Beethoven Bargain

[Mark]

As the years roll on, I return to the Szell set with more and more awe. Mackerras I find too light for my taste here. 

You're also a big fan of the Barenboim cycle, are you not? Whereas I don't see the appeal of his readings of the symphonies, save for the Seventh and Eighth.

[George]

You're also a big fan of the Barenboim cycle, are you not?

That's right. Maybe not a big fan, since I have only heard it a few times, but definitely like it a whole lot more than the Mackerras. Of course that's how i feel today. There was a time that I didn't like the Vegh QT's LvB, but now they are my favorite. So I will continue tot try to keep my mind open.

[Larry Rinkel]

That's right. Maybe not a big fan, since I have only heard it a few times, but definitely like it a whole lot more than the Mackerras. Of course that's how i feel today. There was a time that I didn't like the Vegh QT's LvB, but now they are my favorite. So I will continue tot try to keep my mind open.

Mackerras is a good example of the fast, slick approach, but far better at it than Zinman.

[prémont]

Mackerras is a good example of the fast, slick approach, but far better at it than Zinman.

What is wrong with "the fast slick" approach, except that you don´t like it??
On the other hand I do like it.

[Harry]

What is wrong with "the fast slick" approach, except that you don´t like it??
On the other hand I do like it.

Count me in as well!

[Larry Rinkel]

What is wrong with "the fast slick" approach, except that you don´t like it??
On the other hand I do like it.

For one thing, it's fast; for another, it's slick.   

To answer less frivolously: my dislike is based on the impression I get that the conductor (not always the case with even Zinman, but sometimes with the likes of Norrington, Gardiner, Bruggen, Savall - mostly the HIP crowd) is trying to race through the piece as fast as possible, perhaps in an effort to keep up with Beethoven's at times impossible metronome points. If the musicians are scrambling just to get the notes out, it is less possible for them to phrase and articulate the music in a way that gives life, variety, and gravitas to the work. I'm not looking for the monumentality of a Klemperer either, but for an approach that takes Beethoven's tempo and character indications seriously while letting the music breathe as needed. That's my fast (and no doubt slick) answer to your question.

[Renfield]

Actually, to "toss in" a semi-on-topic view, I do appreciate Zinman's Beethoven quite a lot, myself. And the reason I'm saying it in this tone is that you could definitely call me a fan of "big-band" Beethoven, of the Karajan or Klemperer variety.

So I don't appreciate HIP much, for Beethoven. Nor do I especially prefer readings with a lack of the "gravitas" I would expect, in this music. But Zinman's approach, for all its pedantry and "ornamentation", does have a sense of "punch": it's not just slick and fast.

That said, I still go for Karajan, Toscanini, Klemperer, and now Vänskä, for my favourite performances of "the old Ludwig van".

[Mark]

That said, I still go for Karajan, Toscanini, Klemperer, and now Vänskä, for my favourite performances of "the old Ludwig van".

Er, I'm sorry. Vanska for an 'old skool' interpretation of Beethoven? Have you heard his recent Ninth Symphony? I'd call it many things (bafflingly popular, for one), but 'big band' it most certainly ain't.

[Renfield]

Er, I'm sorry. Vanska for an 'old skool' interpretation of Beethoven? Have you heard his recent Ninth Symphony? I'd call it many things (bafflingly popular, for one), but 'big band' it most certainly ain't.

Haha, no; indeed, old school he isn't! There was a lapse of continuity between my point (i.e. Zinman's quality as a Beethoven interpreter), and the subsequent semi-relevant note (i.e. the Beethoven interpreters I generally "go for", by name).

In fact Toscanini wasn't "old school", either: not in the same way as Klemperer was. And Vänskä might not be "old school", but his Beethoven is more abstract than it is HIP, in my view...

[bwv 1080]

Did anyone get a copy of this?  I placed an order with Amazon pretty much the same day as the OP and they keep pushing back my ship date, it is now April 2008

[PerfectWagnerite]

Did anyone get a copy of this?  I placed an order with Amazon pretty much the same day as the OP and they keep pushing back my ship date, it is now April 2008

I placed an order a few months ago on Amazon US and got mine in about a week. I think they realize $28 for 60 CDs is a ludicrous price. Now you can't even get it.

[Gurn Blanston]

Did anyone get a copy of this?  I placed an order with Amazon pretty much the same day as the OP and they keep pushing back my ship date, it is now April 2008

I got it 8 days after placing my order (Aug. 28). Another poster that I told about it ordered it later that same day and he never did get it, finally canceling his order a couple weeks ago. Looks like I made it just under the wire...

[bwv 1080]

I am thinking I may let it run through April.  What do you all think of the set?

[Mark]

Did anyone get a copy of this?  I placed an order with Amazon pretty much the same day as the OP and they keep pushing back my ship date, it is now April 2008

Got mine in under a week.

[Gurn Blanston]

I am thinking I may let it run through April.  What do you all think of the set?

Certainly there is enough well-played music in there to warrant twice the price. There were actually only a few discs that I wanted (because I didn't already have them), like the Rosen Late Sonatas, and the Bylsma/Immerseel cello sonatas. Those are, like, 4 or 5 disks, and they would have cost me $25 EACH on Amazon Marketplace, used. I already had all the Zinman disks. The rest are generally good performances that supplement my collection.

My thoughts now are the same as before I bought: for $27, how can I go wrong?