Recordings That You Are Considering

[André]

I urge each and everyone to sample the Nagano Beethoven cycle. It grew on me steadily until I ended up liking it as much as my other favourites. Little vibrato, mostly fast tempi, slick yet pungent phrasing, and nothing short than marvelous execution from the Montreal Symphony. I'm no Nagano fan (he normally bores me no end) but here he scores big.

[Brian]

For modern I was looking at Chailly, but his singers are awful. And he pulls a lot of punches in the Eroica, articulation wise. I'm sorta curious about Dausgaard just because Simax isn't available on Qobuz and he's an interesting artist.

I like Chailly a lot, but I love Gardiner and Immerseel. (Immerseel's Fifth is my favorite Fifth.) But Dausgaard's Eroica is some next-level shit. I once listened to it four times in a row. The first movement's rhythms are so scintillating it's hard not to weave around like a drunk when I listen. (Of course, they're going so quickly that it's the downbeats I'm weaving to.) True, everything's HIP but the instruments themselves, but it's a valuable supplement. Timings are almost identical to Gardiner's:
15:47
12:49
5:22
10:27

Dausgaard's 4/5/6/9 are comparatively weak, and make his cycle as a whole not recommendable. But 1-3 are so gloriously vibrant as to be among the best of what Jens calls "modern zip and zap versions". 7 is just a step behind and also one of my faves.

Modern Zip and Zap All-Stars
1: Dausgaard, Mackerras (Scottish)
2: Dausgaard, Mackerras (Scottish), Paavo Jarvi
3: Dausgaard
4 and 5: For zipping and zapping, I still prefer true HIP versions by Hogwood, Immerseel, etc.
6: Paavo Jarvi
7: Chailly, Abbado (!), Dausgaard
8: Pretty much everybody does well by 8.

I need to hear Nagano's cycle.

You know what, now I'm sampling Gardiner's Eroica on YouTube and his account and Dausgaard's are verrrrrrrrrrrry similar. They're practically twins. Maybe you don't need both, after all. Unless you wanna compare how old and new instruments sound at the same tempos. Dang, I'd forgotten how good Gardiner is.

Former GMGer David Ross thought that the orchestra on Bruggen I was the HIPpest-sounding, or the most exotic-sounding compared to a modern orchestra, and that it therefore provided maximum contrast. Bruggen doesn't go for contrast on the podium, as much, though. For what it's worth.

[jlaurson]

I urge each and everyone to sample the Nagano Beethoven cycle. It grew on me steadily until I ended up liking it as much as my other favourites. Little vibrato, mostly fast tempi, slick yet pungent phrasing, and nothing short than marvelous execution from the Montreal Symphony. I'm no Nagano fan (he normally bores me no end) but here he scores big.

Will be issued as a set on Analekta on the Canadian market this year... but not certain as to whether such plans are also in store for Sony, which does the Rest-of-World distribution/marketing.

[kishnevi]

May as well chip in...
My current favorite is Chailly.  He brings a lot of emotional depth to the music that a lot of others lack.  The singers do not bother me.  Unlike Bruggen 2, where they kill an otherwise superb cycle.

I rate Gardiner and Inmerseel equally good.

From the old fashioned big modern band school, I like Karajan 1980s best of what I have heard.

And five versions is not very much,  especially if some are transcriptions.  I speak as someone who has at least thirty, only two of them in the form of the Liszt transcriptions.

At the very least, get the Dohnanyi CD you do not have.

[king ubu]

Five? That's almost same as none 

[NJ Joe]

I don't know why but I feel like I need this. It's calling to me. Please someone send help before I spend money on a fifth version of nine symphonies I've pretty much known by heart for about 15 years.

This was the first complete set I ever bought and for many years it was my favorite, however, I gradually soured on it and stopped listening completely after I heard Immerseel. Immerseel just seemed to breathe a life and warmth into these works that's missing from the Gardiner.  I also like the Norrington LCP set.

[Pat B]

I'm not looking for anything I have Dohnanyi (one cd missing) on modern instruments, Norrington (and Herreweghe's 9th) on period instruments, Howard on modern piano, Martynov (two volumes) on period piano, some string quintet arrangements from Prague, whatever was in the Fricsay box. And the piano trio version of the 2nd on Musica Omnia. My parents' LP and CD collection, which I made use of at a young age to familiarise myself with the symphonies, further contained Karajan, Toscanini, Szell, Klemperer's 3rd, Kleiber's 5th and 7th, and Abbado's 6th and 8th. These pieces are in my blood. Imprinted on my DNA, man. I am Beethoven.

The first Brüggen is the only other one I'm interested in right now actually—can't get into Immerseel. It seems like Frans's interps might be infinitesimally better than Jeggy, but Eroica openers over 17 minutes have stopped sounding right to me for whatever reason. Def on the table though. The 9th seems really promising.

I'll add my 2 cents to the flood of comments.

I recommend the Gardiner cycle. It is really fantastic in 1-8. The 9th is the weak link, but you already have a very good PI 9th (Herreweghe, assuming you're talking about the 1998 one on HM).

I do not recommend the Immerseel cycle. I agree with Brian about his 5th, but as a set it is very inconsistent. I wish I could keep just the 5th and the overtures. His 9th in the cycle is not any better than Gardiner's. He did a great one-off 9th earlier for Sony, which may be hard to find depending on location.

I haven't heard either Brüggen (or Norrington or Hogwood).

[Ken B]

I don't know why but I feel like I need this. It's calling to me. Please someone send help before I spend money on a fifth version of nine symphonies I've pretty much known by heart for about 15 years.

YOU DO NOT NEED THIS!

A life without pleasure is perfectly possible.

[jfdrex]

[asin]B0033QC0WE[/asin]

YOU DO NOT NEED THIS!

My sentiments exactly!   But then, I'm a devoted partisan of such decided non-HIPsters as Furtwangler, Klemperer, Konwitschny, Walter, Cluytens, & Co.

Incidentally, O'Hanlon's "review" of the Gardiner set is a hoot:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-reviews/R1SLEDKNOU7S52/ref=cm_cr_pr_rvw_ttl?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B0033QC0WE

[Itullian]

My sentiments exactly!   But then, I'm a devoted partisan of such decided non-HIPsters as Furtwangler, Klemperer, Konwitschny, Walter, Cluytens, & Co.

Incidentally, O'Hanlon's "review" of the Gardiner set is a hoot:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-reviews/R1SLEDKNOU7S52/ref=cm_cr_pr_rvw_ttl?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B0033QC0WE

You and me both!!!
No munchkin Beethoven, Brahms or Schumann for me..........

[André]

Will be issued as a set on Analekta on the Canadian market this year... but not certain as to whether such plans are also in store for Sony, which does the Rest-of-World distribution/marketing.

I've had the set for almost 6 months... Available on Amazon.ca for 20$CAD (used) or 34$ (CAD) new.

[Brian]

Some folks conveniently overlooked the second half of Ken's post 

[Brian]

I haven't heard either Brüggen (or Norrington or Hogwood).

Norrington/London Classical Players has the weakest orchestra and weakest sound. Hogwood has my long-favorite Fourth, but he doesn't always connect on the bigger, more dramatic symphonies. I seem to remember the Ninth's finale really losing its way.

[Karl Henning]

Some folks conveniently overlooked the second half of Ken's post 

But not I! 

[king ubu]

Is that the first or second Beethoven cycle by Gardiner?  Has he even completed the second live set?  I don't think you can go wrong with Gardiner.  Even if you have 50 other complete sets his is worth hearing.

First (I assume)
No (two discs only so far, I think)
And agreed!

[jfdrex]

Some folks conveniently overlooked the second half of Ken's post 

Ah, so you noticed that I ignored the fine print.   I blame my poor eyesight.

Now, taking out my trusty magnifying glass, I see that Ken wrote "A life without pleasure is perfectly possible."

Well, yes, of course, he's right.  For example, if you were to make Gardiner's Beethoven cycle your only Beethoven cycle and ignore all those great recordings of the past... 

[prémont]

Even if you have 50 other complete sets his [Gardiners] is worth hearing.

Well, I have - and in this situation completistic considerations get more weight.
But all in all I rate him among the lowest 25%.

[prémont]

How odd.

I do not own any bad recordings of these works. I just meant to say, that I rate 75% of these 50 recordings higher than Gardiner´s.

[Pat B]

Norrington/London Classical Players has the weakest orchestra and weakest sound. Hogwood has my long-favorite Fourth, but he doesn't always connect on the bigger, more dramatic symphonies. I seem to remember the Ninth's finale really losing its way.

Thanks, Brian. I'm not really looking to expand my Beethoven Symphony collection, but I'll check out Hogwood's 4 somehow.

[prémont]

Liuwe Tamminga plays De Macque. I'm getting more and more interested in Neopolitan music, but I know it's not easy to make it work -- hence my reticence to take the plunge on this one. One big question is whether Liuwe Tamminga and his machine bring out the chromatic dissonances -- if not the music sounds tame to me.

Revisiting this recording was a great experience. Tamminga has done many recordings of Italian baroque music, but this is one of the most impressive. It contains different works by de Macque and a number of ricercari by Palestrina. Tamminga plays with well-measured passion, which IMO is precisely what this music needs. Never has de Macque sounded that inventive and spiritually uplifting, and the ricercari by Palestrina are a surprising and nice addition. The "Stravaganzi" are a bit smoothed out, but this is unavoidable in an organ rendering, even when the organ is tuned i mean tone as here. Highly recommended.