25 Beethoven Favorites [Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered]

Ludwig van Beethoven (Composer), Anton Nanut (Conductor), Hans-Hubert Schonzeler (Conductor), Hubert Reichert (Conductor), Jerzy Semkov (Conductor), Heinz Wallberg (Conductor), Zubin Mehta (Conductor), Michael Gielen (Conductor), Stanislaw Skrowaczewski (Conductor), Alberto Lizzio (Conductor), Berlin Symphony Orchestra (Performer), Vienna Symphony Orchestra (Performer), Ljubljana Symphony Orchestra (Orchestra), Radio Symphony Orchestra (Orchestra), Recklinghausen Westphalian Symphony Orchestra (Orchestra), Vienna Volksoper Orchestra (Orchestra), Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra (Orchestra), Minnesota Orchestra (Orchestra), London Festival Orchestra and Chorus (Orchestra), Alfred Brendel (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Berlin Symphony Orchestra, Vienna Symphony Orchestra, Alfred Brendel
• Orchestra: Ljubljana Symphony Orchestra, Radio Symphony Orchestra, Recklinghausen Westphalian Symphony Orchestra, Vienna Volksoper Orchestra, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, et al.
• Conductor: Anton Nanut, Hans-Hubert Schonzeler, Hubert Reichert, Jerzy Semkov, Heinz Wallberg, et al.
• Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven
• Audio CD (August 20, 1996)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered
• Label: Vox (Classical)
• ASIN: B0000058HX
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,514 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #1 in Music > Classical > Ballets & Dances > Ecossaises
  • #5 in Music > Classical > Chamber Music > Trios
  • #5 in Music > Classical > Historical Periods > Romantic (c.1820-1910) > Forms & Genres > Theatrical, Incidental & Program Music

Track Listings

1. Egmont, incidental music, Op. 84: Overture

2. Symphony No. 5 in C minor ('Fate'), Op. 67: I: Allegro con brio, edited

3. Piano Sonata No. 21 in C major ('Waldstein'), Op. 53: I: Allegro, edited

4. Piano Sonata No. 14 in C sharp minor ('Moonlight'), Op. 27/2: I: Adagio sostenuto, edited

5. Piano Sonata No. 8 in C minor ('Pathétique'), Op. 13: II: Adagio cantabile, edited

6. Piano Sonata No. 23 in F minor ('Appassionata'), Op. 57: III: Allegro ma non troppo, edited

7. Symphony No. 6 in F major ('Pastoral'), Op. 68: II: Andante molto mosso, edited

8. Symphony No. 7 in A major, Op. 92: III: Presto assai, edited

9. Die Geschöpfe des Prometheus (The Creatures of Prometheus), ballet, Op. 43: Finale, edited

10. Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 61: I: Allegro ma non troppo, edited

11. Sonata for violin & piano No. 5 in F major ('Spring'), Op. 24: I: Allegro, edited

12. Piano Trio in B flat major ('Archduke'), Op. 97: I: Allegro moderato, edited

13. Bagatelle for piano in A minor ('Für Elise'), WoO 59: Edited

14. Quintet for piano, oboe, clarinet, horn & bassoon in E flat major, Op. 16: III: Rondo. Finale, edited

15. Fantasia for piano, chorus, and orchestra ('Choral Fantasy'), Op. 80: Finale, edited

16. Piano Concerto No. 2 in B flat major, Op. 19: III: Rondo, edited

17. Piano Concerto No. 3 in C minor, Op. 37: II: Largo, edited

18. Piano Concerto No. 4 in G major, Op. 58: I: Allegro moderato, edited

19. Piano Concerto No. 5 in E flat major ('Emperor'), Op. 73: I: Allegro, edited

20. Symphony No. 3 in E flat major ('Eroica'), Op. 55: I: Allegro con brio, edited

See all 25 tracks on this disc

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

188 of 192 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Less than impressive..., February 28, 2000

By 

John Salerno (Houston, TX, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: 25 Beethoven Favorites (Audio CD)

I must say that I am very disappointed with this CD. It's bad enough that only select movements from symphonies, concertos, sonatas, etc. are put on compilation albums like this one, but it irritates me to no end that even the individual movements themselves are cut! Supposedly "edited for leisure listening", this CD in no way fulfilled my expectations of what it would be. Most tracks are about 3 minutes long (whereas they should actually be anywhere from 5-15 minutes).

But aside from this content problem, the quality of the tracks is not that good either. The sound has a dull, flat quality to it, and is not as rich or lively as other recordings I've heard of the same pieces. (And in case this means anything to you: there is a note on the CD case that states "Digitally mastered from the original analog tapes"). Whether this is good or not, the CD does not sound as great as it seems to claim.

(Also, on a more irrelevant note: If you are expecting this CD to contain 25 of the most widely-known, familiar pieces, then don't buy it, because not many of them are popular).

My advice would be to find another compilation (even if that means buying one with less tracks) that contains the full versions of the movements and that sounds much better than this one.

53 of 54 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good Price, Middling Content, October 13, 2004

By 

Robert I. Hedges - See all my reviews
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This review is from: 25 Beethoven Favorites (Audio CD)

The most attractive thing about this Beethoven compilation CD is the price. For around five dollars, you get almost 77 minutes of music, which makes this CD useful as a very basic introduction to Beethoven, although I think some of the track selections are a bit obscure, and certainly don't rank with his greatest compositions.

The most universally recognized recordings on the CD are "Symphony Number 5 in C Minor", and "Symphony No. 9 in D Minor 'Choral' (IV. Finale: Allegro assai)." Coincidentally these are also probably the most technically superior recordings on the disc. The remaining tracks vary from relatively common to totally obscure. The quality of the individual tracks seems to vary quite a bit. There is relatively little background noise, yet some of the performances seem a bit muffled. It isn't unpleasant to listen to the CD, but by no means are these the best recordings available of these works.

Perhaps most annoying is the slavish devotion to the title: the producers were obviously bent on putting 25 Beethoven tracks on this CD for marketing purposes. The problem with that concept is that these pieces average about 3:08 per track, which won't cut it for a reasonable presentation of Beethoven. Not only are the individual tracks taken totally out of context, with no prevailing theme guiding their selection, but the tracks themselves were condensed and edited to fit in the 3 minute slot allotted to them on the CD. The result is not particularly representative of the works themselves, and is on occasion rather jarring to listen to.

There are better Beethoven compilations than this available, and I advise listeners to go for quality, not quantity: buy several CDs with unified themes and unedited pieces rather than this if that is an affordable option. This CD is not as good an introduction to Beethoven as I had hoped, and in fact, falls far short of the sister volume "25 Mozart Favorites", which is more sensible and has better recordings.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Collection, May 3, 2008

By 

Matthew Brown "mbrown3" (Pickerington, OH) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: 25 Beethoven Favorites (Audio CD)

Beethoven is my favorite composer. This is a good (but not great) collection, and all versions are good.