Customer Reviews

Beethoven: The Nine Symphonies

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Wow, this is one of the oddest assortment of reviews I've ever encountered--and the last comment is over five years old. I guess Sir George's set just doesn't matter any more.

Too bad. This is a very nice collection. What Solti and the orchestra do here is present athletic yet fairly staight-up renderings of the music. The athleticism may be due mostly to the recording quality, which is excellent, and the fact that a large modern symphony orchestra is being used (as opposed to chamber-sized or period instrument orchestra). His tempos are very well-judged and give additional weight to the music. A lot of thought went into this, so much so that one isn't immediately aware of it.

Basically then, Solti is using a modern orchestra to let Beethoven's music speak for itself. The overall impression is one of quality all around--from Beethoven himself up. I rather think that despite his reputation as a bit of a loonie, Beethoven would not have gone for Furtwangler's often oddball approaches, Norrington's mania, or other hyper-ventilations.

Brahms may have felt Beethoven breathing down his neck but remember Beethoven felt Mozart down his--and Beethoven may have been the best person of his age to properly judge and appreciate that particularly intimidating master (And remember, anyone worth their salt--to this day--felt the monumental presence of J.S. Bach!). Beethoven worked hard at his craft; I doubt he would have felt a need to, well, overstretch things or be too visceral. Maybe we play up that side of him a bit too much, drive his music a bit too hard when we should simply sit back once in a while and listen to what he wrote.

I like the '63 Von Karajan set and a few others but of them all this one sits best for me. The playing is flawless.

So here's to glamourless conductors like Boult and van Beinum, people who, with care and humility, reveal the genius of the music rather than ride it around the concert hall like a bucking bronco. And here's to Solti, a rare high-profile conductor who pulled himself back a bit so that Beethoven could take center stage for a change.

This is a broad, powerful, heavy-duty Beethoven symphony cycle, free of idiosyncracy, that can stand as a benchmark to measure against more unconventional interpretations, a kind of golden mean of Beethoven. Decca's spacious sonics foregrounds Solti's attention to orchestral detail; all the sections, particularly the low strings and the winds can be heard to beautiful effect. Solti's tempos are expansive, and as befits a great opera conductor,incident rules over architecture. The decade from the late '80's to the late '90's was a stellar period for Beethoven symphony cycles. The four best, each completely at odds with the other, are Gardiner (period performance practice, Beethoven as French revolutionary, martial, manic, zealous); Barenboim (Wagnerian, deep orchestral colors, expressive tempos); Harnoncourt (raw,fusing Barenboim's personal expressiveness and Gardiner's small forces and fast tempos --Beethoven as untamed avant gardist, somewhere between Bach and Schoenberg); and this set, where Solti utilizes a Wagnerian orchestra with strong on-the-beat phrasing (Toscanini to Barenboim's Furtwangler). This conductor was the last of the old-school Middle Europeans in the field, and one of the only members of his breed to benefit from a first-rate band recorded with clarity in digital sound. (Karajan's late Beethoven cycle is to be avoided at all cost). If you like your Ludwig Van straight up, technocratic, without weirdness or surprises, then this set is for you (I mean that as a compliment...)

Reviewers would tell you that Karajan's first Deutsche Grammophon recordings is the Beethoven cycle to own. While I believe that Karajan's string-rich virtuoso view of Beethoven's score is refreshing, a quick comparison of the score and Karajan's music shows that he often takes a very Wagnerian (rubato) view of the score. Most people believe that Wagnerian entails a brassy, loud "heavy-metal" handed interpretation of the music. This, however, is a misconception that needs to be erased. Unlike Wagner, Beethoven had metronome markings in his score that a conductor needs to interpret to music to make the music sound right. Also, the development in the symphonies' musical and emotional structure are aided by these score markings to make it easier for the conductor to bring forth the composer's message. Karajan took a Wagnerian style of conducting in the sense that he changed some of the tempi to his liking. Solti, however, follows Beethoven's score in a German Romantic tradition. This means that there is a transparency to his conducting, but not to the degree that Szell takes with his Beethoven. Every musical detail is heard, and the strings are very well accentuated too. Karajan's recording emphasized the strings too much and drowned the other instruments. I find that although his Beethoven symphonies can be rather ravishing, it does not offer a very complete vision of the music.

These Chicago recordings (recorded by possibly the greatest symphony in the world at that time, the CSO) are undoubtedly the work of a conductor who knew the intentions of Beethoven very well and respected them. I highly recommend this set for anyone who wants to listen to Beethoven as it should be performed.

Although there are some great moments in Sir Georg Solti's last Beethoven Symphony cycle, recorded 1986-89, there are generally better recordings available.

First of all, Sir Georg's tempos in Symphony I: IV and Symphony 2: IV are break-neck, and almost reckless, so much so the Chicago players have trouble staying together!

The recording job throughout is acceptable, but the orchestra does not sound that realistic or immediate, and Decca's usually rich bass and midrange don't come through as in many other Solti recordings. The record level is low, and one has to boost the volume quite alot to get any sense of presence.

I don't think as highly of this set as some listeners might, as I have other recordings of Beethoven I turn to more often: Karl Bohm/Vienna Philharmonic (DG, rec. 1970-72) especially for Symphonies 2,3,4,5,6, and 8; Bernstein/Vienna Philharmonic (DG, rec. 1977-9); Szell/Cleveland (Sony Essential classics, rec. 1959-68) for Symphonies 1,3,4,and 9;
Karajan/Berlin Philharmonic (DG, either the 1961-2 or 1975-77 cycle, both available as complete sets); Bruno Walter/Columbia Symphony (Sony: Symphonies 2,3,4,6, and 8); Ormandy/Philadelphia Orchestra (Sony: Symphonies 5,6 and 8 - may be hard to find in April, 2007) or even Solti/Chicago Symphony in an earlier analog cycle (London, rec. 1972-74) which has sound with better presence: more defined bass, than this recording. Those who are Chicago Symphony fans and MUST have one of their recordings could seek out any of the Fritz Reiner/Chicago Beethovens: Symphonies 1,3,5,6,7 and 9 are still available (RCA).

In light of the competition, I'd pass on this one.

If you like Solti/Chicago, consider their recordings of the Brahms Symphonies (London, 4 CD set). And for SOLTI fans, he recorded the Beethoven Symphonies 3, 5 and 7 with the Vienna Philharmonic (Decca, 1958), a recording I have not heard, but have read is very good, better than either of Solti's Chicago Beethoven Symphony recordings.

Sir Georg appears to have been a careful and thoughtful student of Beethoven. Throughout his conducting career, he seems to have refined his approach to Beethoven's music, constantly striving to align his interpretation perfectly to the composer's original intent, instead of to the conductor's ego. This collection is, across the board, the finest I've heard, with no clinkers in the bunch. The only regret I have concerning this collection is that it does not contain Sir Georg's masterful -- and, sadly, final -- interpretation of the 7th. As far as I know, that survives only in memory, having been performed on public television shortly before the maestro's death, apparently never recorded for posterity. Nonetheless, I maintain that this is the definitive set of Beethoven's symphonies to date, by the man who is arguably his most scrupulous interpreter.

After listening to all nine symphonies in this set, I was VERY pleased at the performance and recording quality. The instrumentalists and DDD recording quality has been unsurpassed as far as I am concerned. This box set is a MUST for serious high school and college students who hope to eventually end up on stage. Before I received this set I owned the definitive Berlin/Karajan set of Beethoven Symphonies... Berlin fanatics beware... The Chicago Symphony/Solti Recording is the new definitive Beethoven Symphony set! I must also add that the vocals in the ninth are unreal! I have never heard better soloists on a CD. Please, if you are debating which set of the Beethoven Symphonies, choose this Solti recording! Out of the three sets I own, it beats them all hands down!

The balance of power and ominous, painful beauty that is Beethoven has been captured by Solti. Sir Georg manifests an aggressive tempo throughout, in my opinion the most critical facet of Beethoven interpretation. This is not to denigrate masters like Karajan and Bernstein, their visions are of course equally valid, though they do not share Solti's understanding of Beethoven's intent. In everyone's life a time arrives when they listen to these symphonies and Beethoven's true relevance in the history of art becomes clear. For me, it will always be this set. These CD's are priceless and an absolute necessity in the LvB fan's collection.

I was expecting a wonderful set when I bought Solti and Chicago's Beethoven Cycle. What I got was one of the best sounding sets of the symphonies BUT at the same time one of the most boaring sets. I cannot even listen to the Eroica Solti takes it so slowly; it sounds dead. The Lenore Overture No. 3 is beautiful, but also long and slow. The pastoral sounds like the orchestra is half alseep. There are some good symphonies: Nos. 1,2,5, and 7, but even these are not to par with the amazing Szell recordings or the Karajan cycles. Both of those capture the true power of the symphonies both with great sound and gusto. Solti, on the other hand, sounds like he is tired of conducting some of the world's greatest music!

This collection is one of the best I've ever had. I have listened to all of Beethoven's symphonies, conducted by the century's greatest conductors, but I have never heard such a great recording as this one. All 9 symphonies express great range of musical colors. I would recommand this collection of CDs to anyone interested in classical music.

colors

After receiving Solti's Beethoven set I felt a little dissapointed in this cycle. While the sound quality is at a very high standard the playing itself is a little lacklustre - lacking the enthusiasm which so characterises other Solti/CSO recordings, it is too restrained and polite. While Solti's interpretations are valid I feel that this set is not competetive with the likes of Bernstein, Szell and Karajan - it does not offer anything really new. But on the other hand if you're after sound quality then I would give this set 5 stars, all of the recordings are naturally balanced and are very clear, as usual by London/Decca records.