Bunnyears
Headphoneus Supremus
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This thread has inspired me to listen to some of the many Beethoven cycles that I have accumulated.
Zinman continues to please as does the Gardiner, and edges out the Mackerras except perhaps for the 9th. It is very similar to the Zinman and uses the same new edition of the composer's works.
Norrington (live recordings on Hannsler): fun but not essential except for the Ninth which works out some problems of tempo in the most convincing way.
Blomstedt Beethoven Symphonies 1-9, Brilliant Classics. This set is so very good that I don't understand why more people don't have it! I continue to say that the Ninth is the best sung of all, especially the soloists who are just perfect. It's also priced extremely well.
Cluytens: the more I hear it the more annoyed I am by all of the tape hiss. Good interpretation and performance no longer is the only thing to consider when buying now that there are better recorded offerings.
Barenboim: Much maligned, it's early symphonies are terrific, the 6th (Pastorale) and 7th are outstanding, the 8th and 9th are also excellent. It's Ninth harks back to Furtwängler and is particularly satisfying. There is no symphony that is not performed well (including the Eroica which is probably the weakest in the set and the 5th which also is not as well done as the rest but still at a very high standard), and the sound quality is A-1. As a set it is extremely good and unbelievably well priced, especially in the budget boxed set released in UK which also includes the overtures. It's not Beethoven for period purists but it cannot and should not be dismissed as soporific. This is expansive, plummy sounding Beethoven that is so German one wonders if Barenboim were not born in Vienna or Berlin rather than Buenos Aires.
Szell as usual is wonderful, but the uneven sound quality and tape hiss has begun to tell. There is also a precision, a perfection of execution and dare I say it, a coldness that I am valuing less as time goes by. Perhaps someone summed it up well when they told me they like Beethoven with a little mud on the boots. With newer and more modern recordings all in the offing, I don't think that it will remain a top choice for me for much longer.
Of particular interest to anyone is the cycle now being recorded by Thomas Fey (student of Nikolaus Harnoncourt) and the Heidelberger Symphoniker (Hannsler). I have the first volume consisting of Symphonies 1 and 2 and the second volume consisting of the 4th and 6th. These are such excellent recordings that I recommend that anyone who comes across them buy them. His first forays are so much better than that of his teacher (Harnoncourt fans take note). Again sound quality is outstanding. Hopefully there are more that will soon become available. (Note: Fey's Haydn Symphonies are also amazing)
Hogwood's cycle is perhaps the big surprise to me. This set does better with the earlier symphonies but I'm finding it more interesting today than I did years ago when I first starting collecting the individual symphonies. I think this is a set that will be reevaluated up and down as time goes on. Whatever it is, it's not boring. You either love it or hate it, and on any particular day, I do.
Harnoncourt: I don't think this cycle is completely successful. I love certain of the symphonies, detest others. Sound quality is excellent but my problems begin with the compromise that Harnoncourt made at the beginning: It is a period performance with modern instruments except for the brass. It sounds strange to me as a result and some of the tempo choices just leave me cold. Harnoncourt is probably my favorite conductor living today because he experiments so bravely. He flies without a net but unfortunately sometimes he crashes, and crashed he has especially with the Pastorale which is completely awful in my estimation. This is a great set for someone who collects multiple sets but it should not be the choice of anyone who is just buying one Beethoven.
Which leaves the HvK cycle. I only have the 1963 set and I will freely admit that I hate Hvk because of his history during WW2. It's a prejudice that I have struggled with but it remains so I will not comment about his work.
I have the recently re-released Bernstein Beethoven (Sony) but with the exception of the Eroica, I haven't yet had the chance to listen closely. The Eroica ofcourse is a highly lauded recorded recording, so I am looking forward to a better acquaintance with these.
I will comment briefly on the Schmidt-Isserstedt cycle as I haven't listened to it in a while. It is well enough done in the German tradition, but I do recall significant tape hiss (inevitable for the date of its recording). It's packaged with the Backhaus piano concertos and Szeryng violin concerto, any of which I like or dislike on a given day. S-I was not scrupulous about Beethoven's tempos nor repeats (nor was Backhaus for that matter), but they are good examples of a style of playing which is no longer in fashion. This set is more of an historical curiousity rather than essential and more for the collector than someone who just wants one or perhaps two Beethoven cycles.
Zinman continues to please as does the Gardiner, and edges out the Mackerras except perhaps for the 9th. It is very similar to the Zinman and uses the same new edition of the composer's works.
Norrington (live recordings on Hannsler): fun but not essential except for the Ninth which works out some problems of tempo in the most convincing way.
Blomstedt Beethoven Symphonies 1-9, Brilliant Classics. This set is so very good that I don't understand why more people don't have it! I continue to say that the Ninth is the best sung of all, especially the soloists who are just perfect. It's also priced extremely well.
Cluytens: the more I hear it the more annoyed I am by all of the tape hiss. Good interpretation and performance no longer is the only thing to consider when buying now that there are better recorded offerings.
Barenboim: Much maligned, it's early symphonies are terrific, the 6th (Pastorale) and 7th are outstanding, the 8th and 9th are also excellent. It's Ninth harks back to Furtwängler and is particularly satisfying. There is no symphony that is not performed well (including the Eroica which is probably the weakest in the set and the 5th which also is not as well done as the rest but still at a very high standard), and the sound quality is A-1. As a set it is extremely good and unbelievably well priced, especially in the budget boxed set released in UK which also includes the overtures. It's not Beethoven for period purists but it cannot and should not be dismissed as soporific. This is expansive, plummy sounding Beethoven that is so German one wonders if Barenboim were not born in Vienna or Berlin rather than Buenos Aires.
Szell as usual is wonderful, but the uneven sound quality and tape hiss has begun to tell. There is also a precision, a perfection of execution and dare I say it, a coldness that I am valuing less as time goes by. Perhaps someone summed it up well when they told me they like Beethoven with a little mud on the boots. With newer and more modern recordings all in the offing, I don't think that it will remain a top choice for me for much longer.
Of particular interest to anyone is the cycle now being recorded by Thomas Fey (student of Nikolaus Harnoncourt) and the Heidelberger Symphoniker (Hannsler). I have the first volume consisting of Symphonies 1 and 2 and the second volume consisting of the 4th and 6th. These are such excellent recordings that I recommend that anyone who comes across them buy them. His first forays are so much better than that of his teacher (Harnoncourt fans take note). Again sound quality is outstanding. Hopefully there are more that will soon become available. (Note: Fey's Haydn Symphonies are also amazing)
Hogwood's cycle is perhaps the big surprise to me. This set does better with the earlier symphonies but I'm finding it more interesting today than I did years ago when I first starting collecting the individual symphonies. I think this is a set that will be reevaluated up and down as time goes on. Whatever it is, it's not boring. You either love it or hate it, and on any particular day, I do.
Harnoncourt: I don't think this cycle is completely successful. I love certain of the symphonies, detest others. Sound quality is excellent but my problems begin with the compromise that Harnoncourt made at the beginning: It is a period performance with modern instruments except for the brass. It sounds strange to me as a result and some of the tempo choices just leave me cold. Harnoncourt is probably my favorite conductor living today because he experiments so bravely. He flies without a net but unfortunately sometimes he crashes, and crashed he has especially with the Pastorale which is completely awful in my estimation. This is a great set for someone who collects multiple sets but it should not be the choice of anyone who is just buying one Beethoven.
Which leaves the HvK cycle. I only have the 1963 set and I will freely admit that I hate Hvk because of his history during WW2. It's a prejudice that I have struggled with but it remains so I will not comment about his work.
I have the recently re-released Bernstein Beethoven (Sony) but with the exception of the Eroica, I haven't yet had the chance to listen closely. The Eroica ofcourse is a highly lauded recorded recording, so I am looking forward to a better acquaintance with these.
I will comment briefly on the Schmidt-Isserstedt cycle as I haven't listened to it in a while. It is well enough done in the German tradition, but I do recall significant tape hiss (inevitable for the date of its recording). It's packaged with the Backhaus piano concertos and Szeryng violin concerto, any of which I like or dislike on a given day. S-I was not scrupulous about Beethoven's tempos nor repeats (nor was Backhaus for that matter), but they are good examples of a style of playing which is no longer in fashion. This set is more of an historical curiousity rather than essential and more for the collector than someone who just wants one or perhaps two Beethoven cycles.
