Your Preferred Ninth? Four Seasons?

Our Beethoven symphonies are Immerseel

Bought them on the recommendation of this forum. Very happy with them, too.

Our Four Seaons are from Hogwood and the Academy of Ancient Music.

We enjoy these, too.

Hogwood and the AAM is always a good choice.  I have enjoyed this one:

And for the Beethoven:

Winky: Thanks very much.  If you can, would you break down your opinion of the Immerseel and Hogwood albums respectively as to your enjoyment of a) the performance and b) the sound quality?

DrMark: Funny.  I said I did not have the Vivaldi at present--but when I saw those five fellows really seeming to yuk it up during the photo session for the album art, it jarred my memory--that I had seen it back in one of our strorage units (we are temporarily living in an apartment about the size of an old fashioned outhouse).  So tomorrow I will go fetch and play it.  And yes, Von Karajan may know a thing or two about Ludwig.  I will listen to these and Winky's recommendations--and any others that pop up, on a popular listening site.  Thanks!

Russ

The big band string quartet version of the Vivaldi looks intriguing. Do these fellows share the movements between them?

EJ

I'm perhaps not really the guy to do this. I don't know enough about what I'm listening too, really. Having said that, we go to the VSO quite often. Each of these records passes the test of being a reasonable facsimile of the live instruments (to my ears).

The Immerseel is well balanced and rich sounding, capturing the harmonics of the instruments well.

The Vivaldi can be a bit "sharp" or bright due to the traditional instruments, perhaps. We saw a traditional instrument performance last year and that too was a different sound to mainstream classical music. Still very listenable on our current rig. On a previous set-up it was a little bit "brittle" sounding.

In terms of performance, well they both seem great to me. Each seems well regarded by others.

Thanks, Winky.

Some time ago there was a thread on the Beethoven symphonies. It made me dig up the various recordings I have, and - slightly to my surprise - found that Bernstein's Vienna set was a clear favorite. It's not recorded especially well (live, but no audience interaction), and it's firmly in the traditional camp. Modern recordings tend to be lighter and faster, which especially hurts this symphony IMO. However, if you prefer a leaner sound, Immerseel is very good, as is Norrington (another surprise to me).

EJ 

This will blow yer socks off   :

Absolutely brilliant................. if a bit unconventional !

And this is interesting.........

..... and excellently recorded

Each "season" was performed by a different soloist.

I just listened to the CD, dug out of storage for the occasion, with Stern, Zukerman, Mintz, Perlman--with Zubin Mehta--and I don't know if I listened to anything with better sound quality than that whether my old heart could stand it.  As my grandfather would have said: "Those boys can fiddle."

Russ

I very much appreciate everyone's suggestions.  I tend not to go for boxed sets--although there are exceptions.  I am like a majority of folks, I think, in favoring Kleiber's version of the Fifth, and have settled on that as my "definitive" rendition.  I have the CD and will be downloading the 24 x 96 in order to do a listening test to see if my ear can hear any difference.  I also very much like the DG of Vivaldi, but will also download the Avison group at 24 x 192, again as a test of my ability, or lack thereof, to distinguish any differences in SQ. 

I have not been able to find the exact performance by Von Karajan anywhere on Youtube--but I have heard other performances of his there and like them very much.  So I will order that CD.

I have to admit that I tend to be taken by the more spectacular--dare I say bombastic performances--at least with respect to symphonic music and piano concerti. 

Best regards,

Russ

After listening to it a couple of days ago I'll update this to say the Vivaldi sounds absolutely great through the S600s. Well beyond just "listenable".

This is my copy of Beethoven's Ninth on Vinyl  The 8Th is not bad ,but the 9th is not one of the best!

Some people may disagree, but imo these two are the best, both in terms of sound and performance:

Thanks, Joe.  I'll try to give a listen to both if I can.

Russ

John Holloway in the Four Seasons, and Otto Klemperer - the best one is live on Testament about 1960/1 - and neither are great recordings as such, but they do represent peaks of artistic achievement in the music concerned, which is more important ...

ATB from George

George: I agree with you wholeheartedly that the quality of the performance is more important than the quality of the recording--one has only to listen to scratchy recordings of Caruso to agree with that proposition.  However, I find myself (at the moment--with the first decent system I have had in over a quarter century--indeed the best I have ever owned) wanting to highlight its capabilites with the best combination of performance AND SQ I can find.  This will almost certainly wear off fairly soon! 

I am a fairly good judge of the quality of piano solos and concertos--and to a lesser extent, violin (although I have to confess to a certain weakness for flourish and bravado over exact interpretation of the composer's wishes (my teacher used to yell over my shoulder: "Exhaust the printed page!".  Symphonic and chamber music, I find more difficult to judge in terms of quality of performance.  I almost think one has to have done some conducting to judge well what is going on with that.

Best regards,

Russ

Or playing - with or without a conductor ...

But a truly great reading, such as Klemperer's of the Choral, is apparent to any with ears to listen.

The score will confirm for those with eyes to read the music.

Leave this till later, and you will over-come the narrow mono recording of an unprecedented real performance.

ATB from from George

You're welcome, Russ. Well, if you guys don't mind good old mono with few clicks and pops here and there, make sure you check this one out: 

Some of my favorite Beethoven conductors are Kletzki, Kleiber and Fricsay, and, of course, Toscanini, but this is the only Beethoven I've been listening to since I laid my hands on it. Recorded between '42 and '44. Awesome stuff.

Joe

This has been a very helpful thread.  With all the albums available for these two titles, it is nice to have some suggestions.  I have 2 copies of Ninth Symphony that I am not thrilled with, but I am a bit overwhelmed with the choices.  These will make the next selection much easier. 

Pat