Favorite Beethoven Symphony Recordings


OK, it’s one of Ludwigs anniversary years.  There must be over 200 complete Symphony Cycles, with seemingly dozens this year alone.  While most Classical listeners are bound to have several, we can’t possibly know them all.  Make a list of favorites of each work, try not to repeat a Conductor if possible.
1-Hogwood/AAM
2) Krips/LSO
3) Furtwangler/Vienna PO (1944)
4) Szell/Cleveland
5) Kleiber/VPO
6) Walter/Columbia SO
7) Solti/Chicago (1970s cycle)
8) Gardiner-Revolutionary Romantic etc. Orchestra 
9) Von Karajan/ Berlin PO (sixties)

mahler123
KUSC(SoCal 91.5) is doing Beethoven all day the 16th, for anyone who listens to FM or streams.


Bruno Walter is always a good choice.  I also like Eugen "Mammy" Jochum.  What can I say?  I love Zube's and the L.A. Phil's Seventh on London/Decca.
Complete Cycle:
Herbert von Karajan -- Berlin -- 1963 / 1977
John Eliot Gardiner  --  Orchestre Revolutionnaire et Romantique
Riccardo Chailly  --  Gewandhausorchester

9th:
Karl Bohm  --  Wiener  --  Norman, Domingo, Fassbaender, Berry
George Szell  --  Cleveland Orchestra  --  Robert Shaw, Choir Director

5&7:
Carlos Kleiber -- Wiener

Cheers


I’ve been playing that sixties Karajan cycle frequently.  It just sounds so “right” in so many places...
Agree on the HvK 1963 cycle.  The 3rd and 7th remain my favorites to this day.
I realize this is silly, but I judge all cycles by the 9th.  If there is nothing unique about the 9th, it's ho-hum.

Cheers
My favorite 1-9 is David Zinman  with the Zurich Tonhalle on Arte Nova.Great Sound and balance .
Mackerras with SCO on Hyperion is also a winner .
I second the nomination of Zinman for the full cycle.  Similar in approach to the Vanska/Minnesota SACD recordings, but better sound IMO (notwithstanding the SACD)

For individual symphonies, the new 3rd and 7th symphony recordings by Honeck and the Pittsburgh Orchestra are great performances and great recordings.
Carlos Kleiber 5 & 7
Furtwangler 9th Beyruth  Festival  (?1943)

Karajan 1963 full cycle 
I like the Zinman  cycle.  The Honeck  3 and 7 are fine recordings, if not particularly memorable, imo.
When I want to hear one, I just grab what's most ready to hand, so it's hard to judge.  But I'd put in a plug for Bruggen and the 18th-c-Orchestra for the 7th.   (Although the recording isn't nearly as thrilling as the live performance I heard them do, which totally blew me away).
Here is link to  Mengelberg complete symphonies:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCAsQBSXIII

Youtube so limited sound, still a conductor I was not familiar with.


Thanks to those of you that mentioned the Zinman recording. Forgot about it. Was on the shelf gathering dust. Playing it now. Really outstanding in performance and sound.
The new Jordi Savall cycle is worth hearing; they only finished 1-5 before having to adjourn due to Covid.
re: Mangleburg, I wouldn’t worry about You Tube sound, given the limited frequency response of the original source, you won’t be missing out.  For historical choices, I prefer Furtwangler, Weingatner, and Toscanini.