Recommendations wanted - Beethoven's 9th

[DavidW]

Just wanted to say thanks for all the great suggestions. I ended up buying a good used CD ( Böhm - Vienna Philharmonic ) from Amazon. I could hear some reverberation from the hall and I liked that. Price was an unbearable $6.00 :-)).  I might buy a different version later, by another orchestra / conductor since they're so reasonable. One problem is that there isn't always a sample to listen to. What's next on the list ? A thunderous rendition of Night on Bare / Bald Mountain. Hang on. My tastes ARE wider than that. I also like baroque trumpet music. I have a boxed set called Masters of the Baroque. Mozart is cool. In a nutshell: Classical sounds like REAL music. More to type but have some work to do. Probably best to put this stuff in my profile.....like The Ohio Express bubble gum music. LOL or roll your eyes.

Who did write Bach's Brandenburg concertos ? Vaughn Williams right ? 

For trumpet baroque I like Vivaldi's concerto for two trumpets. 

[Brian]

Abbado!

North Star is correct!

[bluto32]

About the Karajan, I personally prefer the 1963 recording included in the DG set, but I don't know if it is available in a single disc.

I believe it is the same one which was released in the "Originals" series:
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I haven't heard the 60s or 80s Karajan DG recordings, but do have the 1977 Karajan as part of a cycle which I enjoy a lot.
The 77 one is also available separately in at least two editions:

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or

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Bluto

[prémont]

This is the best, given your criteria. It's also my all time favourite

This is also the very recording, which instantly springs to my mind in relation to your question.

Many GMGers prefer Karajan or Böhm, which certainly aren´t dull, but I have never really warmed to them.

The EMI-ICON Jochum box offers fine traditional interpretations with exellent orchestral playing. It is a good choice, but I do not know, whether you also want that much Bruckner. However the box is rather cheap.

[NJ Joe]

Controversial, but IMHO one of the great recordings of the work:

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The last word of a great conductor on a work he was closely associated with...

I have this but haven't listened to it in years.  Maybe time for a re-listen.

[Daverz]

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I may have had too much coffee today, but I find the 1981 DDD sound hard to listen to.

[Walt Whitman]

Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, for me, is the ultimate Beethoven's 9th. There is an honesty and freshness to Schmidt-Isserstedt's approach that makes for an emotional connection to his musicmaking. In particular, the third movement is absolutely sublime; it portends a magnificent 4th movement and coalesces the entire piece. No bombast. Never overwrought. And his 1965 recording of the 9th has a stellar stable of singers: Sutherland, Horne, King, Tavela. As well, the "Decca Sound" is in full-on sonic splendor.

[Ken B]

Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, for me, is the ultimate Beethoven's 9th. There is an honesty and freshness to Schmidt-Isserstedt's approach that makes for an emotional connection to his musicmaking. In particular, the third movement is absolutely sublime; it portends a magnificent 4th movement and coalesces the entire piece. No bombast. Never overwrought. And his 1965 recording of the 9th has a stellar stable of singers: Sutherland, Horne, King, Tavela. As well, the "Decca Sound" is in full-on sonic splendor.

I have a soft spot for HSI. His Threepenny Opera is unsurpassable, and his Beethoven Piano Concerto 4 with Backhaus was the first Beethoven record I ever heard, and is still one of my favourite ones.