 | | |
| Beethoven: The Complete Symphonies and Piano Concertos | 
 enlarge
| Creators: Hans Hotter, Ludwig Van Beethoven, Otto Klemperer, Christa Ludwig, New Philharmonia Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra Of London, Daniel Barenboim, Aase Nordmo Lovberg, Aase Nordmo-lovberg, Waldemar Kmentt
Label: EMI Classics
Category: Music
List Price: $62.98
Buy New: $40.98
You Save: $22.00 (35%)
Buy New/Used from $30.00
Avg. Customer Rating:  (27 reviews)
Sales Rank: 11421
Format: Box Set, Limited Edition, Original Recording Reissued
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 9
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.3 x 5 x 1.1
UPC: 724357389525
EAN: 0724357389525
ASIN: B00004YA0S
Release Date: November 7, 2000
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
|
| Customer Reviews:
 Marvelous Music February 25, 2003
5 out of 8 found this review helpful
My first Beethoven was the Bruno Walter/?Chicago Symphony series on Columbia Records. I have acquired several versions of my favorites since. The Emmanual Ax version on RCA of the Emporer and the Fantasia are very good. The Wolfgang Sawallisch version of the Pastoral Symphony is one of my favorites. Having said all that, if I could only have one set, it would be this one. 'Slow'? Maybe. But you can hear every note, every phrase, clearly and beautifully. I have the Wilhelm Kempff versions of four of the piano sonatas, which are technically brilliant, and very fast. Not until I got Murray Perahia's version of 'Moonlight' did I really hear everything that's in there! Same thing applies here. Use these versions as a solid wonderful 'gold standard', and explore from there.
The Truth - but not the Whole Truth January 16, 2003
34 out of 42 found this review helpful
Klemperer's way with Beethoven is nothing if not honest. By the 1950's Otto Klemperer drew his written signature with a bold, truculent hand, the letters shaky but defiant. He had endured much. That signature and these Beethoven performances reveal the same spirit - an essential honesty.
These are bold, defiant, trenchant and experienced performances. They represent essential aspects of Beethoven's genius. Dylan Thomas's pleaded that his father should `rage against the dying of the light'. Beethoven did so. So too did Klemeperer. He rages through these symphonies. Despising superficiality, he scorned a polished, refined orchestral sound. The Philharmonia respond with bold, rugged, trenchant strength. The conductor's hand and beat were in the last years notoriously shaky but the spirit utterly secure, defiant in adversity.
Klemperer's vision is expressed with a defiant, trudging gait, firmly grasped priorities, unbending pride, prominent woodwind, violins divided right and left, thundering timpani in Eroica's the last page, blazing trombones in the finale of the 5th, a galumphing rustic peasant dance in the `Pastoral' (Klemperer insisted this was a slow Austrian county dance).
It is fashionable to prefer early versions of the 3rd, 5th and 7th and the `live' recording of the 9th but the recordings included in this set are quintessential Klemeperer. They represent something elemental, undeniable. Comparison with Klemperer's contemporaries uncovers fundamental differences of personality. Klemperer lacks the beauty and grace of Bruno Walter's vision; the deep peace and equilibrium radiating from Ferencsik's pacific performances; the athletic dynamism that drives Carl Schuricht's. But Klemeperer convinces by patent honesty, stubborn faithfulness to essential aspects in the physiognomy of Beethoven's spirit. Indispensable!
 The Klemperer Concerto....sorry, couldn't resist it. November 26, 2002
16 out of 20 found this review helpful
I must respectfully disagree with a few of the reviews stated here: I find Otto Klemperer's tempi to be rather catatonic. Before you consign me to the philistine heap, please remember that Beethoven's own metronome markings for his scores are far faster than nearly anyone conducts them. Listening to Klemperer's Eroica, I'm now convinced that the first movement is the true "funeral march," while the Fifth symphony's first movement sounds more lethargic than majestic. Overall, the most uneven of the selections is Klemperer's take on the Seventh: the first movement does indeed sound majestic, the popular second movement has an appropriate pathos wrung from it by the glacial tempo, yet the third & (especially) fourth movements can never get going. The Eighth retains a certain lightness despite the stern conducting. The Sixth's storm movement is very effective, while the more bucolic first three movements lack a lightness & grace. Klemperer's interpretation of the First is glorious, as is his full-orchestra Grosse Fuge, which is the highlight of the set. The Ninth has a relatively swift last movement with some famous Wagnerian voices (Hotter & Ludwig), a powerfully morose first movement, a lagging second, and an exquisite third. The piano concertos carry on with the slow tempi. This approach works best on the luscious Concerto #4 and the gorgeous second movement of Concerto #5. Unfortunately, the rest of the "Emperor" drags a bit. Concertos 1, 2 & 3 sound almost more like Bruckner than early Beethoven with the stern atmosphere that permeates these pieces. The Choral Fantasy & the overtures are performed admirably enough. The angry Coriolan benefits best under Klemperer's direction. I do not wish to be misunderstood: Klemperer was one of the greatest conductors of all time. Yet, I find his style better suits the late Romantics, foremost of which would be Wagner. For the Beethoven neophyte, I would recommend Karajan's symphonies & the Ashkenazy/Solti piano concertos. As an alternative to those, this set is certainly worthwhile.
Here's to Dark, Slow - and Majestic! April 5, 2002
7 out of 9 found this review helpful
This review will, without doubt, irritate musicologists immensely. Good. I'm in that large group who can't read a note of music, but know what they like. My claim to expertise is a 50-year love affair with Beethoven and his symphonies. I've heard everything from Furtwangler to (heaven help us) Gardiner. I have Klemperer's vinyl version of the 4th (along with the Consecration of the House)- an amazing recording which I hope will eventually be re-produced on CD. As soon as I saw "dark" and "slow", I knew I had to have this collection. I've just run through my favourites and am delighted with the purchase. I do agree that some of the tempi are a bit brisk; one example, unfortunately, being the Allegretto in the Sixth. So far, the Seventh and his collaboration with Barenboim on the Fifth Piano Concerto are the best I've heard. These two performances alone are worth the price of the set. They are suitably slow, decidedly not dark, but majestic in every sense of the word. If you like your Beethoven symphonies full, lush and grand, this compilation is well worth your attention. The ONLY conductor to equal Klemperer's treatment of these works is Carlo Maria Giulini (aside from occasional offerings from Monteux and Karajan). Get his Sony recordings of the 3rd, 6th and 7th symphonies if you can...meanwhile, this batch will do very nicely! One word of warning: If you value the quality of your CDs, get separate jewel-cases for the nine included in this box. They're packed in ...cardboard slips and impossible to remove without touching the laser side. Fingerprints and scratches are inevitable if you don't!
Grab it while it's available! December 27, 2001
20 out of 22 found this review helpful
When I read such comments as "hopelessly old-fashioned, dark,
heavy, and frequently very slow," I can't believe your reviewers
heard the same recordings I did. This nine-CD album is an
astonishing achievement and a wonderful contribution to the
recording legacy of Otto Klemperer and the Philharmonia (or New
Philharmonia after 1964). Any lover of classical music should
immediately order this set while it is still in the catalog.
Please ignore the carping by some critics that Klemperer indulges
in "impossibly slow tempos." These people ignore the fact that
Klemperer often delivers quite brisk tempi when it suits his
interpretation of the score. Perhaps such critics prefer to
hear every classical piece performed at precisely the metronome
setting they feel matches the tempo markings of the composer, but
that could result in every recording of a work sounding the same.
Klemperer was a maestro who knew what he wanted, and he made sure
his orchestra knew it as well. His output with the Philharmonia
and New Philharmonia included numerous major works ranked by
prominent critics as among the "great recordings of all time."
Sure, there are other conductors with faster, even MUCH faster,
versions of the Beethoven symphonies and concerti and overtures.
Sir Georg Solti and William Steinberg come to mind, and some
critics hated their performances for being TOO fast. But there
are others even slower than Klemperer's slowest passages. I have
numerous versions of the Beethoven symphonies and piano concerti
(LP and CD) in my collection, and I enjoy the differences in
approach of such conductors as Solti, Ashkenazy, Karajan, Boehm,
Kleiber, Furtwangler, Toscanini, Monteux, Stokowski, and others,
even when accompanied by groans, moans, and occasional editing
of the scores. But I challenge anybody to identify a more
majestic set of Beethoven symphonies and concerti than this
Klemperer album. I want especially to compliment the five piano
concerti (featuring Daniel Barenboim as soloist). The sound of
these performances is markedly superior to the original vinyl
records, and the tempi are definitely not a drag. Add to that
the inclusion of the three Leonore overtures and the various
other pieces, and you have an amazing value as well as superb
performances. The only things I would have liked to add are the
Violin Concerto (with Yehudi Menuhin as soloist)and the Fidelio
overture. Incidentally, for those enthusiasts of vinyl records,
let me add that the CD sound (remastered with 24-bit technology)
is every bit as good, and often better than those Angel records,
and there are no unfortunate breaks in movements, such as in the
second movement of the Angel LP of the "Eroica" symphony.
|
|
|
Powered by Associate-O-Matic
| | |
