Your preferred speed of Beethoven's symphonies?

[hornteacher]

I'm guessing you mean the newer Abbado.  I have that one wishlisted, and I might get some of the Mackerras too, since I love his Mozart recordings (I have one opera and three or four PC with John O'Conor).  Vanksa's name keeps coming up, and I own nothing by him, so between Beethoven and Sibelius - I bet I will succumb to that siren song soon.

My personal favorites for quality swift tempo performances are the Mackerras (Liverpool cycle) and the Abbado (Rome cycle) with Vanksa close behind.

[Brian]

I'm not sure where Vanska gets his reputation for "swift tempos" - he's actually at or slower than traditional tempi. His 7.ii takes 9 minutes, his 9 is a very conventional 15/14/14/23 (at 66 minutes, much closer to Karajan than Mackerras), and his Eroica has a funeral march 3 minutes slower than many of the HIP types.

[mahler10th]

I think Karajan is spot on.
He may miss out the repeats, but that suits a modern audience, and his tempo and furioso (try the 5th from the 60's) is as quick and tight as the master would have approved.

[Sergeant Rock]

I love Klemperer and Norrington's Beethoven. I'm fine with any speed that works.

Sarge

[Lethevich]

I love Klemperer and Norrington's Beethoven. I'm fine with any speed that works.

If only somebody had the evil vision to combine Klemperer's tempi with Norrington's ensemble, that would be a CD I would have to hear...

[jochanaan]

...in some letters from Beethoven and from his tagebucher it is noted, that he thought the boys of the band bungled up his tempo directions almost always, and he made great havoc about that. It seems it was never fast enough for him...

Um, which movements were the tagebucher talking about?  These comments would make sense if they referred to, say, the first movements of the Seventh and Eighth, or the Ninth's scherzo; but I doubt they referred to any of his genuine Adagios.  (Incidentally, "slow" movements in the Nine are often only slow by contrast; note the Allegretto in the Seventh, and the Allegretto scherzando in the Eighth.  Only the Third, Fourth and Ninth contain true Adagios.  On the other hand, the piano concertos's slow movements are Largo, Adagio, Largo, Andante con moto (often played closer to Adagio), and Adagio un poco mosso...! )

[jochanaan]

I don't consider tempo a big deal.  It's what the performers do with their selected tempo that counts.

I can't quite agree with that in total.  As a performer myself, I know just how important tempo is.  However, the metronome marking is only one facet of a movement's "tempo," and sometimes the least important.  When musicians play precisely and staccato, with bright tone and lots of accents, any movement will sound fast even if the actual speed is relatively slow; and when musicians play smoothly and draw out the tones, the movement will sound slow regardless of how fast it's actually played.  Beethoven, before his deafness became too extreme, was by all reports a consummate performer who would have understood this...

[Franco]

However, the metronome marking is only one facet of a movement's "tempo," and sometimes the least important. 

I wonder about dismissing too easily the metronome markings in Beethoven's scores.

[Renfield]

If only somebody had the evil vision to combine Klemperer's tempi with Norrington's ensemble, that would be a CD I would have to hear...

I'd like to hear Norrington's tempi with Klemperer's ensemble, myself. And the medication bills for the players, following that.

[oabmarcus]

anything but Cobra.

[jochanaan]

I wonder about dismissing too easily the metronome markings in Beethoven's scores.

Which I'm not doing. I'm just saying that sometimes other factors are more important than strict adherence to a metronome marking...

[Wanderer]

I'd like to hear Norrington's tempi with Klemperer's ensemble, myself. And the medication bills for the players, following that.

Why would anyone not being a legislative body want to hear a medication bill, let alone several, is beyond me.