Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 "Choral"

Ludwig van Beethoven (Composer), Herbert von Karajan (Conductor), Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra (Orchestra) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Orchestra: Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
• Conductor: Herbert von Karajan
• Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven
• Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Deutsche Grammophon
• ASIN: B000001G6W
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #31,591 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Ninth , but get the New (2003) transfer, May 21, 2003

By 

R. Lane (Tracy, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 "Choral" (Audio CD)

Universal / DG have just released a 2 CD set containing this famous performance coupled with the 5th and 6th symphonies from the same integral cycle , catalog number 474260-2. The Amazon ASIN # is B00008CLNP. The recording has been remastered at 96kHz with 24bit digital recorders. And it is worth a few extra $ ... just for the newer transfer of the Ninth. The balances are much more realistic and make for an incredible listening experience. I've known this recording for over 20 years. I've always had a slight dislike for the close microphone techniques of DG in the 70s, and this is a typical recording from that era. Too many close microphoned highlights of individual instruments or orchestra sections for brief moments. Well, I feel like I've discovered a new recording. Gone are the over dominating percussion moments, and the sound of violins being plucked is much more pleasant, especially bass violins. And the individual voices and parts of the chorus are much more distinguishable than in this Galleria copy. Just listen to the 3rd movement on both issues and you'll never want to hear the Galleria copy again.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Karajan's Best Ninth, March 5, 2000

By 

John Buie (United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 "Choral" (Audio CD)

Karajan's 1977 account of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony is, in my humble opinion, the best stereo version of this masterpiece on record. It is far superior to Karajan's later digital version and even beats out his earlier 1962 account. One of the reasons for its superiority is the magnificent Adagio, which Karajan slows down (as compared to his earlier effort) to emphasize its glowing tranquility. The playing of the Berlin Philharmonic is magnificent throughout and the vocal quartet is likewise excellent. Special recognition should go to Jose van Dam, who gives one of the finest performances I have heard. I personally have several versions of this work in my collection. This one is my favorite. Highly recommended!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The perfect ninth - except for the chorus singing., October 13, 2000

By 

P. Rah "prahcello" (Sion, Switzerland) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 "Choral" (Audio CD)

I have always (fanatically) admired the BPO and Herr von Karajan's recordings - it has become one of my missions in life to collect all of his recordings, whether they are bad or not. But for this recording, I am not biased. This is the 3rd of Karajan's five or six recordings of the Ninth, and what a result! Many people have commented that this is the best of his ninth's and particularly the 3rd mvmt has been singled out for its beauty. I completely agree. It is by far the most spiritual reading from Karajan and one of the most definitive recordings of this work, in terms of sound, playing etc., except for the chorus. The Wiener Singverein are apallingly out of tune and the sopranos are very squawky, but all this does NOT detract it from being a 5-star CD. At least they sing with passion. The singing of Sintow, Baltsa, Schreier and Van Dam are simply to die for. Karajan was famous for being a very good voice-picker (and voice-wrecker), and in here it is no exception. Sintow is just heavenly, Baltsa taut, Schreier pure and Van Dam heroic. They sing together with sheer joy, and so do the Berliner Philharmoniker: they give one of their most committed performances on disc. The last movement is played with warmth and passion and the coda is extremely fast (but always under control) and it makes the whole thing joyful and triumphant. The ensemble is always spot-on and amazingly fiery for a studio recording. The timpanist at the coda of the last movement seems to have been given free rein, as I have never heard such bashing of the drums in the ninth. Sonically, this is a great DG recording, but the chorus is too closely and dryly recorded, and I wish that the tonmeister would have given more room for the woodwinds in the coda of the last mvmt, because the woodwinds are very important in this symphony rhythmically. But, I have noticed that in his 3 recordings for DG, Karajan emphasised different sections of the orchestra for each recording. eg. for 1963, it was the string section that got the spotlight, in the 1977 the brass and percussion, and in 1984 the bass section. So it could be said that even at this stage, Karajan was experimenting with sonical implications in a sound recording. It is a damn good success generally, and I can safely bet that one will not get a more fiery studio Ninth anywhere. Buy it for the sake of the Solo singing and the perfect playing of BPO!!