I know this is hard for some of you to fathom, but if someone wanted a balanced, satisfying collection of Beethoven without too many multiple recordings—no more than two or three of each work—and not including unessential works, what would you recommend as a solid collection of in-print recordings? Please include any tips on accumulating them.
I'm curious to see what you come up with.
Thank you.
Well, I think I'd get:
Piano Sonatas played by Schnabel and/or Hungerford,
Symphonies with Furtwaengler,
Violin Sonatas with Pamela and Claude Frank,
Piano Concerti with Fleisher, and
The complete String Quartets with the Amadeus Quartet.
I would think that most, or all of the above would be currently in print.
Complete String Quartets - Quartetto Italiano
Complete Piano Trios - Beaux Arts Trio
Complete Symphonies - Nikolaus Harnoncourt and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe
Complete Piano Sonatas - Daniel Baremboim
Piano Sonatas: Annie Fischer, Friedrich Gulda (Amadeo), Wilhelm Kempff (mono, DG)
String Quartets: Vegh (Valois); Budapest (mono, United Archives)
Symphonies: Abbado (w/ BPO); Toscanini (RCA)
Piano Concertos: Bronfman / Zinman (Arte Nova); Sherman / Neumann (Vanguard, may not be to all tastes)
Violin Sonatas: Francescatti / Casadesus (CBS/Sony); Haskil / Grumiaux (Philips or Brilliant Classics); Frank / Frank (Music Masters)
Cello Sonatas: Kempff / Fournier (DG); Schiff / Perenyi (ECM)
Piano Trios: Beaux Arts Trio (analog cycle if you can get it, otherwise digital)
Violin Concerto: Ferras / Karajan (DG)
Missa Solemnis: Klemperer (EMI); Schermerhorn (Naxos)
Symphonies - Cluytens or Szell
Piano Sonatas - Annie Fischer or Kempff or Barenboim
Violin Sonatas - Grumiaux/Haskil or Perlman/Ashkenazy
Cello Sonatas - Richter/Rostropovich
Piano Concertos - Perahia/Haitink or Rubinstein/Krips
Piano Variations - Brendel (VOX)
Overtures - Szell/Cleveland
Violin Concerto - Francescatti/Walter
String Quartets - Alban Berg or Italiano Qts
Quote from: Todd on December 10, 2007, 08:32:17 AM
Piano Sonatas: Annie Fischer
Symphonies: Abbado (w/ BPO)
Piano Concertos: Bronfman / Zinman (Arte Nova); Sherman / Neumann (Vanguard)
Violin Sonatas: Haskil / Grumiaux (Philips or Brilliant Classics)
I'll happily go along with all of these, but will add that for the Symphonies, you might also want to consider one of the following:
Karajan - '63 or '77 cycles (both on DG)
Abbado - His DG cycle with the VPO from the mid-to-late '80s is a real contrast to his later BPO cycleYou might also want to at least hear:
Blomstedt/Staatskapelle Dresden - Fifth Symphony - Brilliant Classics
Davis (C)/Staatskapelle Dresden - 'Pastoral' Symphony (No. 6) - Philips
Masur/Gewandhaus Leipzig - 'Pastoral' Symphony (No. 6) - Philips, Pentatone or Brilliant Classics
Rattle/VPO - 'Choral Symphony (No. 9) - EMI
Herreweghe/Champs-Elysees Orchestra - 'Choral Symphony (No. 9) - Harmonia Mundi
Sonatas - Annie Fischer, Gulda (Brilliant), Gilels (DG)
Symphonies - HvK '63, Szell, Barenboim
SQ - Vegh (stereo), Italiano
Cello Sonatas - Richer/Rostropovich
Violin Sonatas - Francescatti/Casadesus
Piano Concertos - Sherman/Nuemann, Serkin/Bernstein/Ormandy
Quote from: George on December 10, 2007, 01:07:58 PM
Symphonies - Barenboim
Apologies, George, but ... NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! :o
Quote from: Mark on December 10, 2007, 01:17:18 PM
Apologies, George, but ... NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! :o
:P
My personal choices (all of which can be purchased as sets) -
Symphonies - Mackerras/Royal Liverpool
Piano Concertos - Bronfman
Piano Sonatas - O'Connor
Quartets - Tackas
Violin Concerto (1 CD) - Hahn
Overtures (1 CD) - Zinman
Symphonies - 1977 Karajan (newest remastering)
Overtures - Szell
Piano Concertos - Ashkenazy/Solti
Violin Concerto - Mutter
Piano Sonatas - Gulda (Brilliant Classics)
String Quartets - Takacs
Piano Trios - Istomin/Rose/Stern
Violin Sonatas - Stern/Istomin
Cello Sonatas - Gastinel/Guy
Quote from: hornteacher on December 10, 2007, 03:05:04 PM
Symphonies - Mackerras/Royal Liverpool
Forgot to give these the praise they deserve. Excellent cycle. :)
Symphonies: Kletzki or cobbled bits of Wand, Sawallisch, Tennstedt
Piano sonatas: Gilels or Goode
String quartets: Vegh (stereo) or cobbled bits of Vlach, Hollywood, Takacs, and Hagen
Cello sonatas: Rostropovich/Richter or Gastinel/Guy
Violin sonatas: Grumiaux/Haskil or Kremer/Argerich
Piano trios: Parnassus Trio or Beaux Arts
Piano concertos: Katchen/Gamba
Violin concerto: Suk/Boult or Kyung-Wha Chung/Tennstedt
Missa Solemnis: Jochum/Concertgebouw
Fidelio: Haitink or Mackerras
Quote from: donwyn on December 10, 2007, 06:33:36 PM
Piano sonatas: Goode
Violin sonatas: Kremer/Argerich
More superb choices, the Kremer Argerich in particular. ;)
Sorry to hear about your drastic choice of taking a GMG sabbatical leave for 3 months. :o I always enjoy your posts. Does it have to be "all or nothing" ? Why not go for something a little less drastic, so that you keep posting, but spend less time on it ?
Quote from: alkan on December 11, 2007, 02:37:50 AM
Sorry to hear about your drastic choice of taking a GMG sabbatical leave for 3 months. :o I always enjoy your posts. Does it have to be "all or nothing" ? Why not go for something a little less drastic, so that you keep posting, but spend less time on it ?
Why, thank you. :)
I'll still be popping back from time to time. And while I probably won't be
posting much for a while, I'll certainly be checking in ... in case you f&*@@ers are saying something rotten about me. ;D
This is more what I own than what I'd recommend:
Piano Sonatas: Schnabel; Arrau
String Quartets: Talich
Symphonies: Various, but if I went for a box right now it would be Wand
Piano Concertos: Fleisher/Szell
Cello Sonatas: Kempff / Fournier
Piano Trios: Ashkenazy, et al
Violin Concerto: Grumiaux
Missa Solemnis: Bernstein
Quote from: Mark on December 10, 2007, 10:56:38 PM
More superb choices, the Kremer Argerich in particular. ;)
Their 4 & 5 are heavenly, but the set is a tough swallow. :P
Ones that I would hate to be without, and please note the wind music....wonderful stuff:
Symphonies HvK/BPO (DG '63)
SQ's Végh String Quartet (Naive-Stereo)
Piano Sonatas Kempff (DG-Stereo) (Many prefer the mono)
Cello Sonatas Casals/Horszowski (Pearl)
Violin Sonatas Kremer/Argerich (DG)
Chamber Music for Winds Consortium Classicum (CPO)
Piano Trios Beaux Arts Trio (Philips)
Choral Fantasy Harnoncourt/COE (Warner Classics)-Just maybe my favorite Beethoven recording on the shelf.
Quote from: Mark on December 10, 2007, 10:56:38 PM
More superb choices, the Kremer Argerich in particular. ;)
Thanks, Mark!
Quote from: BorisG on December 11, 2007, 07:25:45 PM
Their 4 & 5 are heavenly, but the set is a tough swallow. :P
What you perhaps hear as 'shallow', others hear as lightly worn? I'm thinking particularly of the earlier Sonatas, which this pairing bring off beautifully without any hint of heavy-handedness or over-indulgence.
Piano Sonatas: Brautigam on BIS
Quote from: Bogey on December 11, 2007, 08:41:03 PM
Choral Fantasy Harnoncourt/COE (Warner Classics)-Just maybe my favorite Beethoven recording on the shelf.
Bogey, I have this one too and really enjoy it. It also includes the Triple Concerto. I'm a big fan of Harnoncourt.
Quote from: ChamberNut on December 12, 2007, 04:11:25 AM
Bogey, I have this one too and really enjoy it. It also includes the Triple Concerto. I'm a big fan of Harnoncourt.
It's a beauty for sure.
Anyone familiar with this set?
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51QNOg7HZnL._AA240_.jpg)
It's only $18 on Amazon. I've been collecting boxes of the Beethoven Symphonies recently and was wondering if it's worthwhile or not? (Sets I currently have: Szell, Muti, Karajan (60's), Norrington, Gardiner)
Quote from: gmstudio on December 12, 2007, 05:33:48 AM
Anyone familiar with this set?
It's only $18 on Amazon. I've been collecting boxes of the Beethoven Symphonies recently and was wondering if it's worthwhile or not? (Sets I currently have: Szell, Muti, Karajan (60's), Norrington, Gardiner)
Holden recommends it above.
Quote from: MN Dave on December 12, 2007, 05:38:53 AM
Holden recommends it above.
My thread-skimming skills suck...apologies. :-[
Todd,
Is the Gulda the same as the set on Brilliant?
Quote from: gmstudio on December 12, 2007, 05:40:37 AM
My thread-skimming skills suck...apologies. :-[
No problem.
Quote from: MN Dave on December 12, 2007, 05:40:53 AM
Todd,
Is the Gulda the same as the set on Brilliant?
Same performance, though I have read the transfer is better on Brilliant.
Quote from: George on December 12, 2007, 05:49:43 AM
Same performance, though I have read the transfer is better on Brilliant.
Thanks, George. Good news.
Quote from: gmstudio on December 12, 2007, 05:33:48 AM
Anyone familiar with this set?
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51QNOg7HZnL._AA240_.jpg)
It's only $18 on Amazon. I've been collecting boxes of the Beethoven Symphonies recently and was wondering if it's worthwhile or not? (Sets I currently have: Szell, Muti, Karajan (60's), Norrington, Gardiner)
I think it's well worth your time. It's the same orchestra as the famous Karajan, and recorded about the same time, so it's interesting to contrast & compare. Very nice in it's own right, too.
I think a set from Vienna would compliment what you have nicely. For an economical and easy on shelf-space intro, the Schmidt-Isserstedt/WP set of the symphonies & concerti is excellent -- the piano concerti with Backhaus are really superb. Personally I like Karl Bohm with the same orchestra a bit more in the symphonies (his last 9th, while very slow, is my all-time favorite), but S-I is very refined, if a little mellow in spots. Avoid Rattle -- very stilted, undercooked interpretations, not at all convincing IMO. Bernstein/WP is very good, though not a top choice other than his 7th IMO. I haven't heard Abbado/WP, although his Berlin CD set is pretty good, and the BPO DVD set from Rome is outstanding -- that's definitely what I would recommend if you're looking for DVDs.
For piano, my top overall choice is probably Gilels, and if I were looking for my first complete sonata set on a budget I'd go for Gulda on Brilliant. Hard to imagine being truly satisfied with just one, though...
Hope that helps! :)
Quote from: gmstudio on December 12, 2007, 05:33:48 AM
Anyone familiar with this set?
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51QNOg7HZnL._AA240_.jpg)
It's only $18 on Amazon. I've been collecting boxes of the Beethoven Symphonies recently and was wondering if it's worthwhile or not? (Sets I currently have: Szell, Muti, Karajan (60's), Norrington, Gardiner)
This is the set I imprinted on in the LP era and when it finally came out on CD I was not disappointed (my ears did not deceive me) to hear it again. While no set is perfect, it is a very recommendable overall. The weaker works in the set are the 5th and 3rd IMO but they are still good interpretations. The top performance is a Pastoral to rival Bruno Walter - indeed they are very similar. An old fashioned but very well crafted 9th with excellent soloists is also a good recommendation. I also enjoyed the 7th, 4th and especially the 2nd. If the overtures come with this set then that's good news too.