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Beethoven Symphonies - Page 2

post #16 of 944
7/18/04 at 3:02pm
While they do not come in a box set, Chesky has all of them on CD. These were remastered from the old ultra rare vinyls from 1961 I believe. They are regarded as some of the greatest versions ever made, so hunt them down
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post #17 of 944
7/18/04 at 3:40pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by KR...
While they do not come in a box set, Chesky has all of them on CD. These were remastered from the old ultra rare vinyls from 1961 I believe. They are regarded as some of the greatest versions ever made, so hunt them down
do you mean the bohm cycle? it was recorded in 1971. were the chesky's taken from actual vinyl or the tapes? i also saw some of the bohm is available on "dg the originals":

Beethoven: Symphonie no 6; Schubert: Symphonie no 5 / Bohm on CD $9.83 From DG The Originals
(More Info...)
Beethoven: Symphonie no 9, etc / Karajan, Berlin PO on CD $9.83 From DG The Originals
(More Info...)
Beethoven: Symphonies no 5 7 / Kleiber, Vienna PO on CD $9.83 From DG The Originals
This selection is also available in Super Audio CD format. (More Info...)

which is supposed to have better sound than the doubles.
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post #18 of 944
7/18/04 at 5:10pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by redshifter
do you mean the bohm cycle? it was recorded in 1971. were the chesky's taken from actual vinyl or the tapes? i also saw some of the bohm is available on "dg the originals":

Beethoven: Symphonie no 6; Schubert: Symphonie no 5 / Bohm on CD $9.83 From DG The Originals
(More Info...)
Beethoven: Symphonie no 9, etc / Karajan, Berlin PO on CD $9.83 From DG The Originals
(More Info...)
Beethoven: Symphonies no 5 7 / Kleiber, Vienna PO on CD $9.83 From DG The Originals
This selection is also available in Super Audio CD format. (More Info...)

which is supposed to have better sound than the doubles.
No the Rene Leibowitz recordings from 1961 with Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. They were recorded for Reader's Digest in the early 60's by Decca's superstar team of Gerhardt and Wilkinson. It was then remastered and released on CD by Chesky.

Some websites :

http://www.angelfire.com/music2/reneleibowitz/rl.html
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post #19 of 944
7/18/04 at 5:21pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by DarkAngel
Bohm/DG Doubles
Similar to Karajan but I may actually like this even better overall. You can get all symphonies by getting budget priced DG doubles, this really surprised me how good it is both sound and performance, doesn't get much mention by reviewers but it is one of the best sets out there!
DG Double
DG Double
DG Double

Yes, the Karl Bohm set is excellent, I have always liked it better than the von Karajan set, even during the vinyl days.



W
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post #20 of 944
7/18/04 at 7:05pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by redshifter
dark angle,
i already have the '63 karajan set, and also the bohm set on vinyl (which i wore out listening to as a kid). thanks for pointing out the two-fers (could the cover art be more ugly?) one review complained of the brightness of some of the cd's. did you find this to be the case?
I don't find the sound bright at all, very good for me.
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post #21 of 944
7/19/04 at 7:04pm
Thread Starter 
Carlos Klieber passed away

http://www5.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?p=895803
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post #22 of 944
7/20/04 at 12:57am
Although I am currently listening to the Kleiber 5/7, in honor of his passing, I think the best, and most under rated Beethoven is by Karl Bohm and the VPO.
For the best overall sound & performance this is the one to get. Certainly there are other good individual performances by others, but it is very difficult to beat Bohm in any of the Symphonies.

Other Good Sets:
-MacKerras
-Harnoncourt
-Barenboim
-Zinman

Sets to Avoid:
-Rattle / VPO

Over-Hyped Sets:
Wand
Karajan (all sets)
Bernstein

Worthwhile Individual Issues:
Walter 4/6
Kleiber 4, 5/7
Reiner 9
Davis 3, 7
MacKerras 9
Bohm 6
Giulini 5

Happy listening!
-augustwest
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post #23 of 944
7/30/04 at 1:36pm
Thread Starter 
I receieved the Klieber 5/7 last week, what a wonderful CD, so far I've only listened to the 5th extensively. One word...bombastic. There is energy to spare here, and that's a good thing on the 5th.

Next I'll listen to the 7th, one I'm not as familiar with as the 5th.

Scott
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post #24 of 944
7/30/04 at 1:51pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tyson
As for single rec's, I'll limit myself to one, but it's an essential item - Carlos Kleiber doing the 5th & 7th symphonies. Abso-friggin-lutely amazing. If you don't already have it, run (don't walk) to the store and pick it up. I swear they play the opening of the 5th with such intensity you think their instruments are gonna burst into flame at any moment. Great stuff.
Couldn't have said it better myself


/U.
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post #25 of 944
7/30/04 at 2:04pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nisbeth
Couldn't have said it better myself
Indeed......comes flying out at you and grabs your attention, being SUCH a well know piece, I imagine that's part of the appeal here.

Scott
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post #26 of 944
7/30/04 at 2:09pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by scottder
Indeed......comes flying out at you and grabs your attention, being SUCH a well know piece, I imagine that's part of the appeal here.

Scott
I think it's because you can really hear and sense the enrgy of the music, most other reditions just sound dull in comparison .


/U.
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post #27 of 944
7/30/04 at 6:11pm
I can't offer any comparative reviews, but I have the Gardiner/DG Archiv set and have no desire to look for other versions.

If you're looking for something different, the California Guitar Trio does a rendition of the Allegro Con Brio from the 5th Symphony on acoustic guitars. There's also a very lively and involving performance of the 3rd movement of the Moonlight Sonata on the same album, Pathways. Mostly they do Bach and surf music
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post #28 of 944
7/30/04 at 9:36pm
I'll third the Kleiber 5th and 7th. You should hear his Brahms 4th.

No body has meantioned Toscanini.
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post #29 of 944
8/1/04 at 10:52am
Ordered another Beethoven complete set:
Bernstein/DG/VPO (remastered set 5/2004 release)

I have some of the Bernstein/Sony/NYPO set and like them very much except for a couple odd tempos like his NY 5th. I really like guys like Bernstein that let it all go and wear thier emotions on thier sleeves even if a failure vs the more common controlled mannered predictable performances. BTW what in the hell is with that "shirt" Lenny is wearing on cover photo, he he. (hopefully that is yellow towel on his shoulder)



Several places now have this at much reduced price......which gives me the green light
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post #30 of 944
8/1/04 at 3:49pm
The best performance of 5th I've ever heard is by Evgeny Svetlanov / USSR Symphony Orch. that I have on an old Melodiya LP. Some of the best stuff came off those LPs (like Franck's D-minor symphony, Saint-Saens 3rd, Tchaikovsky's 4-6 by Fedoseyev, ah, those were the times).

Of many CDs I've tried in recent years, Gardiner was (to me) the best. Karajan is also good and a great value since the complete 1963 cycle was being sold for CDN$30 for quite a few years now. The first movement of 9th was a really great performance on that set. I have Cleiber's 5/7 - now also available on SACD for those who want it - and I was satisfied but not blown away. It was a while ago though, I have better equipment now so maybe I should revisit it. Oh, I also got a cheap Kurt Masur's NY performance, that wasn't bad either (at least sonically).

I didn't like Abbado's 2000, except for the 8th Symphony which was very nice. Sonically DG didn't seem that good on that set.
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