Customer Reviews

Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 "Choral"

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

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!

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.

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!!

When Karajan developed "his" sound from the BPO, it was obvious that it would suit some composers better than others. That gorgeous velvet sound proved ideal for Strauss and Bruckner, but Mozart and Haydn suffered and to some degree so did Beethoven, who needs clearer sharper lines. But the Ninth is perhaps the one Beethoven symphony who can take the Karajan sound without loss of clarity. I always thought this is one of the finest Beethoven symphonies recorded by Karajan, big boned but spiritual, with a drop-dead gorgeous vocal quartet, the finest ever perhaps. This is certainly a better recording than the 1963 version, and far better than the 1984 digital remake when he was at odds with BPO over Sabine Meyer, sad years for Karajan and his great orchestra. This is one of the Ninths to be had.

I agree with all the other people who have reviewed this item that it is both one of the best-played and most exciting versions available(did somebody give the timpani a microphone to themselves at the end?),but I feel that the singing of the Viennese choir is really rather disappointing. Granted, the balance is not very helpful to the choir, but given that the Wiener Singverein are a professional body, their tone, not to mention the simple virtue of actually getting the notes right, leaves much to be desired. I realise that the choral singing in this symphony is pitched uncomfortably high in the human register, but one has only to listen to recordings by Bohm, Mackerras and particularly Gardiner(whose Monteverdi Choir excel themselves) to realise firstly that the notes are not impossible to sing and, secondly, the improvement that really good choral singing makes to the finale of the 9th. None of the recordings I have mentioned display any of the irritating squeaking shown by the Viennese sopranos. Unfortunately, no recording has yet appeared of Beethoven's 9th that combines brilliant orchestral playing, top-quality choral singing and sensible(i.e. not period-performance) tempi. This last point has been a controversial one in recent years and, generally, period speeds give added excitement. The problem is that a 12-minute slow movement(cf. nearly 17 minutes on the recording under review)makes conveying any sense of repose nigh-impossible. Really, one has to choose between this recording and Bohm's first(better singing but orchestral playing less polished) version for the best Beethoven 9 around at the moment. One word of warning- don't get Bohm's second attempt by mistake; it is dreadfully slow(79 minutes!), to the point where the only joyful bit about the finale is when it has finally finished.

I decided to write this review only because I read the others, and a few of them left me scratching my head, but to each his own...

The symphony is my favorite form of classical composition, and I have studied the whole life of the symphonic form. That being said, I think that LvB's 9th Symphony is, overall, the greatest symphony ever written. LvB's 3rd Symphony abruptly changed the course of symphonic composition (not to mention classical music as a whole), but after his 9th, there could be no turning back. There are many, many composers who were practically haunted by the mark LvB left, namely Brahms.

But anyway, back to the recording itself: I have listend and compared many recordings of the 9th over the years, and in my humble opinion, this one is easily the best. I mainly pay attention to the small, intricate orchestral details, pacing, overall sound, and how the singers blend with the orchestra. Many recordings do well in two or three of my catagories, but this is the only one that excells on all fronts. I have spent years trying to find a recording better than this one, and my search continues...

As a side note, the best recording on period instruments is by Harnoncourt leading the Chamber Orchestra of Europe & the Arnold Schoenberg Choir. A close second is Hogwood leading the Academy of Ancient Music and the London Symphony Chorus, but it's only available as a box set.

Of all the great recordings available of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, this one definitely tops my list. This recording, made in 1977, was Herbert von Karajan's third recording of this symphony, and this time he REALLY got it right. Karajan, unlike many others, takes this symphony at a pace which clocks in at just under 67 minutes, compared to the more commonly seen recordings which are generally over 70 minutes. This fast pace has the advantage of making this version much more emotionally intense than the competition. The Berlin Philharmonic play with exact precision and heated fire. Luckily for the listener, Karajan does not make the orchestra play in the overly glossy and smooth manner for which he was to become famous. In fact, he emphasized the brass section in this recording rather than trying to create an equal balance between all sections; this results in an incredibly intense and powerful, blaring brass section, with all of it's member's playing their hearts out. One listen and anybody will notice how this effect greatly enhances the the emotional depth and character of this particular recording when compared to others. The singers in the finale also do a marvelous job(Karajan was famous for picking great singers and getting the best out of them), and though as in ususal Karjan style, the chorus is used more in the background than the foreground, this recording of the ninth emphasizes the chorus more than any other of Karajan's recordings of this symphony. For a recording from the 1970s, the sound is very good. At a mid-price, this recording cannot be passed up. Since first listening, this recording became my favorite of this symphonic masterpiece. Karjan gave us something truly special here.

I personally feel that Herbert von Karajan has actually become an underrated conductor. "WHAT! " you say. Yeah, you heard me, underrated! Karajan has been so hyped up in the classical music industry, he made SO many recordings before he died that many now write him off as marketing hype. He isn't helped by the fact that many think of him as some kind of cold evil SS officer with a baton. This recording is a perfect example of Karajan's skills as a conductor. Sheer greatness. It is the perfect combination of tempo, tension, and beauty. In addition you actually get good sound from DG. Great choice of singers. This one should be in the Essentials list. It is certainly in mine. Best all around Beethoven 9th. Buy it immediatly if you don't own it.

There are four performance of this symphony that simply rank WAY UP there for me. One of them is Fritz Reiner's Chicago on RCA's "Legendary Performers" series. Another would be Eugene Duvier's on a reduced-price DG disc. Yet another is John Eliot Gardiner's astounding reading in his Beethoven Complete Symphonies set. This one runs neck-and-neck in competion for my favorite.
Gardiner's fine live-performance is thrilling, but it must ultimately cede to this strong-boned - but very lithe - Karajan performance. I say strong-boned, but don't let that fool you into thinking that I mean stodgy. This is anything but stodgy. The opening movement is thunderously resonant. Compared to Gardiner, it is more declamatory. At the ending minute or two of this movement Gardiner is more superfluous, Karajan more paced with a stronger voice (this is not to say "stronger performance" in the aesthetic sense).
Karajan's scherzo doesn't flow as cleanly as Gardiner's, but it flows, and it is like river rapids.
In the Adagio, Karajan has his greatest moment. This adagio really sings, flows, and moves you whereas many other performances tend to either overdo or not accent enough.
Finale movement: what tends to bother me in so many other Ninths are the soloists chosen for the most famous part of the "Choral". Bernstein's Sony reading is a perfect example. Lenny has a pretty strong Ninth going, UNTIL you hear his soloists. With Karajan it is just the opposite. You get Karajan's special all-star cast: Peter Schreier, Anna Tomowa-Sintow, Agnes Baltsa, and Jose van Dam. And instead of being repeatedly disappointed as the soloists make their entrance, I kept on being rapturously surprised. These soloists, in unison with Karajan's exemplary direction of the Berlin Phil and the Vienna Singverein, will bring you one of the most thrilling Ninths of all-time. Perhaps it will even re-convince you that the Ninth is greatest work ever written. I know that I was personally already burned out from the Ninth when I bought this CD. Or perhaps it will convince you that the Choral movement was not a mistake after all. Either way, you'll be thrilled.

I bought this after it is highly recommended in Penguin and Gramophone guides.

Excellently conducted by Karajan. I have 4 versions of this Symphony along with karajan's 1963 DG originals version.
But this one is the best of them and I enjoyed it fully.

One interesting fact is that 1978 Grammy award for classical music was given to Karajan's complete 1977 cycle (i.e including this one).

Very well worth the purchase for Mid-price.