Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Something of the Wunderkind, 21 Feb 2009
I admire many of Karajan's recordings some of which are truly great but not, as a rule, his Beethoven. This is mainly because of his later stereo recordings, the last of which in the 1980s was frankly a mistake which did him no favours. This set is something different. There is still the freshness that was so admired in the 1940s and one feels a sense of greatness at times. I too return to these recordings if I wish to listen to his Beethoven, by far the most satisfying of the 4 cycles. But, if you are looking for truly great Beethoven and don't mind mono or ADD etc I would say go for a mixture of Erich Kleiber and son Carlos the mono Klemperer and Furtwangler, not forgetting Weingartner of course. I'm sorry to say the more modern accounts leave me a bit cold, too "fashion" conscious for me and not getting to the heart of the music. If you don't have a complete cycle and are looking for one, this is strongly recommended.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Karajan's Finest Beethoven Set, 5 Feb 2009
After many years of both Beethoven and Karajan, I have come full circle and must now insist to the casual reader that this particular cycle is HvK's best Beethoven offering. These mono recordings, made in the excellent Kingsway Hall, are more personable and more successful in conveying Karajan's stated aim - a blend of Toscanini's precision and Furtwangler's fantasy. The Philharmonia were a brand new orchestra, not created for karajan as such, but it probably felt that way.
For me, the celebrated 1962 set with the BPO is Karajan with his Toscanini hat on: too fast, too brilliant, too soulless. The 1977 box restores the depth and heart to Karajan's Beethoven, but now the overall sound picture begins to bother me. The strings are too dominant and the timps too...well...tea-tray like. Don't get me wrong, it's a great cycle but the Philharmonia sessions are a joy from start to finish.
So what if it's mostly mono? This was the high noon of mono, Karajan had a great recording team and believe-you-me, people more interested in technology than music are already calling DDD stereo 'old' and starting to drool over Blu-Ray audio or whatever. No, remastered mono can be as satisfying as any incarnation of stereo, and at this price, why hesitate. These days, it's becoming harder and harder to find a set where all nine symphonies are done superbly. EMI's latest reissue is timely and really a must have, if only to compliment your latest fashionable conductor's Beethoven (be it Zinman, Abbado, Rattle, etc).
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1 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Brilliant but mono, of course, 13 Feb 2009
Value for money because of the excellence of Karajan and BSO but mono doesn't compare to today's quality of sound recording.
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