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recommended versions of Beethoven symphonies?

anybody got any favorite versions of Beethoven symphonies?
I just got into the 9th and am floored by it's brilliance. I would like to become familiar with the better recordings of it and the others (the best performances as good as available sonically). I have a vinyl copy whose sonics are great and the orchestra seems excellent; but I'm new to these waters. It is a Japanese pressing from 1977; dennon "pcm recording" (mfg'd by Nippon Columbia co.). vaclav neumann conducting the czech philharmonic orchestra; prague philharmonic choir. I stumbled on this in mint condition for $6.00 and it blew me away (very intricate and subtle instumentation). so i went out and got all 9 in a set on cd: the Karajan 1963 versions, remastered 1997 on Deutsche Grammaphone. this seems to be recommended by some as "the best". I dunno about that but the 9th and the 1st (all i've heard so far) are certainly amazing! very powerful! quite different in places in approach from the vinyl 9th described above.
So: what else should I seek out?
Thanks very much for your thoughts.
tagyerit
sugarbrie
3,854 posts
 
If you search by Beethoven in the old threads, you will get lots of hits. The thread I listed above is for a box set of all 9 symphonies. There are others recommending individual symphonies. The Kleiber 5th on DG is a top choice for that one for the perfomance.
tagyerit OP
73 posts
 
Sugarbrie, thanks. I just did some hunting and found a lot.
If anyone has a recommendation and did not post it before, please do. I want as much info and as many opinions as I can get.
yu11375
137 posts
 
Since Vaclav Neumann is mentioned here, I would like to suggest another recording of his live performance (dated December 14, 1989) of Beethoven Symphony No. 9 (op. 125) to show my personal respect to a hero who loves his "Ma Vlast" so much that he even resigned from the position of Gewandhausorchester Leipzip when the Prague Spring of 1968 happened.

Just want to share with you few words from Vaclav Neumann regarding that performance:

"On this recoding I can still very much feel the excitement of the moment, for on that evening we were all participants in an event of great solemnity. I hope this compact dick will stand as a permanent reminder of those unforgettable days in the autumn of 1989 that at last provided a conclusion to what had been hinted at with such promise by the Prague Spring of 1968."

Hope all of you will enjoy this recording.

Otto
hassel
248 posts
 
Give the cycle recorded by John Eliot Gardiner a try. When it came out, it was a fresh rediscovery of the sometimes revolutionary energy Beethoven's symphonies can have.
tagyerit OP
73 posts
 
thanks Hassel, I have been listening to many versions over the last 10 days and the diferences are startling. I had not tried the Gardiner, but I will based on your suggestion.
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