Beethoven: The Masterworks (Box Set)
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Free Music Notes for Beethoven: The Masterworks (Box Set)
Free Music Review: I Love This Box!
Hit: 5 Stars
I highly recommend the recordings of the symphonies (Herbert Blomstedt conducting the Dresden Staatskapelle). They are also issued (on the same label, Brilliant Classics) seperately in their own box, which is a "Recommended Recording" at ArkivMusic.com. Beethoven: Complete Symphonies (Box Set)
I have yet to listen to more than a handful of the other discs, but so far in my estimation they range from excellent to superb.
Besides, how can you beat digital Ludwig at less than 2 bucks per disc?!?
Go for it - I'm glad I did!
Free Music Review: Mostly good
Hit: 4 Stars
A bit of a mixed bag. The symphonies are superb. This is one of the great symphony cycles. The piano sonatas are good, very good (analog) sound. The quartets are well recorded indeed, but there are better cycles out there. The rest is OK, and the sound is genrally good. Free Music Review: Look at the List of Performers First
Hit: 3 Stars
If you want most of Beethoven sitting on one bookshelf, this is a great bargain (especially if you shop for it on amazon.de). But few if any of the performances represent the pinnacles of interpretation that most listeners demand when Beethoven is the composer. The symphonies for instance: can Blomstedt be compared to Furtwangler or (if you lean toward historically informed instrumentation) Gardiner? Most amazingly, the artists who perform the quartets -- the heart of Beethoven's music -- are not even named in the listing.
On the other hand: Vivaldi: The Masterworks is a collection including the very best interpreters, such as Fabio Biondi! Bach Edition (complete Bach) is a fabulous selection of recordings made over 20 years, and almost the same praise can be given the Complete Mozart.
Free Music Review: this "masterworks" series is available much more cheaply from Amazon France
Hit: 5 Stars
there are several sets in this series and it's much cheaper to buy these from Amazon France.
included are bach, beethoven, vivaldi, brahms, dvorak, schubert, handel, hayden, and mendelssohn.
they're even cheaper than the list price once u go through the checkout (VAT is removed for overseas (out-of-france) purchases).
**also, the 'complete works of mozart' set is much cheaper there (or at Amazon Germany), too. the 'complete works of bach' is due out later this year.
Free Music Review: You heard guy below: Beethoven needs the royality checks!
Hit: 3 Stars
There is quality beyond the Austrian green cardboard (which is lovely to look at, to say the least). In fact, the performance of the symphonies (Dresden Staatskapelle and Herbert Blomstedt) is alone worth the price. The Staatskapelle is a solid group, and Blomstedt, although less wellknown, holds his own. It should be mentioned that Blomstedt recorded many of the most celebrated 20th composition CDs on the market, and definitely knows his stuff. Peter Wohlert recorded mostly for compiliation lables, but to be selected by the Berlin Phil shows that he is a formdiable conductor in rank as well.
Should you buy this collection then? Given the fact that each CD cost $1.75, there is definitely the bargin factor. However, Beethoven's music desveres the top interpreters and musicians of our time - and this applies for all of his music, not just the symphonic. If you are into bargins, then proceed to buy this collection. However, if you save up a bit more, you can buy Karajan's 1963 Beethovens symphonies along with Kempff's 1956 sonata cycles for just a bit more than 70 bucks. Shop around for the string quartets, and the complete overtures should range anywhere from 15 to 30 bucks depending on the conductor/ensemble.
Overall, this is certainly an exceptional bargin. However, quality matter more than money. Besides, chicks dig people with sophisticated tastes.
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