Beethoven Symphonies - best perf + sonics on CD

Goofyfoot, The review I read was on SACD.net. I got the idea it was another post HIP run of the mill me too. I do agree on CPO. Check out the Dvorak quartets. I love the first release. Also, I really like Venzago's Bruckner, and plan on ordering the upcoming Teleman St. Lukas Passion. Its a great label.
Brahms, I can love uber Teutonic, i can love lyricissimo Italian, but I can't warm up to anemic Brahms. If you order this and find it to your liking, let me know. For now, I'm hoping the Polini/Theileman/DSO portends much more Brahms, even if it has to come on Deutche Gramophone. What I heard Sunday in Chicago won me over. I loved that Brahms 4!

Agree, Lloydelee21. Very dynamic and very well paced. It's on L'Oiseau-Lyre, so naturally the sound is first-rate.
I wasn't sure about buying this HIP cycle; it's not widely reviewed, so I bought them all individually(used) and I'm glad I did.

Brownsfan, I'll see if I can grab up those recommended CD's from the public library. The library does purchase a good number of classical recordings but they typically make ill informed choices.

Anyway, so you're saying that the review that you read on the Manze Brahms was that it's run of the mill? Then there seems to be some inconsistencies between reviews, here are some citations from the review on ArkivMusic;

'Nevertheless, these recordings have much to commend them, and Manze achieves his goal, whether h.i.p. or post-h.i.p., of breathing new life into works stifled by their own performance traditions.'

'Fortunately then, the Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra ensures that every moment in these recordings is worth focusing on. The balance is excellent, a result perhaps of Manze going for a moderately sized string section. Vibrato in the strings is present but minimal, while the woodwind soloists are permitted a little more wobble. The constrained tones of the horns and trombones contribute most to the 19 th century atmosphere of the orchestral sound. The SACD sound is excellent, and the recording really benefits from the warm but clear acoustic of the Helsingborg Concert Hall.'

'Something different, then, to add to your Brahms collection. Manze pursues his aesthetic ideology quite doggedly here, but never at the expense of the results. He's too much of a professional to let his scholarship ever stand in the way of his intuitive musicianship, which must surely have played just as big a role in the formation of these interpretations.'

The reviewers on Amazon also give praise to his set so that's from where I've been formulating my expectations. This best way of course is to hear it for myself.

Goofyfoot, I reread the SA-CD.net review on the Manze Brahms. Its a bit more positive than I had remembered it. This may well be worth a shot.

Well Brownsfan, after having read the David Hurwitz review, I am now skeptical about this Brahms Manze set. This was the first out and out criticism of the performances that I've read and while I try not to give reviews too much credit, I tend to side with Mr. Hurwitz on most accounts.
Damn those critics, they always ruin everything.
However, I do own the Marek Janowski Brahms 4 with the Hungarian Dances on PetaTone and while I prefer the Ivan Fischer and the Budapest Festival Orchestra Hungarian Dances to that of Janowski and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, the 4th is worth the price of the disk in and of itself. So I've made a final decision being that my next Brahms purchase will be the Marek Janowski Brahms 2 & 3 with the PSO on PentaTone. Yes, I know that I'm playing it safe here but because I don't have money to throw around, then so shall it be.
It's funny because I tend to weed through the western and central European groups first but here I am siding again with the Pittsburgh. How times have changed.