Beethoven Symphony Recordings - Which Should You Get? 

Thank you for these wonderful episodes on music.

Ed. I have only just discovered your channel, and I am really enjoying your classical music videos. I think your presentation style is excellent too. Very engaging. You are very likeable. Thanks

After watching this video it suddenly occurred to me what a great educator you are. I am not a classical music person and typically would not have a lot of interest in the subject, but after listening to you for just a couple of minutes I found I wanted to know more. It was definitely interesting. I think I see a 1963 Herbert Vanar CD set in my future, I need to find out what I've missed. Thanks Ed.

David Zinman / Zurich Tonnhalle Orchestra. A very nice set of Beethoven symphonies.

Great overview of Beethoven’s symphonies. I agree with a lot especially both Erich and Carlos Kleiber. I would offer 3 cycles that I think are not that well known: Hermann Scherchen (mono) 1951-1954 with the Vienna State Opera Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic and English Baroque Orchestra. William Steinberg and the Pittsburgh. Herbert Kegel with the Dresden Philharmonic I’m also a Furtwangler fan, but find the sonic qualities hard to listen. Hopefully you saw the movie with Harvey Keitel about Furtwangler’s post war intrigue.

BRAVO ! Mr. Ting

Bruno Walter is undergoing a revival. You might enjoy his reference set of Mozart: The Last Six Symphonies. Lyrical, beautiful, impeccable in its taste.

Thanks for an excellent and thought-provoking review, Ed! I agree that the 1977 von Karajan 9th is a fantastic recording of that work, and it's the one I have in my rather small collection. Following your recommendation, I shall look for Christopher Hogwood's recording of the Eroica, which sounds intriguing!

After watching your outstanding video, I set out to find a collection of Bruno Walter's recordings with the Columbia Symphony Orchestra. On eBay I found Bruno Walter The Edition, perhaps the last shrink-wrapped copy of this huge 39 CD box. It has the famous Mozart: The Last Six Symphonies recordings, which I owned as a box of LPs long ago. But of course it has 36 other CDs as well, including the Beethoven symphony recordings that you mentioned, and a stunning booklet about the artist. There is something wonderful about this conductor and his inspired readings. I can only stratch my head, knowing that Hitler singled him out for persecution. What Germany lost, America and the rest of the world gained.

i watched bernstein's berlin concert on utube recently- he was an amazing conductor, watching him is literally part of the symphony- and the word change for that effort was imho a good one! your reviews are greatly appreciated, now do a few videos of you playing while your photos are showing on the screen- That would be beautiful!!!!!!!!

Ed, you could combine hobbies. The digital von Karajan set could help the azimuth of sticky old Dobs.

I Absolutely Love Beethoven,As Ive Played A Violin Since I Was 11 (54) Now..Fur Elise Is A Fav,Love All Of His Sonata’s.With Moonlight Being A Fav,This Is A Great Video Ed,Thank You…This Is A Pleasant Surprise😊🎻❤…

Any recording of Ludwig Van is a good one, but I prefer the Berlin Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra, symphony number nine.

My grandfather was a doctor, and huge classical music fan. He was colleagues with Leonard Bernstein’s physician, and saw to it that we’d see Leonard conduct Beethoven’s 7th for the final time at Tanglewood in August of 1990. My grandfather knew, through Lenny’s doctor - that there was very little time. I was just 6 years old, but I have memories of that concert, and the smell of the citronella candles on the shed lawn. Thank you for this Ed. Huge fan of the astronomy, but as an amateur piano player, your advice on albums is excellent.

I've got the Gardiner box set. It's like he was running late for a bus. Or trying to squeeze in two symphonies per disk.

This is a wonderful video. I checked out several LPs from my local library to hear Beethoven's work. It opened my mind and heart to classical music and is treasured today. One of the digital sets I bought as a 2014 release of Karajan with the Philharmonia Orchestra. The audio quality was poor and I regret the purchase. Your video helps me consider alternatives. Thanks!

I liked the Usual Beethoven Symphonies until I heard the Original Bruno Walter 6th on Columbia Stereo vinyl(MS-6012 6-eye). That's when the 6th became my favorite. Much like Violin Concertos, with Tchaikovsky(Jascha Heifeitz RCA LSC-2129 vinyl). Then I heard the Brahms by Leonid Kogan on UK Columbia(SAX-2307 vinyl). Perfect.

I agree with you that HVK '77 is a little better than '62. I also have a small preference for Bernstein/VPO over Karajan and agree that Walter is wonderful. But my favorite set is Szell/Cleveland. My favorite 7, after Kleiber the son, is Bernstein's second NYPO recording. And while I know it is an ideosyncratic choice, I think Solti's first 8 with the CSO is aces.

Do you happen to know the Interpretation from Paavo Järvi and the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen? I like that one a lot.

From earliest to most recently recorded, in my collection, I have Furtwangler, Klemperer, Szell, Hogwood, and Harnoncourt. My reaction to the last is mixed, and I don't know why. Lately I have warmed to Furtwangler, especially the Symphony No. 4, despite the variability of the sound in some of the other symphonies. Szell takes the symphonies at a relatively fast speed, but carries it off well.

nimbus recordings are ambisonicaly recoded (quadraphonic like) and encoded. To decode you need a ambisonic decoder or you can try Dolby surround on modern equipment or Dolby plLl . That may or may not be the issue with large amount of reverb in stereo. Some Nimbus recordinga are fantastic. The self righteousness is not encoded.

Thank you.

I’m reminded of a Pearl Jam diehard going deep into their live catalog

As a Beethoven's 7th fanboy, I've long had Karajan's 1962 and Kleiber's interpretations in my collection. Then I found a very nice copy of the Reader's Digest Beethoven Treasury 10 LP set at Goodwill for $3.00. I didn't have many expectations other than 'that's a whole lot of Beethoven for $3.00.' What a pleasant surprise. I thoroughly enjoyed Rene Leibowitz's interpretation of the 7th, and despite the paper-thin early '80s vinyl, it sounds fantastic. The only downside is the LPs are sequenced for use on a record changer, so you have to swap discs to listen to both sides.

Thanks, Ed! I have the Suitner/Staatskapelle Berlin set. It's served me well enough that I never invested in any others (unlike the 5 sets of Bach cello suites). I might check out some of the others you mentioned as favorites. Do you happen to have a recording of the Beethoven Choral Fantasy, Op 80, that you like? I had a chance to participate in a performance with John O'Connor some years ago and it was fascinating to hear some of the ideas from the 9th symphony starting to form.

Forgot - Beethoven 9’th Osmo Vanska conducting Minnesota Orchestra is a home run too

Thank you so much for this lesson / introduction on Beethoven. I am not very educated or qualified to comment on what is a good interpretation of Beethoven. However, months ago I was surfing You-tube and the algoritm served me Chicago Symphony's Version of Beethoven 9 - Riccardo Muti. I was looking for something to put on in the background that was easy to listen to and let me finish the assignment i was behind on. That was a delightful mistake, I was riveted and a interest was kindled. I have been going back to that video just because it was accessible, I liked it, and didn't know where to start and explore. Thank you for the list to explore. I went ahead and grabbed in FLAC the Kerbert von Karajan cycle (1963) to get started. I image i will work though this list for quite some time.

The Norrington Beethoven 2nd Symphony sound at the end of the 1st movement is the trumpets cranking up the intensity, not the horns. This must be a special Norrington touch since he asks for it in both the London Classical Players and the Stuttgart Radio Symphony recordings of the piece!

Hello Ed, I watch your astronomy videos with pleasure and I like this one on Beethoven also. May I a bit out of context suggest to listen to Nielsen 3. Symfoni from 1967 with Bernstein conducting the royal danish or for sonic heaven Alan Gilbert conducting the New York Philharmonics. 😊

I like the academy of ancient music version of the symphonies, but i'm an engineer - not a classical music expert. .

Great video Ed. I'm a huge fan of the Seventh and Ninth. Not so much a recording as a performance, one of my favourites of the 9th is Daniel Barenboim's 2012 Proms performance with the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra. The orchestra is made up of young musicans from many countries, but especially from Israel and Palestine. The performance also included the National Youth Choir of Great Britain, as well as critically acclaimed German and Russian soloists. For me, this performance personifies the spirit of the piece 'alle menschen werden brüder'... an incredibly important message in our troubled times...

The German tradition piled on the emotion to Beethoven symphonies up through Fricsay and Furtwängler, and those who love the 3-9 early Romantic symphonies, and Karajan carried on that tradition though perhaps a bit more moderately. We have to remember that Wagner also conducted Beethoven's 9th and though it the quintessential Romantic symphony. But with Toscanini, the notion that Beethoven was all emotion and no percussion was turned around. And who took on Toscanini's tradition of taking the actual marked tempi? Roger Norrington. Any fan of Beethoven needs the Norrington cycle in the collection in addition to the '63 Karajan and the Ferencsik (a natural descendant of Ferenc Fricsay), just to hear what it sounds like when the marked tempi and all those sforzandos are actually observed. Hogwood? Hmmm. I think of him as thinking something is ready to record when the orchestra can play through it without mistakes--just the thing people say in reference to Norrington. But that's the beauty of music and Beethoven symphonies in particular (and, for that matter, astronomy)--so may ways valid ways to approach it. (By the way, note the umlaut ä in Furtwängler--wang as in the computer designer back in the 70's :)

I have the 6th from Karajan's 70s cycle, and do love it, even if it sounds a little old. However I heard a recording I thought to be the same, but it was a more modern recording. ....... Best of both worlds. .... Sadly I cannot remember who conducted or the orchestra. I also have the 1960s cycle, but it sounds too old and not being in stereo does it no favours. I bought it ignorant that it was mono, from a download store for a few £s. Was excited by the bargain price, until I started listening. Teach me to google. I do listen sometimes, but as much a reference to decide if I want to buy more Beethoven symphonies. I want to buy more Beethoven symphonies, but I always end up in the same place. Not knowing which conductor, orchestra, or recording company. Hence after many deliberations over a few years, I still only have the Karajan 6th. I generally don't count the 60s cycle. The 6th symphony 70s cycle Karajan is particularly gorgeous though. It's so smooth, and he has instrument start-stop perfect for maybe 98% of the whole performance. The tonality and timbre he has evoked is unforgettable. Additionally, just in case you never cames across DACs from Chord Electronics, it's something you should look into. Chord DACs can tend to feel a little manual and quirky at first. They also take time to get used to. It can take a week of solid listening, or up to a month solid listening to be totally convinced. Some folk are convinced from the first album with a Chord DAC. It took time with me, because at first they can sound bright. However that it just because Chord DACs play bass right. ... Once you locate the bass treble balance with them, it's plain sailing. From the outset it becomes more obvious that they produce more detail than non-Chord DACs. (Long story - trust me.) The new experience of more detail can be overbearing, and also make the DAC sound bright. At first they can also sound metallic, and hollow. However all current Chord range DACs have perfect bass-treble balance, and full sound. They are a reference point in a music system, in that respect. I think one other hint when new to Chord DACs, is listen to music that you do not know well. Otherwise we are comparing the new DAC by what you expect to hear. Play music we don't know and we are hearing the DAC, not comparing the DAC.

What was the name of that magazine you briefly showed?