Beethoven: The Complete Symphonies and Piano Concertos
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Music CD Cover Performer: Hans Hotter Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven Conductor: Otto Klemperer Performer: Christa Ludwig Orchestra: New Philharmonia Orchestra Orchestra: Philharmonia Orchestra Orchestra: Philharmonia Orchestra of London Performer: Daniel Barenboim Performer: Aase Nordmo Lovberg Performer: Aase Nordmo-Løvberg Performer: Waldemar Kmentt Edition: Music CD Format: Box set, Limited Edition, Original recording reissued CD Release Date: 2000-11-07 Music Label: EMI Classics Soundtracks: Music CD 1
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Free Music Notes for Beethoven: The Complete Symphonies and Piano Concertos Album
Free Music Review: Grab it while it's available!
Hit: 5 Stars
When I read such comments as "hopelessly old-fashioned, dark,heavy, and frequently very slow," I can't believe your reviewers
heard the same recordings I did. This nine-CD album is an
astonishing achievement and a wonderful contribution to the
recording legacy of Otto Klemperer and the Philharmonia (or New
Philharmonia after 1964). Any lover of classical music should
immediately order this set while it is still in the catalog.
Please ignore the carping by some critics that Klemperer indulges
in "impossibly slow tempos." These people ignore the fact that
Klemperer often delivers quite brisk tempi when it suits his
interpretation of the score. Perhaps such critics prefer to
hear every classical piece performed at precisely the metronome
setting they feel matches the tempo markings of the composer, but
that could result in every recording of a work sounding the same.
Klemperer was a maestro who knew what he wanted, and he made sure
his orchestra knew it as well. His output with the Philharmonia
and New Philharmonia included numerous major works ranked by
prominent critics as among the "great recordings of all time."
Sure, there are other conductors with faster, even MUCH faster,
versions of the Beethoven symphonies and concerti and overtures.
Sir Georg Solti and William Steinberg come to mind, and some
critics hated their performances for being TOO fast. But there
are others even slower than Klemperer's slowest passages. I have
numerous versions of the Beethoven symphonies and piano concerti
(LP and CD) in my collection, and I enjoy the differences in
approach of such conductors as Solti, Ashkenazy, Karajan, Boehm,
Kleiber, Furtwangler, Toscanini, Monteux, Stokowski, and others,
even when accompanied by groans, moans, and occasional editing
of the scores. But I challenge anybody to identify a more
majestic set of Beethoven symphonies and concerti than this
Klemperer album. I want especially to compliment the five piano
concerti (featuring Daniel Barenboim as soloist). The sound of
these performances is markedly superior to the original vinyl
records, and the tempi are definitely not a drag. Add to that
the inclusion of the three Leonore overtures and the various
other pieces, and you have an amazing value as well as superb
performances. The only things I would have liked to add are the
Violin Concerto (with Yehudi Menuhin as soloist)and the Fidelio
overture. Incidentally, for those enthusiasts of vinyl records,
let me add that the CD sound (remastered with 24-bit technology)
is every bit as good, and often better than those Angel records,
and there are no unfortunate breaks in movements, such as in the
second movement of the Angel LP of the "Eroica" symphony.