Title : Beethoven:9 Symphonien
Author : Ludwig van Beethoven
Release Date : 19900213
Binding : Audio CD
Regular Price : $39.98
Amazon.com Price : $28.55
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Editorial Reviews : By general consensus, Herbert von Karajan's first (1963) Beethoven cycle for Deutsche Grammophon is the best of the four (!) that he recorded. The Berlin Philharmonic was in top form, and they had not yet made an artistic fetish out of the bland smoothness that typified the conductor's later recordings of this music (and just about everything else). Karajan's squeaky clean, emotionally cool Beethoven will always be something of an acquired taste, but this set makes the best possible case for it. --David Hurwitz
Buyer Reviews : With reference to my title, I would like to continue by saying that it is most hard to assess the worth of these seperate performances, and to give a collective mark. I am not one of those people who considers it fashionable to knock Karajan's conducting of Beethoven, and I have heard all of these symphonies conducted by various masters of their art. None of these perfomances are poor, they are all very good; hence the five stars I have awarded. However, if one wants to buy the very best 'cycle' of Beethoven's symphonies, then of course, one should purchase recordings by a number of conductors. Karajan's 1st and 2nd symphonies are fine as is his fourth. However, the 'Eroica' is an exceptional performance. Karajan is one of the very few conductors who grasps the power and majesty of this magnificent symphony. Only when the symphony is performed with measured tempi, does this strength reveal itself. I would perhaps pick Klemperer's 'legacy' recording over Karajan's, but there is little in it. Karajan once said to Klemperer that he hoped he would live to conduct the funeral march as well as Klemperer had, and Karajan just about gets his wish in this recording. The fifth symphony is another fine recording. It seems that everyone gets very excited by Kleiber's recording of the work, and it is a fine recording (although somewhat marred by technical issues in the final movement). Karajan's recording is similar and in my opinion on a par with Kleiber's. The sixth is probably marginally inferior to Bohm's famous recording, but the difference is again marginal. Karajan's seventh is another good recording, but a slightly troubled one. The seventh symphony requires a superhuman performance by the conductor to be truly satisfying. If the tempos aren't spot on then the fourth movement never really works. Karajan's recording suffers slightly from this problem, though I have never heard the cello line in the trio played more hauntingly. Klemperer's seventh is far and away the best recording of this work (once again don't worry too much about the 'cult of Kleiber'). The eigth recording is fine and the ninth would be exceptional if it were not for the fact that Karajan doesn't force the choir to sufficiently attack the famous outburst in the finale. Apart from this, the symphony is fabulously played, and the singing from the soloists is divine. Thus, all in all, the cycle is a success, but for maximum enjoyment, don't limit yourself to one man's interpretations of the 9 symphonies.
