Beethoven Symphonies Cycle: Which is your #1 pick?

[staxomega]

I suppose I'd pick Kletzki with the partial Markevitch cycle on Philips and DG as a supplement.  But I don't listen to Beethoven cycles whole, I just pick and choose among them what to listen to as the mood strikes.  It was the 7th from the DG Steinberg cycle a few days ago.

I'm a new comer to the Markevitch with them recently being reissued, I have really enjoyed hearing them. There is something really right about them.

[Daverz]

I'm a new comer to the Markevitch with them recently being reissued, I have really enjoyed hearing them. There is something really right about them.

He had me thrilled throughout the 9th, a work that usually has me fidgeting at some point, either in the Adagio (for the less successful recordings) or in the Finale (even in very good recordings).

[amw]

My preferences remain more or less the same: Krivine, Norrington, Leibowitz. I think of the more "traditional" cycles I rate Blomstedt/Leipzig the highest—a bit faster than his Dresden one and in much better sound.

Changes from previous list in red.

Adès A-
Bernstein NY C B-
Blomstedt Dresden C+
Blomstedt Leipzig A-
Brüggen Glossa C+
Brüggen Philips B-
Chailly A
Dohnányi A-
Fischer (Adam) B
Gardiner B+
Gielen (SWR) B+
Harnoncourt A-
Herreweghe A
Hogwood A- B+
Järvi B B+ (but the live versions on YouTube: A+)
Karajan 1963 C
Krivine A+
Leibowitz A+
Mackerras SCO A
Norrington LCP A-
Norrington Stuttgart A+

I guess at this point I only listen to new Beethoven cycles that I know I'll like....

I haven't listened to the Cluytens, Monteux or Kletzki cycles complete, only their Eroicas (none of which convinced me). For people who like those, I do still endorse Blomstedt Leipzig and Dohnányi as alternative but still comparable "big band" approaches that may be equally enjoyable. Brüggen (especially on Philips) is comparable in a different way: similar to traditional approaches in tempo and structure, for those who can't do without 18 minute Eroica openers, but with perhaps the most radically different and illuminating period instrument sound achieved by any HIP conductor.

I am of course a believer in the One True Beethoven Interpretation and have very specific preferences: Leibowitz in 3 (even more than Scherchen or Krivine), Gardiner, Harnoncourt or Grimal in 5, Chailly or Scherchen in 6, Norrington in 7, Herreweghe Champs-Elysées (not Royal Flemish) or Spering in 9, etc. But people will generally not agree with me.

[Holden]

I am of course a believer in the One True Beethoven Interpretation and have very specific preferences: Leibowitz in 3 (even more than Scherchen or Krivine), Gardiner, Harnoncourt or Grimal in 5, Chailly or Scherchen in 6, Norrington in 7, Herreweghe Champs-Elysées (not Royal Flemish) or Spering in 9, etc. But people will generally not agree with me.

When I first heard the Leibowitz Eroica it instantly reminded me of Toscanini's 1949 recording with the NBCSO which I've always rated very highly.

[staxomega]

He had me thrilled throughout the 9th, a work that usually has me fidgeting at some point, either in the Adagio (for the less successful recordings) or in the Finale (even in very good recordings).

Yeah I can't quite place my finger on the why I am enjoying them so much, in general these brisk-ish tempi usually aren't for me, but Markevitch... there is just something very right about them, and they hold my attention very well and keep me smiling.

[JBS]

A side question: which conductor was the first to record all nine?  Was it Toscanini? Or did someone precede him in the enterprise?

[Daverz]

A side question: which conductor was the first to record all nine?  Was it Toscanini? Or did someone precede him in the enterprise?

Weingartner, I think.

EDIT: According to a Fanfare review reproduced at Pristine Classical, Weingartner's cycle was "first complete cycle of the Beethoven symphonies to be recorded electrically".   But I find it hard to imagine a complete acoustic Beethoven cycle.

[JBS]

Weingartner, I think.

Thanks. He recorded them 1932-38 (per the Naxos Historical CDs), so he beat Arturo out by a year.

[staxomega]

I believe the Naxos Historical series for that 1939 broadcast cycle are now out of print, in which case anyone interested in it should look to Immortal Performances reissue as Richard Caniell that did both transfers said someone at Naxos added noise reduction to his transfers after he had submitted them. I bought the Immortal Performances box, and it is a big step up in sound quality if one doesn't mind more noise. I wish Munch recorded the full cycle for that Toscanini style except in superior sound and superior orchestral playing. Munch's 9th is one of my desert island CDs, not necessarily my favorite performance of the 9th, but it sounds like the halls of the BSO must have been burning down.

[JBS]

I believe the Naxos Historical series for that 1939 broadcast cycle are now out of print, in which case anyone interested in it should look to Immortal Performances reissue as Richard Caniell that did both transfers said someone at Naxos added noise reduction to his transfers after he had submitted them. I bought the Immortal Performances box, and it is a big step up in sound quality if one doesn't mind more noise. I wish Munch recorded the full cycle for that Toscanini style except in superior sound and superior orchestral playing. Munch's 9th is one of my desert island CDs, not necessarily my favorite performance of the 9th, but it sounds like the halls of the BSO must have been burning down.

If you're referring to Toscanini 1939, Amazon shows the Immortal Performances only as an LP set., no sign of a Naxos issue, and CD sets from Andromeda and Music & Arts (possibly two different issues because there are two listings with different covers).  I've got the 1950ish Toscanini set, so I don't feel any great motivation to get the 1939 set (more precisely, no great motivation to pay $60 or more for it).

Weingartner seems to available only as individual CDs or as a download.

[Holden]

Yeah I can't quite place my finger on the why I am enjoying them so much, in general these brisk-ish tempi usually aren't for me, but Markevitch... there is just something very right about them, and they hold my attention very well and keep me smiling.

Interesting, but I can only find 1, 3, 5, 6 8 and 9 - can't find 2, 4 and 7 anywhere. Did Markevitch actually do a complete cycle?

[staxomega]

If you're referring to Toscanini 1939, Amazon shows the Immortal Performances only as an LP set., no sign of a Naxos issue, and CD sets from Andromeda and Music & Arts (possibly two different issues because there are two listings with different covers).  I've got the 1950ish Toscanini set, so I don't feel any great motivation to get the 1939 set (more precisely, no great motivation to pay $60 or more for it).

Weingartner seems to available only as individual CDs or as a download.

Yes, the Toscanini 1939 cycle. They are two different companies, the current Immortal Performances: https://www.immortalperformances.org/

The 1939 is not a must have unless you're a Toscanini fan, for me not being one the 1939 is more for historical interest than one I reach for often. The differences aren't so different compared to the one in the RCA box, some tempo differences between the two, and some places in the '39 where there isn't as much of a death grip.

Interesting, but I can only find 1, 3, 5, 6 8 and 9 - can't find 2, 4 and 7 anywhere. Did Markevitch actually do a complete cycle?

It's incomplete.

[André]

Anybody likes Gardiner and his Orchestre révolutionnaire et romantique ?

[JBS]

Anybody likes Gardiner and his Orchestre révolutionnaire et romantique ?

I do.
For a person who wants only one PI set, it's the one I would suggest based on a combination of quality and low price.
[If price was not a limiting factor, I'd send them Immerseel or possibly the new Savall cycle.]

[TheGSMoeller]

Norrington - LCP

Things change, gotta go with Harnoncourt & COE now. Savall and Les Concert is second now that they've completed their cycle.

[André]

I do.
For a person who wants only one PI set, it's the one I would suggest based on a combination of quality and low price.
[If price was not a limiting factor, I'd send them Immerseel or possibly the new Savall cycle.]

Thanks, Jeffrey ! I've put a few of them on my Spotify playlist. 

[DavidW]

Dausgaard is my current favorite.

[Olias]

For modern instruments - Mackerras/Royal Liverpool and then Bernstein/Vienna

For Period Instruments - Immerseel and then Bruggen

If I'm in a hurry - Zinman

[eoghan]

Been giving the Savall set a good listen again over the last few days.

It's generally excellent, but a bit patchy. 3 has nowhere the same impact as his first stand-alone recording. 5 is really excellent, up there with Immerseel. I'm as much of a savall fanboy as anyone but if he has a downside it's making everything sound like Rameau, and he falls into this trap with my favourite of all symphonies, the Seventh. It's a real shame. However...for me we have a new reference Ninth - this one is sensational.

On a different note, sometimes things nag at you and it's a relief when you can just admit something to yourself after years of self-denial. I listened to Savall, Bruggen and Barenboim's versions of the 6th one after another and can finally get a weight off my chest by realising that I find the piece utterly dull. There...feel better.

Whilst on a Savall tip, my Spotify alerted me this morning to his new recording of Schubert 8 & 9. I listened to the Ninth, a symphony I've struggled to get overly enthused by, and was blown away. Really special.

[vers la flamme]

Any love for Cluytens/Berlin?