Ludwig van Beethoven: 9 Symphonien
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Free Music Notes for Ludwig van Beethoven: 9 Symphonien
Free Music Review: *The* best Beethoven symphony collection
Hit: 5 Stars
Being a fanatic Beethoven aficionado, I own no less than seven sets of Beethoven's symphonies (plus many individual symphony recordings), ranging from NBC's 40s recordings to the recent NYP's Beethoven cycle. But of them all, this Karajan set is simply the best. Later Karajans (of which I own two more) tend to sound shallow and too fast, while this original cycle gets the music just right, esp. for the later symphonies (7 through 9). If you have to own just one set of Beethoven's symphonies -- and I personally think every human being should own one set -- make this your pick.Free Music Review: Yooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hit: 5 Stars
Wuzup ma Classical Muzak Freaks!!! How are ya tonight!!!!!
Everyone in da house, know that ma gangsta Beethoven is da man, the spoonie roonie, the biggest dog in da neighborhood, the biggest time playa in da bizz. Da best that our good ol planet earth has to offer. If you ain't like Beethoven, you are a poser.
Now, here we have a collection of da 9 symphonies. Some of the most phat stuff avaiable today.Now what I'm saying. Here, ma guy Herbert Von Karajen directs the pimps of da orchestra like few in da bizz can do.
As you playas know, this is not da best version of da Symphonies BUT, there's something that makes this thing a 5 star product. THE PRICE. Yeahh dawg, da price is gangsta. 35 Bucks!!! That's the best price for da 9 Symphonies. Also, is a good place to start if you still don't own other versions of da Symphonies and is also a cool gift. Now what a you waiting for? Get you a$$ outta that chair and take out those 35 green pictures of George and give them to da guy in da muzak store. Ok Collection, Excellent Price and da composer is DA BEST.
G-W-G-T-I-CH
Free Music Review: Buy the cycle or mix and match.
Hit: 5 Stars
Classical music buffs looking to build a collection would find themselves bewildered by the sheer number of performances available for each individual composition. Which version to buy? It's a lot of trouble to mix and match. Buy the Beethoven Symphony #1 conducted by John Doe, #2 by Dave Smith, etc.
I usually buy entire boxed sets because it's a simpler purchase decision AND I can generally find at least one consistently great performance standard amongst the available sets. Try buying all the symphonies by Haydn by mixing and matching! Suffice it to say that this first cycle by Karajan is among the very best...AND it's cheap too. Recording dates don't have any necessary correlation to performance or audio quality in general, and this recording has both good sound quality and superb performances. Karajan has a tight, taut, powerful, intense interpretation, and his Beethoven sounds like Beethoven.
If you buy this Beethoven set, you won't be missing much by not purchasing other sets.
Free Music Review: Karajan's Idea of the Hero
Hit: 3 Stars
This has always been the most controversial of Karajan's 3 Beethoven cycles. It encapsulates the musical controversey surrounding him pretty well. Lest you get the wrong idea, I would really like to rate this collection at 3 1/2 stars because it is the first Beethoven cycle I ever owned on CD, and its virtues are undeniable, but so are its drawbacks.
Let's discuss the virtues first. To begin with, there is that glorious, full-bodied sound that Karajan got out of the Berlin Philharmonic, the kind of rich and vibrant sonorites that immediately said that you were listening to Karajan the the Berlin Philharmonic in the first couple of bars. It's quite an achievement. The only thing like it on record is what Stowkowski
did with the Philadelphia Orchestra. Here, Karajan cranks it up an extra notch to let you know in no uncertain terms that this is Beethoven and this is heroic music (more on this later)! Added to that is the famous Karajan precision of attack. At his best, Karajan could rival Toscanini for the discipline which he enforced on his orchestra, and he certainly does so here.
So, what's wrong?
These recordings give you an insight into how Karajan viewed Beethoven's music, and that view is unquestionably heroic. Yet, it is a heroism oddly devoid of the feeling we associate with Beethoven and his romanticism. Make no mistake, there is much romanticism here, but it is more akin to Nietzsche than to Goethe. Karajan here gives us a Beethoven cycle that looks down from Olympian heights, but is oddly devoid of the suffering, toil and struggle it took to get there. Karajan's approach to the "Eroica" typifies this. The sonic edifice, the musical architecture are magnificient. All hail the Master Builder, but the struggles and toil of the ordinary humans who put it together are purposefully and perversely missing from the picture. Beethoven knew he was a genius, but that genius lay not in his awareness of how exceptional he was (and he certainly was aware of that!), but how connected he was to every human being and every human experience. Compare any of these recordings to the way Furtwangler conducts them and you'll HEAR what I mean.
These performances are like a magnificent cathedral which has been turned into a museum: brilliant and awe-inspiring, and devoid of the disorderly rabble of humans who come to worship there.
Someone should have told Karajan they come not to worship the artist... even if it's Beethoven... but God. It probably would not have made any difference to him anyhow.
Free Music Review: about that 6th...
Hit: 5 Stars
this is a review of the much-maligned pastoral symphony is this set. most find fault with its fleet tempos but after listening to the much lauded bohm and walter, i find this is the only pastoral that doesn't put me to sleep, especially in the first movement. where with bohm you feel like it's a funeral march through the countryside, with karajan it actually feels like a joyous outing, full of sunshine, blue skies, and fresh air. it captures the sense of coming alive upon entering nature that the other recordings miss. my only gripe with this recording is that it has the karajan trademark string-laden sound. for the pastoral, i'd prefer a better balance with the winds. other than that, this is an excellent 6th. oh, the the rest of the cycle is pretty good, too!