Karajans Beethoven symphonies recordings compared

quote:

---

The second cycle, recorded in the mid-70s, is generally not as successful overall (in my view), although it has its admirers

---

I am part of them, as the sound quality is way better (in stereo and with a lot less reverb) and the BPO seemed to be at its best in the late seventies. The 9th, with its outstanding soloists (José van Dam especially), is a gem.

Otherwise I agree with Ross, Herbert von K has had his ups and downs but indeed it is difficult to find a much better complete set. If you go for well-recorded single performances, have a listen to Carlos Kleiber's fourth, fifth and seventh.

And of course Böhm's 6th and 9th if you're not in a hurry

Cheese

Ah, Karajan. Where can one find recordings by this underestimated artist? They are rare indeed. Ross’s assessment is generally accurate, but he goes a little easy on the later recordings and he leaves out Fluffy’s first cycle for EMI.

I admit that I have not yet heard, nor do I own, a complete Beethoven symphony cycle by Karajan. I have, however, heard a number of performances from all four of his cycles. (The library and local classical radio station both appear to have healthy selections of Karajan recordings.) From what I have heard so far I would say the earlier the recording, the better. The EMI set with the Philharmonia is a mixed stereo/mono set and judging from the Fifth, Sixth, and Ninth (which I do own), I’d say this is the one to own. Orchestral textures are a little lighter than later, and tempos mostly swifter and more effective. The Ninth has one of the best recorded scherzos yet committed to disc. I’ve often contemplated buying this set, but I find it difficult to pay high mid-price for such old recordings. Eventually I may break down and just do it.

The second cycle with the Berlin Philharmonic is quite good. It’s so cheap now that I may have to buy it just for a lark. This Fifth is the first one I heard in its entirety and it left an impression. I’ve also heard the Third, Sixth, and Ninth and overall this sounds like an excellent set. Better are available, but this is quite good.

From the 70s set, if I remember correctly, I’ve heard only the Fourth and Seventh. I don’t remember liking the former, and I was only lukewarm on the latter. Just listening to these two symphonies does not make for a completely balanced assessment, but based on what I heard, and based on what Karajan’s recorded performances from the time are like, I’d say stick with the earlier sets.

The 80s set sucks. Avoid it. (I actually have not sat through an entire performance from this set.)

I also noticed that Ross took an opportunity to spread his misguided opinions about Furtwangler. Just terrible. Everyone with taste knows that the Wilhelm’s best Beethoven recordings are among the best recordings yet made. Who really betters his Pastoral or Ninth? Of course, there is the problem of which recording to get, but even going for the EMI set yields wonderful music making.



"The universe is change, life is opinion." Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

Among various treasures from the early sixties, my mother has a couple symphonies of the first BPO Beethoven cycle Aitch von Kay recorded. For some weird reason I happen to own the entire seventies box, complete with a big glossy book with pictorials of the various orchestra sections in the new Philharmonie building. Impressive sideburns on those guys, while at that time Kay's quest for bigger 'n' better was already well in evidence. The playing is pretty good, obviously, but it's just too monumental. The whole fun aspect of Beethoven - and there's plenty of that - disappears, because in these recordings it's all about power and crisis.

Having thus addressed the query. I'd also like to say that possibly there's one thing worse than what happened to those Beethovens in Aitch von Kay's waning years. And that's the way his successor Claudio Abbado turned out to be the fall guy. Kay records still sell. Abbado records don’t, because we associate the BPO with bloat.

Being a Beethoven Fourth nut I have Abbaddo's 1999 Fourth (coupled with the Eroica) and I have to say it's one of the best I have. It's lithe, plucky and has just the right amount of bang. The orchestral discipline is flawless, and yet it's like they’re having a party.

I sat down with a friend recently and compared a shitload of Fourths, and Abbado was one of the best. Harnoncourt was pretty good too. The renowned Carlos Kleiber (Bavarian / Orfeo) has a lot of energy, but as usual Kleiber achieves that energy at the expense of subtlety and characterisation. And let's face it; the orchestra could be better. One of the worst was (IMO) the recent Rattle. Obviously the Vienna is the best orchestra in the world for this kind of music, but good lord, Rattle puts a symphony's worth of characterisation into a single phrase. It's like he's trying out-Mahler Bernstein.

Oh dear, I guess we skipped von Kay…

Herman

You like Abbado, Herman? Goodness. So do I. The local classical station has played most of his most recent set over the past two years, and I have been uniformly impressed. So much so that I may even buy the whole box. And I never buy new, full-priced boxes. (Well, maybe occasionally I do.) I have yet to hear his Fourth, but the First is smokin' and the Seventh is simply amazing. He easily beats HvK, IMHO.

And I also agree that Rattle ain't no good. NPR played the entire set over two weeks, and while I only caught the complete Fifth and portions of five of the other eight, I can say that I heard almost nothing that I liked.



"The universe is change, life is opinion." Marcus Aurelius, Meditations