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head-fi, construct me a Beethoven top 50

post #1 of 12
Thread Starter 
So here's the thing. I want to have a playlist on my iPod of 50 key works of Beethoven. I happen to own all of Beethoven's works many times over, but I want to have you (head-fi) decide what goes in the playlist. I want this playlist to accurately document all 3 periods of Beethoven's composing career. When the 50 is finally decided, I will assemble them in chronological order and when I have time this upcoming weekend I will probably spend a complete day listening to all of the playlist in one sitting........it will probably be between 12 and 18 hours long.

You do not need to make a top 50 list for me, but you are welcome to, but more importantly put your favorite pieces in a list for me (any order) and include THREE of your definitive interpretations of the piece (i will probably own at least one of them)

Make sure if you make the top 50 list for me, that you well-represent his:
Symphonies
Concerti
Piano Sonatas & other Solo Piano Works
Chamber Music
Orchestral & Incidental Music
Sacred Music

Opera and lied are optional

Thanks!
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post #2 of 12
post #3 of 12
Here's my list. My own biases require that we include ALL his symphonies and string quartets. I did not bother to include any "favourite" interpretations; there are too many to mention for each of these. If I were to mention only ONE, it would have to be Bernstein's orchestral version of String Quartet #14 with the Vienna Philharmoniker.

Beethoven 1st
Beethoven 2nd
Beethoven 3rd
Beethoven 4th
Beethoven 5th
Beethoven 6th
Beethoven 7th
Beethoven 8th
Beethoven 9th
Hammerklavier Sonata

Emperor Concerto
Violin Concerto
Kreutzer Sonata
Waldstein Sonata
Appasionata Sonata
Pastoral Sonata
Moonlight Sonata
Pathetique Sonata
Coriolan Overture
String Quartet #14 (Orchestral Version - Bernstein)

String Quartet #6
String Quartet #3
Grosse Fuge (Orchestral Version - Klemperer)
Missa Solemnis
Piano Concerto #1
Tempest Sonata
Diabelli Variations
Mass in C Major
Opus 38 Trio
Quintet for Piano and Winds

String Quartet #7
String Quartet #8
String Quartet #9
The Creatures of Prometheus
Egmont Overture
Violin Sonata #5 (Spring)
Cello Sonata #3
Opus 126 Six Bagatelles
Hunt Sonata
Piano Sonata #1

String Quartet #1
String Quartet #2
String Quartet #4
String Quartet #5
String Quartet #10
String Quartet #11
String Quartet #12
String Quartet #13
String Quartet #15
String Quartet #16
post #4 of 12
Symphony No. 9 - Fricsay/BPO/DG, Furtwangler/BPO/March 1942/M&A
Symphony No. 3 - Karajan/BPO/1962/DG, Cluytens/BPO/195X/EMI, Kabasta/Munich/194X/M&A
Symphony No. 5 - Carlos Kleiber/VPO/197X/DG
Symphony No. 1,2,4,8 - Cluytens/BPO/EMI set
Piano Concertos No. 3-5 - Zimerman/Bernstein/DG, Gilels/Ludwig/Pittsburg, Kovacevich/Davis/BBC/Philips, Kempff Mono/DG
Violin Concerto - Schneiderhan/Jochum/DG, Milstein/Stein/EMI
String Quartets - I only have the DG set (Amadeus)

I also like some of his overtures like Coriolan, Egmont etc. (Masur/Leipzig)

Cheers
post #5 of 12
Definitive version? Well - I don't have many of those, but there are many I return to, so we'll just how good a collection you have...

1. Sonata No 30 (Kempff or Kempff (freddy))
2. Sonata No 8 (Pathetique - Moravec)
3. Eleven Bagatelles, op 119 (John Lill); not sure if this counts as 1 or 11 for you
4. Symphony 6 (Harnoncourt - the only one I realy like from his set)
5. Symphony 5 (Klieber)
6. Variations on an Original Theme, Op 34 (Richter)
7. Piano Concerto No 4 and 5 (I really like Perahia here, would pick 4 over 5 if I had to pick just one)
8. Wellington Overture (??)
9. String Quartet No 1 (endellion quartet)
10. Creatures of Prometheus (MAckerras, and jsut Oveture I guess if each track is a separate piece)
11. String Quartet No 10 (you pick )
12. Choral Fantasy
13. Fidelio Overture
14. Missa Solemnis

Such good pieces - won't really matter who plays them. Enjoy!
post #6 of 12
The Piano Concertos. For a top 50, you can probably get by with the last three.

Picks: Uchida/Sanderling set on Philips for any.
Grimaud/Jurowski on DG for the 5th. There's also a good performance of the 28th sonata this disc.
Brautigam/Parrott on BIS for the 3rd.

Piano Sonatas. Lex does a good job picking the heavy hitters. I'd add #10 to the mix. It's an earlier piece and I'm fond of it. I'm sure you have some personal favorites as well. It's hard to go wrong with the piano sonatas.

Picks: Ronald Brautigam for any of them. His fortepiano cycle has been fantastic. I have Nelson Freire's 2007 CD of some of the more popular sonatas, but I haven't listened to it for about a year. It wasn't as striking to me as Brautigam has been. What I've heard from Andras Schiff has been good, but I don't own the discs yet.
post #7 of 12
Just as an aside one of my favourite Piano Concerto #1 cadenzas is the contrapunctal one by Gould. I don't believe there are many recordings for this (in addition to Gould's own, that is).
post #8 of 12
Thread Starter 
Ok so I haven't decided on the final interpretations yet....... but here is my list in chronological order. Does anyone see something missing or something I should take out?

1796: Piano Sonata No. 4 in E-flat Major “Grand Sonata” (Op. 7)
1797: Piano Sonata No. 8 in C Minor “Pathetique” (Op. 13)
1798: Piano Concerto No. 1 in C Major (Op. 15)
1798: Piano Concerto No. 2 in D Major (Op. 19)
1800: String Quartet No. 6 in B-flat Major (Op. 18/6)
1800: Symphony No. 1 in C Major (Op. 21)
1801: Violin Sonata No. 5 in F Major “Spring” (Op. 25)
1801: Piano Sonata No. 12 in A-flat Major “Funeral March (Op. 26)
1801: Piano Sonata No. 13 in E-flat Major “Quasi Una Fantasia” (Op. 27/1)
1801: Piano Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp Minor “Moonlight” (Op. 27/2)
1801: Piano Sonata No. 15 in D Major “Pastoral” (Op. 28)
1801: Symphony No. 2 in D Major (Op. 36)
1801: Piano Concerto No. 3 in C Minor (Op. 37)
1802: Piano Sonata No. 17 in D Minor “Tempest” (Op. 31)
1802: Violin Sonata No. 9 in A Major “Kreutzer” (Op. 47)
1803: Piano Sonata No. 21 in C Major “Waldstein” (Op. 53)
1803: Symphony No. 3 in E-flat Major “Eroica” (Op. 58)
1805: Piano Sonata No. 23 in F Major “Appassionata” (Op. 57)
1806: Piano Concerto No. 4 in G Major (Op. 56)
1806: String Quartet No. 7 in F Major “Rasumovsky 1” (Op. 59/1)
1806: String Quartet No. 8 in E Minor “Rasumovsky 2” (Op. 59/2)
1806: String Quartet No. 9 in C Major “Rasumovsky 3” (Op. 59/3)
1806: Violin Concerto in D Major (Op. 61)
1806: Fidelio (Op. 72)
1807: Symphony No. 4 in B-flat Major (Op. 60)
1807: Symphony No. 5 in C Minor (Op. 67)
1808: Symphony No. 6 in F Major “Pastoral” (Op. 68)
1808: Piano Trio in D Major “Ghost” (Op. 70)
1809: Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-flat Major “Emperor” (Op. 73)
1809: Piano Sonata No. 24 in F-sharp Major “A Therese” (Op. 78)
1809: String Quartet No. 10 E-flat Major “Harp” (Op. 74)
1810: Piano Sonata No. 26 in E-flat Major “Les Adieux” (Op. 81)
1810: String Quartet No. 11 in F Minor “Serioso” (Op. 95)
1811: Piano Trio in B-flat Major “Archduke” (Op. 97)
1812: Symphony No. 7 in A Major (Op. 92)
1812: Symphony No. 8 in F Major (Op. 92)
1816: Piano Sonata No. 28 in E Major (Op. 101)
1818: Piano Sonata No. 29 in B-flat Major “Hammerklavier“ (Op. 106)
1819: Diabelli Variations (Op. 120)
1820: Piano Sonata No. 30 in E Major (Op. 109)
1822: Piano Sonata No. 31 in A Flat Major (Op. 110)
1822: Piano Sonata No. 32 in C Minor (Op. 111)
1822: Bagatelles (Op. 119)
1823: Missa Solemnis (Op. 124)
1824: Symphony No. 9 in D Major “Choral” (Op. 125)
1825: String Quartet No. 15 in A Major (Op. 132)
1825: Grosse Fugue in B-flat Major (Op. 133)
1826: Bagatelles (Op. 126)
1826: String Quartet No. 14 in C-sharp Minor (Op. 131)
1826: String Quartet No. 13 in B-flat Major (Op. 130)

Am i missing anything important. If so please list below and suggest what to take out.

ALSO........if the list is deemed satisfactory, continue to make suggestions per recording:-)
I've been talking headphones with you for years. Now I can help you with your purchase:) Sales Specialist & Headphone Guru @ Headphones.com
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post #9 of 12
1. Symphony No.1 In C Major, Op.21
2. Symphony No.2 In D Major, Op.36
3. Symphony No.3 In E Flat Major, Op.55, "Eroica"
4. Symphony No.4 In B Flat Major, Op.60
5. Symphony No.5 In C Minor, Op.67
6. Symphony No.6 In F Major, Op.68, "Pastoral"
7. Symphony No.7 In A Major, Op.92
8. Symphony No.8 In F Major, Op.93
9. Symphony No.9 In D Minor, Op.125
10. Piano Concerto No.1 In C Major, Op.15
11. Piano Concerto No.2 In B Flat Major, Op.19
12. Piano Concerto No.3 In C Minor, Op.37
13. Piano Concerto No.4 In G Major, Op.58
14. Piano Concerto No.5 In E Flat Major, Op.73
15. Violin Concerto In D Major, Op.61
16. Triple Concerto For Piano, Violin, Violoncello And Orchestra In C Major, Op.56
17. Violin Sonata No.5, Op.24 In F Major "Spring"
18. Violin Sonata No.9, Op.47 In A Major "Kreutzer"
19. Piano Trio In D Major, Op.70/1, "Ghost"
20. Trio For Clarinet, Cello & Piano In B Flat Major, Op.11, "Gassenhauer"
21. Piano Trio In B Flat Major, Op.97, "Archduke"
22. String Quartet No.12 In E Flat Major, Op.127
23. Fugue For String Quartet In B Flat Major, Op.133, "Grosse Fuge"
24. String Quartet No.13 In B Flat Major, Op.130
25. String Quartet No.14 In C Sharp Minor, Op.131
26. String Quartet No.16 In F Major, Op.135
27. String Quartet No.15 In A Minor, Op.132
28. Piano Sonata No.8 In C Minor, Op.13, "PathÉTique"
29. Piano Sonata No.14 In C Sharp Minor, Op.27/2, "Moonlight"
30. Piano Sonata No.15 In D Major, Op.28, "Pastoral"
31. Piano Sonata No.17 In D Minor, Op.31/2, "Tempest"
32. Piano Sonata No.21 In C Major, Op. 53 "Waldstein"
33. Piano Sonata No.23 In F Minor, Op.57, "Appassionata"
34. Piano Sonata No.26 In E Flat Major, Op.81a, "Les Adieux"
35. Piano Sonata No.27 In E Minor, Op.90
36. Piano Sonata No.28 In A Major, Op.101
37. Piano Sonata No.29 In B-Flat Major, Op.106 "Hammerklavier"
38. Piano Sonata No.30 In E Major, Op.109
39. Piano Sonata No.31 In A Flat Major, Op.110
40. Piano Sonata No.32 In C Minor, Op.111
41. Missa Solemnis In D Major, Op. 123
42. Fidelio - Opera In Two Acts
43. Sonata for cello & piano No. 3 in A major, Op. 69
44. Sonata for cello & piano No. 4 in C major, Op. 102/1
45. Sonata for cello & piano No. 5 in D major, Op. 102/2

still deciding on last 5.
post #10 of 12
For some variety, why not add some of the Scottish or Irish songs?
post #11 of 12
Grosse Fugue, all I have to say...
avoid complete editions, most of them are awful.
post #12 of 12
Piano Sonata #1 (Annie Fischer, Goode)
Piano sonata #9 (Gieseking, Brendel)
String Quartets Op. 18
Piano Sonata #11 (Annie Fischer)
Piano Sonata #13 (Kovacevich)
Piano Sonata #14 (Jando, Barenboim, Kempff)
Piano Sonata #15 (O'Conor, Brendel)
Piano Sonata #17 (Jando, Kempff, Annie Fischer)
Piano Sonata #18 (Perahia)
Symphony #2 (Bernstein/NYPO, Vanska, Lockhart/RPO)
Prometheus Overture
Violin Sonata #9
Piano Sonata #21 (Sherman, Jando, Schnabel)
Piano Sonata #22 (Fischer)
Symphony #3 (Furtwangler/VPO '44, Klemperer mono, Bernstein/NYPO, Szell)
Piano Sonata #23 (Gilels, Barenboim, Brautigam)
Piano Concerto #4 (Kempff/Leitner, Bronfman/Zinman)
String Quartets Op. 59
Symphony #4 (Abbado/BPO, Zinman, Bernstein/NYPO)
Violin Concerto (Kreisler, Hahn)
Coriolan Overture (Furtwangler, Karajan)
Symphony #5 (Kleiber, Salonen/LAPO, Norrington/LCP)
Symphony #6 (Bernstein/VPO, Zinman)
Piano Trio #5
Piano concerto #5 (Perahia)
Piano Fantasia Op. 77
piano Sonata #24 (Fischer)
Choral Fantasy (Barenboim/BPO, Grimaud/Salonen)
Piano Sonata #26 (Brendel)
Egmont Overture
Symphony #7 (Bernstein/both, Kleiber)
Symphony #8 (Karajan 70's, Szell, Bernstein/VPO)
Piano Trio #7
Piano Sonata #29 (Annie Fischer)
Piano sonata #30 (Schnabel, Jando, Feltsman)
Piano Sonata #31 (Jando, Goode, Feltsman)
Piano Sonata #32 (Schnabel, Fischer, Brendel, Gould)
Diabelli Variations
Missa Solemnis
Symphony #9 (Szell, Karajan 70's, Bernstein/VPO)
Bagatelles Op.126 (Brendel)
String Quartet #13 (w/Grosse Fuge)
String Quartet #14 (Emerson)
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