classical newbie

Mechans...LvB is the great Ludwig van Beethoven. I see now it was not a very coherent statement, but I was saying that there are many affordable box sets containing all 9 symphonies. Many conductors will record the complete Beethoven Cycle with a particular orchestra; he may be the Principle Conductor of the orchestra or a Guest Conductor and the record label will package them into a box set.

Daniel Barenboim's style is a slow, romantic interpretation of Beethoven, whereas David Zinman performs Beethoven at faster tempi which closely resembles the way the composer intended the piece to be performed. (by using the tempo and metronome markings written into the score).

That's why I own about 10 different cycles of Beethoven; each conductor has his own interpretation, also some utilize a large orchestra, some use a small ensemble which is more historically accurate to the period in which it was written.

How are the Von Karajan LvB symphonies? Years ago I had #6 on DG vinyl that I thought was quite good but have not heard any others.

Rja... We had a long discussion a while back regarding which is the best Karajan/Beethoven cycle.

IMO and many others, the 1963 BPO cycle is the best, but it sounds like 1963.
There's the 1977 BPO cycle (ADD) which feature excellent performances, but it has that DG close-mic technique which I find a bit harsh sounding.
Lastly, there are the Vienna recordings (DDD, 1980s) which had such poor early digital sound that Karajan himself ordered that they be remastered and re-released. These have a good open sound and the Vienna plays very well, but as a whole, they are not as good as the first 2 cycles. (Karajan by this time was in his 70s). I like these remastered disks due to the unmistakable sound of the Vienna Philharmonic. I believe these are the only symphonies on CD that you can buy individually.

But now we have a remastered SACD box set of the 1963 Berlin cycle which is excellent.
http://www.amazon.com/Beethoven-Symphonies-Gundula-Janowitz/dp/B0000C03AH/ref=sr_1_12?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1386312070&sr=1-12&keywords=von+karajan+beethoven+symphonies

Expensive, so I bought mine used and now it's the only Karajan LvB that I play. Needless to say, I'm a Karajan fan.

update...I see that there are now some single SACDs from the 1963 cycle; these are the ones to buy if you want a taste.

Doesn't anyone listen to solo or chamber music?

String quartets: Guarneri, Budapest or Julliard quartets playing Beethoven, Bartok, Brahms, Ravel, Debussy, Mozart, Shostakovich, Borodin, Tchaikovsky--you almost can't go wrong with any of those combinations.

The Borodin recordings will be older and inferior overall to the other two groups.

Tostado,

You have thrown down the guantlet. Yes, there are those here who listen to chamber music. To your suggestions I would add the Britten, Mendelssohn, Haydn, and Dvorak quartets, the Beethoven piano trios, the Brahms sextets-- shall I go on? Not sure I would start a novice out on the Debussy, Bartok or Borodin quartets, although Bartok 1 and 2 might be suitable.

Some modern ensembles to be considered--- The Pacifica and Belcea quartets are my two favorites among those still active. The Floristan trio has recently broken up, but they have a strong catalogue of modern recordings. I like their Beethoven trios a lot.

Then, there is the world of solo piano-----