of them in the context of larger works (ie, we get only two or three overtures in a box set of symphonies or concerti, and they are overshadowed). To have all the overtures together (especially at these top-rate perfomances) is a treat. Though a wonderful set for any serious Beethoven fan, this may also serve as a good introduction for those new to Beethoven's orchestral music, because the pieces normally clock in at only 10 minutes, give or take, but also because the overtures are always charmingly songful or fast and exciting. It is the more abrasive Beethoven at work here, and it's great fun.

Average customer rating:

Mostly good
Look at the List of Performers First
this "masterworks" series is available much more cheaply from Amazon France
You heard guy below: Beethoven needs the royality checks!
Buy my box Set!

Beethoven: The Masterworks (Box Set)

Manufacturer: Brilliant Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B00062FLHE
Release Date: 2004-11-30

Customer Reviews:

Mostly good.......2007-05-26

A bit of a mixed bag. The symphonies are superb. This is one of the great symphony cycles. The piano sonatas are good, very good (analog) sound. The quartets are well recorded indeed, but there are better cycles out there. The rest is OK, and the sound is genrally good.

Look at the List of Performers First.......2006-11-17

If you want most of Beethoven sitting on one bookshelf, this is a great bargain (especially if you shop for it on amazon.de). But few if any of the performances represent the pinnacles of interpretation that most listeners demand when Beethoven is the composer. The symphonies for instance: can Blomstedt be compared to Furtwangler or (if you lean toward historically informed instrumentation) Gardiner? Most amazingly, the artists who perform the quartets -- the heart of Beethoven's music -- are not even named in the listing.
On the other hand: Vivaldi: The Masterworks is a collection including the very best interpreters, such as Fabio Biondi! Bach Edition (complete Bach) is a fabulous selection of recordings made over 20 years, and almost the same praise can be given the Complete Mozart.

this "masterworks" series is available much more cheaply from Amazon France.......2006-05-28

there are several sets in this series and it's much cheaper to buy these from Amazon France.

included are bach, beethoven, vivaldi, brahms, dvorak, schubert, handel, hayden, and mendelssohn.

they're even cheaper than the list price once u go through the checkout (VAT is removed for overseas (out-of-france) purchases).

**also, the 'complete works of mozart' set is much cheaper there (or at Amazon Germany), too. the 'complete works of bach' is due out later this year.

You heard guy below: Beethoven needs the royality checks! .......2006-04-07

There is quality beyond the Austrian green cardboard (which is lovely to look at, to say the least). In fact, the performance of the symphonies (Dresden Staatskapelle and Herbert Blomstedt) is alone worth the price. The Staatskapelle is a solid group, and Blomstedt, although less wellknown, holds his own. It should be mentioned that Blomstedt recorded many of the most celebrated 20th composition CDs on the market, and definitely knows his stuff. Peter Wohlert recorded mostly for compiliation lables, but to be selected by the Berlin Phil shows that he is a formdiable conductor in rank as well.

Should you buy this collection then? Given the fact that each CD cost $1.75, there is definitely the bargin factor. However, Beethoven's music desveres the top interpreters and musicians of our time - and this applies for all of his music, not just the symphonic. If you are into bargins, then proceed to buy this collection. However, if you save up a bit more, you can buy Karajan's 1963 Beethovens symphonies along with Kempff's 1956 sonata cycles for just a bit more than 70 bucks. Shop around for the string quartets, and the complete overtures should range anywhere from 15 to 30 bucks depending on the conductor/ensemble.

Overall, this is certainly an exceptional bargin. However, quality matter more than money. Besides, chicks dig people with sophisticated tastes.

Buy my box Set!.......2006-03-21

Awesome deal, 40 CD box set of me, Beethoven! There are 3 principle reasons you should buy this box set:

This box is QUALITY my friend, made of the finest, Austrian cardboard with a lovely green finish, it is made to last! You can just set it on your dresser and whenever you need a Beethoven fix you can just pull a CD out. But don't you hate getting your CDs out of order so you can't find what the hell you're looking for?! Not with this set! They are well organized into symphonies, concerti, sonatas and such, so you can find EXACTLY what your looking for, and they have big numbers on them so you can put them right back where they belong.

And the music! Need we go into this, composed through the inspiration of God himself and penned by the greatest composer who ever walked the streets of Vienna, me, Beethoven! Top notch, all done by top performers and recorded at high, clear, digital quality, stick one in your stereo and rock out man! All of my great and mighty works are here, absolutely sublime!

Lastly, you'll be supporting me, I need those royalty checks to keep rolling in!

Buy it if you love me or just buy it if you want people to think that you're sophisticated (the chicks also dig it, I should know: Antonie Brentano, giggity!), you can't go wrong!

Beethoven: Symphonies Nos. 3 & 9; Overtures

Average customer rating:

A Matter of Taste
La mejor Eroica de todas!
Very fine, but could have been so much better
The "Eroica" gets 5 stars; The Ninth, 3...maybe
What's all the hype about?

Beethoven: Symphonies Nos. 3 & 9; Overtures

Manufacturer: Deutsche Grammophon
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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General | Classical | Styles | Music

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Beethoven: Symphony No.9 'choral', 'egmont' Overture

ASIN: B000001GHL
Release Date: 1995-04-11

Tracks:

Symphonie no. 3 en Mi bemol Majeur 'Heroique', op. 55: Allegro con brio - Ludwig Van Beethoven
Symphonie no. 3 en Mi bemol Majeur 'Heroique', op. 55: Marcia funebre : Adagio assai - Ludwig Van Beethoven
Symphonie no. 3 en Mi bemol Majeur 'Heroique', op. 55: Scherzo : Allegro vivace - Ludwig Van Beethoven
Symphonie no. 3 en Mi bemol Majeur 'Heroique', op. 55: Finale : Allegro molto - Ludwig Van Beethoven
Ouvertures: Ouverture du drame de J.W.v.Goethe 'Egmont', op. 81 - Ludwig Van Beethoven
Ouvertures: Ouverture de la Tragedie II. de J.v.Colin 'Coriolan' op. 62 - Ludwig Van Beethoven
Ouvertures: Ouverture du ballet 'Les Crures de Prom, op. 43 - Ludwig Van Beethoven

Tracks:

Symphonie no. 9 en Re mineur, op. 125: Allegro Ma Non Troppo Un Poco Maestoso - L.V. Beethoven
Symphonie no. 9 en Re mineur, op. 125: Molto Vivace - L.V. Beethoven
Symphonie no. 9 en Re mineur, op. 125: Adagio Molto E Cantabile - L.V. Beethoven
Symphonie no. 9 en Re mineur, op. 125: Presto - L.V. Beethoven
Symphonie no. 9 en Re mineur, op. 125: Presto -`O Freunde nicht diese Tone' - L.V. Beethoven

Amazon.com essential recording

This is one of the greatest recordings of the famous Ninth Symphony. It has long been overshadowed by Karajan's three recordings for the same label, as well as Bernstein's version with the same orchestra. But put them all on your CD player and compare, and this is the one you'll be coming back to. Böhm was the least glamorous of conductors, but he approaches the Ninth with messianic zeal and a fanatical gleam in his eye. The opening movement is a cataclysm, the sublime slow movement never loses its contemplative flow, and everyone involved simply sings and plays the pants off of the finale. If the final minute or two doesn't pull you right out of your seat, nothing will. Grab it while you can at this "twofer" price. It's a steal. --David Hurwitz

Customer Reviews:

A Matter of Taste.......2006-09-16

These are beautifully played but tame performances. Bohm, like Haitink, is a conductor who can somehow get away with this.

If you want stormy weather look elsewhere.

La mejor Eroica de todas!.......2006-03-28

he conocido numerosísimas versiones de la Eroica, todas destacadas: Karajan-Berlín/1962 (y también las posteriores), Klemperer-Philharmonia(1954), Szell-Cleveland, Wand-NDR, Wynn Morris-Londres, Schuricht-Paris, etc., pero la versión de Böhm-Viena que tuve hace treinta años en vinilo, más tarde en cassette y hoy en CD ha gozado siempre de mi preferencia. ¿Razones?, vamos viendo:
1er. movto: los vigorosos acordes iniciales, enérgicos sin ser violentos como un Szell-Cleveland o Wand-NDR, nos anticipan una concepción majestuosa, sin embargo en la sección de transición siguiente el director se muestra más bien tímido o cauteloso, pero después de ese breve pasaje, la potencia de los acordes iniciales regresa paulatinamente para no decaer más hasta concluir el movto. el cual es en su conjunto un torbellino de pasión, la coda final es estremecedora, a mí me causa una impresión similar al crescendo del finale del 1er movto. de la 7a de Bruckner en la versión de Schrowazewsky-Saarbrücken (ARTE NOVA), el pasaje de las trompetas destacadísimo sin nublar el ondular de las cuerdas al fondo, los timbales en su justa medida: destacados, sin un protagonismo exagerado. La conclusión, apoteósica;
2° movto: los tonos grises emergen con moderación desde las sombras y van aumentando en color e intensidad, la emoción crece paulatinamente nó en terminos dramáticos como en Klemperer-Philarmonia/1954, sino en términos épicos o eroicos, no se ejecuta propiamente una marcha fúnebre sino un himno, más que a un drama asistimos a una epopeya épica, prima por sobre la dramaticidad, la solemnidad. Para concluir, desde las sombras emergen esta vez los cornos en perfecto contraste con las maderas y cuerdas graves, cerrando el movto. con una bofetada que nos devuelve la respiración;
3er movto: los violines irrumpen graciosa y elegantemente, sin marcar un acusado contraste con el movimiento precedente como en Karajan-Berlín/62, en que de un funeral se ingresa en una bacanal desenfrenada!, Böhm prefiere abordar este pasaje con moderación reservando las fuerzas para el finale, los cornos nuevamente magníficos en la sección central, tras una recapitulación tanto del tema principal como del trio, el movto se cierra con una rápida conclusión;
4° movto: casi sin pausa emerge poderosa la introducción del movto., y las cuerdas en pizzicato presentan el tema principal, que es el mismo del Prometeo y del Septimino, tras lo cual dos acordes vigorosos dan inicio a las variaciones que como un torbellino se suceden unas a otras, recorriendo las distintas secciones de la orquesta, dejando de manifiesto la maestría del compositor en el manejo de los recursos orquestales, para concluir el movto. con los acordes iniciales que se vuelven marciales recordándonos que estamos en presencia de una "epopeya", para concluir la obra con un frenético final.
La vesión que yo tengo es una antigua edición de una colección de precio medio "resonance", pero tengo entendido que es posible encontrar no sólo la Eroica, sino todas las sinfonías con Böhm-Viena en "Eloquence" y además con el sonido mejorado(¡como para comprarlas todas!) La mejor versión de esta obra que he escuchado. Ofrezco las excusas del caso, porque la 9a contenida en este CD doble no la conozco, pero dificilmente podría superar a mi versión preferida que es la de Eliahu Inbal-Sinf. de Viena en DENON (conc. de Año Nuevo 1991, live recording). De todos modos igualmente 5 estrellas para esta grabación por la Eroica! Atte Oscar Olavarria, Santiago, Chile

Very fine, but could have been so much better.......2005-10-09

The set presents Bohm at his best, but inadvertently illustrates what I always find so frustrating about his musicmaking. Elisabeth Furtwangler, the widow of the great conductor, once said in reference to him, "in the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king". Bohm is always very sensible in tempo, articulation, balance, etc., and in these performances is passionate, occasionaly inspired, but alas, the music doesn't have the breath of life. One never has the sense of the music evolving on it's own, and of being immersed in that flow, but rather of being detached from it, as if reluctant to surrender oneself to it. In this day and age, it is remarkably rare to have a recording very good, as this is, and one feels thankful for it, but that is only a sign of how far classical music has fallen that we are satisfied with this standard, rather than with a cosmic experience such as Furtwangler often provided. Comparing the recordings certainly does Bohm no favors. Bohm's Eroica is a thrill ride, nothing less and really nothing more, whereas Furtwangler's Eroica (especially the outstanding Berlin Eroica from December 8, 1952) is a deeply moving experience; as one example, the funeral march is rendered strictly and inflexibly by Bohm, whereas Furtwangler fills the piece with an indescribable sense of resignation. The Ninth is an even more strking example. The entire piece emerges from an incredible, otherwordly atmosphere that completely defies description, but Bohm turns a blind eye toward the spiritual significance that the form of the symphony has. Even Furtwangler's worst Ninths (because of poor execution, recording, or because of a somewhat less inspired performance than it could be) tower above the competition, but the great performances that are playing through my mind right now are the wartime Berlin (extremely dramatic), the '51 Bayreuth (great joy), and especially the ethereal Lucerne Ninth. The overtures which fill out the first disc are unquestionably well done, but again, Bohm goes halfway to a remarkable experience.

The "Eroica" gets 5 stars; The Ninth, 3...maybe.......2004-01-08

In Karl Bohm's view of the Ninth, the only thing that stands out in my mind are the closing chords. There are some attractive moments but, for the most part, throughout virtually the entire symphony the "wrist" is rather limp and its pulse rather weak. Even in the final movement, the chorus and orchestra just seem to amble along to the very end. The vital forces that should resound in this work have taken a holiday. I find it difficult to wax eloquent about this mostly uneventful event.... But the Third or "Eroica" is a horse of a different color as far as I am concerned. Bohm gives it one of the finest performances I have encountered. The kinds of musical details he brings out and the way he expresses them make for very satisfying listening. This is especially true of his rendering of the first and fourth movements. But it is in the funeral march where he really scores. While Bruno Walter is particularly effective at conveying the solemnity of the occasion, Bohm digs even deeper, and delivers an even more thoroughly felt combination of seriousness, sadness, tragedy and nobility. To cite another comparison, while Karajan in his 1962 "Eroica" is dramatic here, he is unable to break through to a more profound level of emotional expression. In closing, this Bohm/Eroica deserves to be on the short list of excellent Beethoven Thirds.

What's all the hype about?.......2003-11-28

This is one of the most dissapointing Ninths I have ever heard. Bohm conducts Beethoven as Mozart, controlled and at moderate/slow/incredibly slow tempi. To begin with, these tempi are far off from Beethoven's specifications, regardless of whether or not Beethoven's metronome was off or if he set the tempi too high for whatever reason. Karajan's tempi versus Gardiner's "correct" tempi are convincing, but to slow it down as much as Bohm does is clearly not in Beethoven's intention--Bohm is not within the ballpark. And if Bohm wishes to slow down the tempi so much, he should at least add more emotional intensity. The truth is, Beethoven's symphonies are more emotionally intense at quick tempi and good dynamics. Though the first movement of Furtwangler's 42 or 54 performances are also slow, Furtwangler's first movement plays with terror whereas Bohm's plays with grace. Grace was not the intention of the first movement--that's for sure. The second movement is also too slow, though it does for a second add more mystery to it, but just for a second, then I get bored. I think Furtwangler got it right when he detected both mystery and ferocity in this movement, thus his scherzo starts slow but has rapid changes in dynamics. Bohm's is just boring. Now, Bohm's slow movement isn't bad, as I do believe it is best when played slowly. Slow tempi should be used when they accurately convey the emotion that Beethoven probably was trying to communicate, so the slow movement isn't bad. The fourth movement: in the strings interlude after the turkish march/tenor solo-- how weak is this! Many have interpreted this as being a "war" of some sort (preceded by a call to war by the tenor and followed by victory), but this surely is a weak war! Furtwangler, once more, in his fast mind-blowing tempo choice, conveys the struggle accurately. But Bohm seems to want clarity above anything. The fourth movement, because of the chorus and soloists, however, is not bad. It does play warmly, and that is perhaps why so many love this recording: they only care about one movement! That, or, they are too used to listening to Bohm's recordings of Mozart and need to experience the mind of Beethoven--a possibly bipolar, anything but controlled, madman of fury!

Average customer rating:

One of Karajan's best Beethoven Symphony cycles
Fine Analog Performance
Bring me the desert island, please.
Karajan's best Beethoven cycle for combination of performance and sound
under the surface

Beethoven: Nine Symphonies

Manufacturer: Deutsche Grammophon
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Beethoven: 9 Symphonies
Schubert: Symphonies 5, 6, 8 & 9; Rosamunde Overture
Beethoven: Symphonies Nos. 1, 2, 4, 5

ASIN: B000001GBT
Release Date: 1990-07-03

Tracks:

Symphony No. 1 In C Major, Op. 21: 1. Adagio molto - Allegro con brio
Symphony No. 1 In C Major, Op. 21: 2. Andante cantabile con moto
Symphony No. 1 In C Major, Op. 21: 3. Menuetto. Allegro molto e vivace
Symphony No. 1 In C Major, Op. 21: 4. Adagio - Allegro molto e vivace
Symphony No. 4 In B Flat Major, Op. 60: 1. Adagio - Allegro vivace
Symphony No. 4 In B Flat Major, Op. 60: 2. Adagio
Symphony No. 4 In B Flat Major, Op. 60: 3. Allegro vivace
Symphony No. 4 In B Flat Major, Op. 60: 4. Allegro ma non troppo
Overture, Egmont, Op. 84: Sostenuto, ma non troppo - Allegro

Tracks:

Symphony No. 2 In D Major, Op. 36: 1. Adagio - Allegro con brio
Symphony No. 2 In D Major, Op. 36: 2. Larghetto
Symphony No. 2 In D Major, Op. 36: 3. Scherzo. Allegro
Symphony No. 2 In D Major, Op. 36: 4. Allegro molto
Symphony No. 7 In A Major, Op. 92: 1. Poco sostenuto - Vivace
Symphony No. 7 In A Major, Op. 92: 2. Allegretto
Symphony No. 7 In A Major, Op. 92: 3. Presto
Symphony No. 7 In A Major, Op. 92: 4. Allegro con brio

Tracks:

Symphony No. 3 In E Flat Major, Op. 55 'Erocia': 1. Allegro con brio
Symphony No. 3 In E Flat Major, Op. 55 'Erocia': 2. Marcia funebre. Adagio assi
Symphony No. 3 In E Flat Major, Op. 55 'Erocia': 3. Scherzo. Allegro vivace
Symphony No. 3 In E Flat Major, Op. 55 'Erocia': 4. Finale. Allegro molto
Overture Leonore No. 3, Op. 72A: Adagio - Allegro

Tracks:

Symphony No. 5 In C Minor, Op. 67: 1. Allegro con brio - L.V. Beethoven
Symphony No. 5 In C Minor, Op. 67: 2. Andante con moto - L.V. Beethoven
Symphony No. 5 In C Minor, Op. 67: 3. Allegro - L.V. Beethoven
Symphony No. 5 In C Minor, Op. 67: 4. Allegro - L.V. Beethoven
Symphony No. 8 In F Major, Op. 93: 1. Allegro vivace e con brio - L.V. Beethoven
Symphony No. 8 In F Major, Op. 93: 2. Allegretto scherzando - L.V. Beethoven
Symphony No. 8 In F Major, Op. 93: 3. Tempo di Menuetto - L.V. Beethoven
Symphony No. 8 In F Major, Op. 93: 4. Allegro vivace - L.V. Beethoven
Overture Fidelio, Op. 72B: Allegro - L.V. Beethoven

Tracks:

Symphony No. 6 In F Major, Op. 68 'Pastorale': 1. Awakening Of Cheerful Feelings Upon Arrival In The Country - Allegro ma non troppo
Symphony No. 6 In F Major, Op. 68 'Pastorale': 2. Scene By The Brook - Andante molto mosso
Symphony No. 6 In F Major, Op. 68 'Pastorale': 3. Merry Gathering Of Country Folk
Symphony No. 6 In F Major, Op. 68 'Pastorale': 4. Thunderstorm
Symphony No. 6 In F Major, Op. 68 'Pastorale': 5. Shepherd's Song: Happy And Thankful Feelings After The Storm
Overture To H. J. von Collin's Tragedy, Op. 62: Allegro con brio
Overture 'The Creatures Of Prometheus' To Salvatore Vigano's Ballet: Adagio - Allegro molto con brio
Overture 'The Ruins Of Athens' From The Music To A. von Kotzebue's Play: Andante con moto - Allegro, ma non troppo

Tracks:

Symphony No. 9 In D Minor, Op. 125: 1. Allegro manon troppo, un poco maestoso - Ludwig Van Beethoven
Symphony No. 9 In D Minor, Op. 125: 2. Molto vivace - Ludwig Van Beethoven
Symphony No. 9 In D Minor, Op. 125: 3. Adagio molto e cantabile - Ludwig Van Beethoven
Symphony No. 9 In D Minor, Op. 125: 4. Presto - Ludwig Van Beethoven
Symphony No. 9 In D Minor, Op. 125: 4. Presto - Final Chorus From Schiller's 'Ode To Joy' - Ludwig Van Beethoven

Amazon.com

This is hedonistic Beethoven, though in listening to these accounts one wonders sometimes whether Herbert von Karajan may not have confused sex with love, and physicality with emotion. At least he seems more concerned with opulence of sound and weight of texture than with psychology or substance. Yet while his interpretation has neither great emotion, nor struggle, nor a sense of spiritual release, it certainly has great beauty and exhilaration. The readings are typical of the "massaged" style of performance Karajan cultivated in Berlin during the 1970s, and which Andrew Porter famously critiqued when he likened the results to Kobe beef. There is a certain softness under all that muscularity, though for the most part Karajan shows his usual strong grip and maintains the balance of lyrical and kinetic elements. The Berlin Philharmonic, at its peak when these recordings were made, is a marvel: even if its playing is rarely fiery or spontaneous, its sound is plush, succulent, and exilaratingly rich. Karajan uses a big orchestra all the way through, even in Symphony No. 1--which as a result sounds rather massive, though not heavy (the brisk scale in the violins at beginning of the fourth movement is delightfully airy). In addition to their polish, his readings are notable for their high energy level. This is particularly true of the Eighth, one of the most successful items in the set, which is interpreted in a way that clearly shows its connection to Seventh. On balance, the accounts run from very good to outstanding (Nos. 4, 8 and 9), but only rarely do they approach the transcendent. The recordings, made in Berlin's Philharmonie, are close-miked and mastered at a fairly high level, and sound is impressively firm. --Ted Libbey

Customer Reviews:

One of Karajan's best Beethoven Symphony cycles.......2007-04-20

Herbert von Karajan (1908-1989) recorded the Beethoven Symphonies four different times: with the Philharmonia Orchestra (early 1950s, EMI); with the Berlin Philharmonic (1961-62, DG); again with Berlin (1975-77, DG: THIS recording), and finally, in Berlin (1982-85, DG). Most critics consider either the 1961-2 or THIS recording to be Karajan's best Beethoven Symphony cycle. (The EMI has cramped sound, and the last cycle shows Karajan's eccentric side: somehow it doesn't "jell" and sound like Beethoven to me - it's more Karajan than Beethoven.)

These have Karajan's best Beethoven Symphony 5 and Symphony 6 recordings. The Berlin Philharmonic has the lush, rich sound Karajan was known for and will be remembered for by future generations of music lovers. The other symphonies are all very fine, too.

I should state my allegiences are for Bohm/Vienna Philharmonic (DG, 1970-72) in most of these symphonies. I also like Szell/Cleveland (Sony) for Symphonies 1, 3, 4 and 9; and Bruno Walter/Columbia Symphony for Symphony 3,4,5, and 7 (Sony). Thomas Beecham's EMI recordings of Symphonies 2 and 7 with the Royal Philharmonic are worth seeking out.

Karajan is very fine, if you don't have an allegience to a given conductor, as I do to Karl Bohm.

Fine Analog Performance.......2007-03-12

Karajan has been one of my favorites for the past 30 plus years and I have many of his recordings on lp and cd. One of the few things I collect are lp box sets. This set I own on vinyl and it either just got posted to Rhapsody or I just ran into it. Rhapsody now has this set, his 1950s, and his digital 1980s posted. I have not run into the early 60s set yet at Rhapsody, but have it on vinyl and cd. I was a bit surprised to see yet another Karajan Beethoven Symphony cycle at Rhapsody and did a search at Amazon to find out what cycle it is.

Karajan did at least 4 complete Beethoven Cycles (50s, 60s, 70s, and 80s) on lp/cd plus one video cycle in the mid 80s that is just outstanding. Some may argue that this is overkill, and many argue about what cycle is best. As far as I know, no one has surpassed Karajan for the most complete cycles title (Jochum comes to mind who I think did three cycles). It is now possible to convert them all to mp3, put them on a single cd or into an mp3 player and do a taste test. Any of these cycles are fun to listen to and they are all well played, conducted, and recorded. The 50s cycle is probably the weakest from a sound/ recording engineer perspective and maybe the 80s is the best (though some do not like the early digital sound). I personally like the early 60s best plus I greatly enjoy the DVDs. I bought them from China through Ebay for about $30 including s/h.

The big difference for Karajan 80s vs 70s is that in the 80s he had health issues prior to his passing and he also started to get very elderly (born in 1908). I have viewed his DVDs of Tchiakovsky (sym. 4, 5, 6) and Dvorak (8, 9) and his Beethoven 9. He seems to be more vigorious on the Beethoven set, followed by the Tchaikovsky, and then the Dvorak. He seemed to me to be a little out of it on the Dvorak 9th and that symphony seemed to drag. I love his Tchiakovsky set from the 70s and the 80s video is almost as good. I read that Karajan had over 800 recordings!

Bring me the desert island, please........2005-12-17

I've always been an admirer of Karajan's Beethoven. I pretty much cut my Beethoven teeth on the much lauded (by me, too) sixties set. In many peoples' minds I suppose it will never be surpassed.

However, in nearly every respect, this mid-seventies undertaking is a better set. I have, as have others, quibbles with certain decisions Karajan makes. For example, he seems to have no problem occasionally ignoring Beethoven's calls for repeats, while at other times he observes them scrupulously. It seems to me that if Beethoven says to do it, then you should do it. Karajan, apparently, doesn't agree.

One could quickly lapse into a minutiae-induced stupor over details. However, a couple will suffice: This is, without doubt, Karajan's best recorded Sixth. That said, it must be admitted his overall concept of this symphony has always been, for some, a weak link. I agree. Simply, there are probably better Sixth's in the catalog, although none could possibly be better played, interpretation not withstanding. Also, this Fifth is to be preferred over the earlier version, ignored repeats and all. The Ninth, arguably the crown jewel of the earlier set, is remarkable here. The soloists are all admirable, even if they aren't Janowitz, Ludwig, et al.

All-in-all, a magnificent undertaking, beautifully realized on CD.

Finally, as most know, Karajan undertook the complete symphonies one last time, near the end of his career (and life) in the early eighties. They are great. The sound is generally great (although not really better in any demonstrable way than here). But Karajan and his Berlin orchestra were having legal, personal and personnel problems which would finally force the Maestro to leave Berlin all together for his final few recordings. At this stage, probably the less said about the utterly disgraceful treatment the ailing Maestro was subjected to, the better. However, that final recorded cycle suffers, I think, from these problems. There are, at times, a certain sloppiness to the procedings Karajan would never have tolerated earlier in his life.

Happily, we have cycle two, in glorious mid-seventies Berlin sound, as a living testament of Karajan's superlative Beethoven.

Karajan's best Beethoven cycle for combination of performance and sound.......2005-10-09

This cycle of Beethoven symphonies, recorded 1975-77 is Herbert von Karajan's strongest. It is also the best of his Beethovens for both performances and sound. Symphonies 5 and 6 are the best here of any others Karajan did, as are Symphonies 1, 2, 3 and 9.

Much of "the best" depends on personal preferences, but I prefer these to the last cycle, recorded 1982-84 for DG. The 1961-2 cycle (DG) is also very fine.

I won't go into details in the interest of keeping this review concise. But Karajan takes slightly slower tempos in Symphony 5: I and Sym. 6: I, II, making a better case for each work.

The sound is rather low level, and you may have to crank up your volume a bit + add some extra bass, as Deutsche Grammophon often shorts the bass a bit in some of their recordings. But the sound is clean, and overall very fine.

Read my reviews of Karajan's first DG cycle, also with the Berlin Philharmonic, for other details. This cycle is recommended, and highly thought of by many critics.