Beethoven: The Complete Symphonies and Piano Concertos [Box set] [Limited Edition]

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com essential recording
Otto Klemperer's Beethoven is one of the towering achievements in the history of recordings. By today's standards, these performances are hopelessly old-fashioned: dark, heavy, and frequently very slow. But they are also the grandest, most unsentimental, most purposeful versions in the catalog. In addition, the relatively slow tempos (only in the fast movements--the slow ones are pretty swift) and forward wind balance permit more detail to be heard than in most original-instrument performances. At budget price and with the entire piano concerto cycle thrown in for good measure, this is greatness incarnate. --David Hurwitz

Tracks:

I: Adagio Molto - Allegro Con Brio
II: Andante Cantabile Con Moto
III: Menuetto & Trio: Allegro Molto E Vivace
IV: Adagio - Allegro Molto E Vivace
I: Allegro Ma Non Troppo
II: Andante Molto Mosso
III: Allegro - In Tempo D'allegro - Tempo I
IV: Allegro
V: Allegretto

Tracks:

I: Allegro Con Brio
II: Marcia Funebre: Adagio Assai
III: Scherzo & Trio: Allegro Vivace
IV: Finale: Allegro Molto - Poco Andante - Presto
Gross Fuge

Tracks:

I: Adagio Molto - Allegro Con Brio
II: Larghetto
III: Scherzo & Trio: Allegro
IV: Allegro Molto
I: Allegro Con Brio
II: Andante Con Moto - Piu Mosso - Tempo I
III: Allegro -
IV: Allegro - Presto

Tracks:

I: Adagio - Allegro Vivace
II: Adagio
III: Menuetto: Allegro Vivace - Trio: Un Poco Meno Allegro
IV: Allegro Ma Non Troppo
I: Poco Sostenuto - Vivace
II: Allegretto
III: Presto - Assai Meno Presto
IV: Allegro Con Brio

Tracks:

I: Allegro Vivace Con Brio
II: Allegretto Scherzando
III: Tempo Di Menuetto
IV: Allegro Vivace
Overture
Overture
Overture
Overture

Tracks:

I: Allegro Non Troppo, Un Poco Maestoso - Christa Ludwig
II: Molto Vivace - Presto - Christa Ludwig
III: Adagio Molto E Cantabile - Andante Moderato - Christa Ludwig
IV: Presto - Recitativo - Allegro Assai - Alla Marcia - Christa Ludwig
Overture - Christa Ludwig

Tracks:

I: Allegro Con Brio
II: Largo
III: Rondo: Allegro Scherzando
I: Allegro Con Brio
II: Adagio
III: Rondo: Molto Allegro

Tracks:

I: Allegro Con Brio
II: Largo
III: Rondo: Allegro
I: Allegro Moderato
II: Andante Con Moto
III: Rondo: Vivace

Tracks:

Fantasia For Piano, Chorus And Orchestra
I: Allegro
II: Adagio Un Poco Mosso -
III: Rondo: Allegro

Amazon.com essential recording

Otto Klemperer's Beethoven is one of the towering achievements in the history of recordings. By today's standards, these performances are hopelessly old-fashioned: dark, heavy, and frequently very slow. But they are also the grandest, most unsentimental, most purposeful versions in the catalog. In addition, the relatively slow tempos (only in the fast movements--the slow ones are pretty swift) and forward wind balance permit more detail to be heard than in most original-instrument performances. At budget price and with the entire piano concerto cycle thrown in for good measure, this is greatness incarnate. --David Hurwitz

Customer Reviews:

Great Performance.......2007-07-07

There are many different ways to perform Beethoven and each one is valid.
If you like it fast - go to Toscanini or Norrington. If you prefer slow, powerful and majestic, this is your set. Towards the end of his distinguished career, the great Otto Klemperer set down his final views of the performance of these symphonnies. The set is a coherent whole and will give great pleasure for ever. The challenging mix of the young Barenboim and the aged Klemperer worked surprisingly well and thus the concertos may also be recommended. There are odd additional items which add to the pleasure. Finally do not forget to purchase his memorable set of 'Fidelio' to complete your traversal of a great conductor giving great performances of a composer that he loved. Finally the price is ridiculously low and provides quality and quantity at a great price. Thus you should be able to buy the opera set from the savings made!

Great Analog Beethoven Cycle.......2007-05-07

This Klemperer cycle is just one of a dozen or so GREAT analog Beethoven symphony cycles that were recorded during Analog's golden age starting about 1958. These cycles are easily a match for digital and they should still be around for another 1,000 years, if the Lord tarries. These sets include: Karajan (twice, early 60s and late 70s) Bohm, Krips, Jochum, Bruno Walter, Leinsdorf, Rene Leibowitz, Szell, Ormandy, Bernstein, Steinberg, and Solti. This morning I listened to the Klemperer recordings of Beethoven's symphonies 5, 6, & 7. Very enjoyable, I got my Beethoven RDA fix.

Of all these Analog sets, I most enjoy the Leibowitz Spring 1961 cycle with the Royal Philharmonic. I have this cycle on an audiophile early 90s European import Edition Phoenix label special pressing "on extra virgin vinyl." These are by far the best analog symphonic lps I have ever heard from a recording standpoint. BY FAR! And they will rock your house.

You can almost justify Karajan's 4 recorded Beethoven cycles and one video based upon improvements in recording technology. Thru Rhapsody, I have listened to his mid 50s cycle and the orchestra sounds great, but the recording quality is sub par compared to Analog's golden age. So the rational for 4 cycles would be, (1) recent great improvements in recording technology (early 60s), (2) it has been 15 years and he has grown as an artist (late 70s), (3) we now have digital! Let's do one of the first Beethoven digital cycles (80s).

Klemperer is a no-brainer. I do not have to think twice about plopping one of his lps onto my turntable or hitting the play button at Rhapsody. When the music starts, the listening pleasure begins. Don't miss his Bruckner symphony recordings!

An essential collection.......2007-04-25

How best to describe Otto Klemperer's perspective on Beethoven's symphonies: grand, heroic, intense, insightful, stubborn, obstinate, detailed, dramatic, monumental, granitic, deeply emotional, never sentimental. This boxed set of the complete symphonies and concerti embodies all of these elements as stands as one of the great achievements of recorded music.

These performances were recorded with the Philharmonia Orchestra at its peak, in the sumptuous acoustics of Kingsway Hall in London and in fine and detailed sound, and mostly in the mid-1950's during one of the brief charmed periods of Klemperer's life. EMI's impresario Walter Legge had made him permanent conductor of the Philharmonia, and when Klemperer embarked on this project in his 70's, he was in relatively good mental and physical health (Klemperer could show symptoms of manic depression and survived many health crises - brain tumor, broken bones, paralysis - which would have stopped most people).

By this time Klemperer had slowed the tempi of the fast movements of the Beethoven symphonies (listen to his early 1950's recordings of the 5th and 6th on Vox to hear by how much). This tendency is more pronounced in these studio recordings than in the live performances which were recorded during that era. The slowness is mostly saved by Klemperer's use of "sprung" rhythms, which keep the slow tempi from feeling laggardly.

Klemperer's earliest recordings in this series - symphonies 3, 5 and 7 - predate stereo and were recorded in excellent monaural sound. He rerecorded all three of these symphonies in stereo, but those recordings were made after he burned himself by falling asleep while smoking in bed. All three performances feature slower tempi than the earlier ones (whether this was the conductor's preference or the result of physical incapacity is open to conjecture). In particular, the rerecorded 7th suffered from lax phrasing, inattentiveness and perverse tempi. That is NOT the version contained in this set: fortunately, EMI had simultaneously recorded the earlier version of the 7th in "experimental" stereo, and it is that earlier version which is released here (and in remarkably good stereo). The versions of the 3rd and 5th are the rerecorded stereo ones.

You will find no finer studio versions of the 2nd, 4th, 6th, 7th or 8th. All are insightful, beautifully detailed and powerful. The 2nd clearly looks forward to the 3rd and not back toward Hayden, the 4th is boisterous and vital, the 6th bucolic and sumptuous (not a quality normally associated with Klemperer), the 7th gains in drama what it loses in swiftness and lightness, and in the 8th in particular we see the conductor's empathy to Beethoven's sense of humor. Klemperer had a deep affinity for the "Eroica", and the rerecorded version here, while slower than the 1955 recording, was dubbed by "High Fidelity"'s Harris Goldsmith (no Klemperer fan, he) as "the best Eroica going slow" and is a monumental masterpiece (the second movement is shattering). The 1st, while leisurely, is a lovingly crafted.

That leaves the 5th and 9th. There is no doubt in my mind that the earlier, mono 5th is superior to the remake in this set. We lose that sense of an inevitable onslaught, especially in the outer movements. And the 9th, while similar in conception to the live versions recorded around the same time (on Testament with the Philharmonia and on Music&Arts with the Concertgebouw), suffers from diffuse sound and occasional lack of focus. I emphasize that these recordings of both symphonies are still head and shoulders above most of the competition; we're talking about different levels of greatness here.

Are there superior Klemperer recordings of these symphonies? Yes; but all are live, and despite the relatively good reprocessed sound, they don't reveal the same level of detail that these studio recordings do. Klemperer was a very different conductor in front of an audience, and there is more vitality and drama in the live versions of the 3rd (Testament, with the Danish Symphony), 6th 7th and 8th (Music&Arts with the Concertgebouw) and the 9th (see above). Music&Arts' set of the complete symphonies, recorded live in Vienna in 1960, is long out of print and had cramped sound with poor detail - a supplement to this set, not a replacement.

As to the piano concerti: they are better than one might expect. Barenboim, although steeped in the Germanic performance tradition, is more naturally aligned with the Furtwangler and Edwin Fischer than with Klemperer. However, the two of them actually work together extremely well and this is a fine, insightful set.

Any complete cycle of Beethoven, symphonies or concerti, will have drawbacks. There will be unevenness in the performances, as there are here. But there are advantages to hearing one musician's perspective on the works, especially when (as here) the performer has depth of understanding, integrity of vision, and a structural understanding of the pieces.

The digital remastering is excellent and the sound barely shows its age. This may not be your only complete set of Beethoven's symphonies, but it should be one of them. And at a price this low, it's a bargain too.

The best value in classical music on CD at the moment..........2007-01-02

What is the best value in classical discs available today ? Who knows, but I defy anyone to beat the EMI compilation of Klemperer' recordings of the complete Beethoven Symphonies, Piano Concertos (with Barenboim), several overtures the Choral Fantasia etc etc. 9 discs for only $44 ( well that was the price I paid). You have got to be kidding... I only had two concerns with buying this. First on the age of the recordings, all more than 40 years old. No worry at all. This is a masterpiece of reconstruction. The sound quality indistinguishable from any modern recording. Secondly , the performances themselves. I had been warned that Klemperer notoriously chose rather slow tempi. Again I needn't have worried. I immediately went to the slow movements of the 2nd piano concerto and the fourth symphony, where many slow tempists have in the past come unstuck. The piano concerto was an absolute revelation. The combination of the youthful Barenboim and the Philharmonia's masterful playing time and gain had me on the edge of my seat. " Yes,go on, well...." Slow it may have been. Boring, never. The same applies in spades to the slow movement of the fourth. Right from the eerie opening, which is yes, very slow indeed, I knew this movement would be a revelation and I can honestly say I have never hear it better played. Follow this with a scherzo bounding in energy and thumping finale and you will never get a better performance of this, one of Beethoven's "lesser" symphonies. And I haven't even got round to the "biggies" yet! The box set looks unattractive and the portrait of Klemperer makes him appear a first class nerd. Pay absolutely no attention to this....

Wonderful Performances.......2006-04-07

I have admittedly not made it through the entire set as of yet, but feel sufficiently blown away by the First Symphony and the Eroica - particularly the second movement of the latter - to weigh in here. With respect to the tempo issue, I must - at least so far - argue in favor of Klemperer's decision to slow things down a bit. I think the effect is, as someone else has observed, a clearer and more visceral experience of Beethoven's composition. It brings out the feeling. The sound comes up a little short on the low end, but it isn't a major distraction. My only problem lies in EMI's inexplicable lack of any discussion of the performances. The notes are bland, dry descriptions of the pieces themselves, with some basic history thrown in. Given the fact that there are probably hundreds of different CDs of Beethoven's symphonies out there, all with similar explanatory notes, it is infuriating that nothing is said about these particular performances. This is in contrast with the EMI Bach set (with Yehudi Menuhin) in which there is a wonderful essay that discusses Menuhin's work in historical context.

Beethoven: The Complete Symphonies and Piano Concertos

Average customer rating:

Pleasant introduction to Beethoven's symphonies
Middling Performances at Super-Budget Price

Beethoven: The Complete Symphonies and Piano Concertos

Manufacturer: Naxos
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music
ASIN: B0001FYRBC
Release Date: 2004-05-18

Tracks:

Adagio Molto - Allergro Con Brio - Bela Drahos
Andante Cantabile Con Moto - Bela Drahos
Menuetto: Allegro Molto E Vivace - Bela Drahos
Adagio - Allegro Molto E Vivace - Bela Drahos
Erwachen Heiterer Empfindungen Bei Der Ankunft Auf Dem Lande (Awakening Of Cheerful Feelings Upon Arrival In The Country)/Allegro Ma Non Troppo - Bela Drahos
Szene Am Bach (Scene By The Brook)/Andante Molto Mosso - Bela Drahos
Lustiges Zusammensein Der Landleute (Merry Gathering Of Country Folk)/Allegro - Bela Drahos
Gewitte, Sturm (Thunderstorm)/Allegro - Bela Drahos
Hirtengesang: Frohe Und Dankbare Gefuhle Nach Dem Sturm (Shepherd's Song: Happy And Thankful Feelings After The Storm)/Allegretto - Bela Drahos

Tracks:

Adagio Molto - Allegro Con Brio - Bela Drahos
Larghetto - Bela Drahos
Scherzo: Allegro - Bela Drahos
Allegro Molto - Bela Drahos
Allegro Con Brio - Bela Drahos
Andante Con Moto - Bela Drahos
Allegro - Bela Drahos
Allegro - Bela Drahos

Tracks:

Allegro Con Brio - Bela Drahos
Marcia Funebre: Allegro Assai - Bela Drahos
Scherzo: Allegro Vivace - Bela Drahos
Finale: Allegro Molto - Bela Drahos
Allegro Vivace E Con Brio - Bela Drahos
Allegretto Scherzando - Bela Drahos
Tempo Di Menuetto - Bela Drahos
Allegro Vivace - Bela Drahos

Tracks:

Adagio - Allegro Vivace - Bela Drahos
Adagio - Bela Drahos
Allegro Vivace - Bela Drahos
Allegro Ma Non Troppo - Bela Drahos
Poco Sostenuto - Vivace - Bela Drahos
Allegretto - Bela Drahos
Presto - Bela Drahos
Allegro Con Brio - Bela Drahos

Tracks:

Adagio Ma Non Troppo, Un Poco Maestoso - Claudio Otelli
Molto Vivace - Claudio Otelli
Adagio Molto E Catabile - Andante Moderato - Claudio Otelli
Finale: Presto - Claudio Otelli

Tracks:

Allegro Con Brio - Stefan Vladar
Largo - Stefan Vladar
Rondo: Allegro Scherzando - Stefan Vladar
Rondo In B Flat, WoO 6 - Stefan Vladar

Tracks:

Allegro Con Brio - Stefan Vladar
Adagio - Stefan Vladar
Rondo: Molto Allegro - Stefan Vladar
Allegro - Stefan Vladar
Adagio Un Poco Mosso - Stefan Vladar
Rondo: Allegro - Stefan Vladar

Tracks:

Allegro Con Brio - Stefan Vladar
Largo - Stefan Vladar
Rondo: Allegro - Stefan Vladar
Allegro Moderato - Stefan Vladar
Andante Con Moto - Stefan Vladar
Rondo: Vivace - Stefan Vladar

Amazon.com

The super-super-bargain price of this set is only the beginning of the reasons for recommending it. Drahos, a Hungarian flutist with no particular reputation as a conductor, came out of nowhere more than a decade ago with his small band of players from the Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra to provide one of the more worthwhile sets of Beethoven symphony recordings. The performances aren't as dramatic or exciting as some of the better-known sets, but they are beautifully played in their mellow way, with pleasing instrumental tone and excellent balances. No important lines are lost here. Drahos is generous with repeats, and the natural, unforced musicality of the playing makes up for any losses in voltage. The Piano Concertos show a somewhat different interpretive style. Vladar doesn't drive the music into the ground, but he's an intense interpreter with a strong point of view. He has the range to differentiate the geniality of the First Concerto from the power of the Third, and then gives us Olympian detachment in the "Emperor" which conveys Beethoven's inentions very well. The excellent Wordsworth and his fine players (members of the Slovak Philharmonic) provide alert support. As in the Symphonies, you can hear every important line in the orchestra even when the piano is playing full blast. The space-saving packaging and informative booklet are further virtues in a set which is overall worth several times its price. Maybe these shouldn't be your only performances of these works, but they illuminate the music in a way that's well worth hearing. --Leslie Gerber

Album Description

The White Box is Naxos' flagship boxed set series, dedicated to exploring complete areas of a composer's work. All releases in the White Box series are presented in durable and attractive packaging with the discs enclosed in individual sleeves. From the beginning, Naxos has sought to let these masterpieces speak for themselves and in designing these boxes, the music is presented with minimal fuss. Such minimalism does not apply to the generously sized booklets, which offer full essays on each work plus a biography of the composer and artists. The booklets also contain a specially created chronology for this series, which sets events in the composer's own life into a wider musical and overall historical context.

Customer Reviews:

Pleasant introduction to Beethoven's symphonies.......2005-07-28

I recently ordered this box set from Amazon. I must say that I've enjoyed the performances on the CDs thus far. I have to confess that I am a Herbert von Karajan fan. I love the sounds that he coaxed from the Berliner Philharmoniker, and enjoy his 1962 recordings of Beethoven immensly.

That being said, there is much to be said for the chamber orchestra being used in the performance of Beethoven's work. We know that the orchestras of Beethoven's time were much smaller than the symphony orchestras of today. There are certain details that can sometimes be obscured by larger orchestras.

These are perfectly acceptable performances of Beethoven's work. While they lack the dramatic sweep of Karajan's or Bernstein's work, they are worth looking into, especially for those interested in acquiring a budget collection of the symphonies. There are better performances out there to be sure, but this is still quite a good collection overall.

Middling Performances at Super-Budget Price.......2004-05-22

This 'White Box' set from Naxos combines the complete symphonies of Beethoven played by the Nicolaus Eszterházy Sinfonia under Béla Drahos, and the five piano concertos (plus the rarely heard Rondo in B flat, WoO 6) played by pianist Stefan Vladar accompanied by the Capella Istropolitana (Bratislava) under English conductor Barry Wordsworth. There are 8 CDs in the box with a total timing of right at 9 hours. The symphonies had been recorded in the mid-1990s, the concerti in the late 1980s. The sound is acceptable.

These are fairly routine performances, with nothing particularly objectionable but also very little that is outstanding. There are a few exceptions. Drahos seems to have a better feel for the even-numbered symphonies (as well as No. 1), which are, of course, the more temperate of the series. However, when the storm breaks loose in the 'Pastoral' Symphony, No. 6, not much happens. And the dramatic qualities of Symphonies 3, 5 and 7 are somewhat muted. This may be at least partly because the orchestra sounds fairly small. Surprisingly, the Ninth is pretty good except for a rather pallid first movement. Certainly the soloists and chorus in the last movement are more than acceptable, even notable. The chorus has a nice blend and their attacks and releases are very well synchronized. My own personal favorite - not a widely accepted opinion, I'm aware - for budget symphonies is the David Zinman/Zurich Tonhalle set on Arte Nova, available only as single issues as far as I know and perhaps a little hard to find these days. But there are complete Karajan, Bernstein, Walter and Klemperer sets, admittedly in somewhat old sonics, for budget outlay.

The concerti feature a pianist from whom we've not heard much since the late 1980s, Stefan Vladar. He was only in the his early twenties when he recorded them and he does a competent job but there are so many other similarly priced sets of the concerti featuring better soloists that they are hard to recommend. Spend a little more and get the Leon Fleisher set. Barry Wordsworth, primarily a ballet conductor as far as I know, leads routine performances with this Slovak orchestra.

This set might be a good 'starter' set for someone on a tight budget who wants to acquire the complete symphonies and piano concerti in one purchase. Certainly someone who has never heard any of it before can become familiar here with some of the most glorious music ever written. But with a little shopping around one can do better, I think, for very little more outlay.

Scott Morrison

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