Customer Reviews

Beethoven: The Complete Symphony Collection

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

As a life long fan of the Beethoven symphonies, I've purchased several sets (Leinsdorf, Karajan, Norrington, Sawallisch, Muti, Hogwood, Harnoncourt, Gardiner). This bargain-priced set by Josef Krips and the LSO is second to none. The performances are first rate and the sound is typical of the vinyl era when there was a mellow blending of strings with the rest of the orchestra. Highly recommended, especially for folks who are looking for a great set of the Beethoven symphonies to start a collection.

The best transfer of these "not great but not embarrassing" early '60s performances of Beethoven's 9 performed by the LSO and Josef Krips. The performances are better than I remember (maybe the cruddy sound in the transfers I listened to had something to do with it). Recommended because the price cannot be beat and it's a cheap and honest way to become familiar with these great symphonies.

This set was recorded almost 50 years ago. Back in those days, making recordings was a special event for most orchestras. It has been my experience that recordings from the '60's tend to have a certain excitement about them missing from today's recordings. Here we have a set with an outstanding conductor, a very fine orchestra and decent, if not great sound. The performances are mostly excellent, especially Nos. 3-9. This set was recorded by the Everest label on 35MM tape. The original LPs had great sound. This particular set is not based on the original tapes. If it were, the price would be much higher. So if you want to spend less than 10 bucks for all of the Beethoven symphonies this is you best bet. If you want better sound at this price, there are other options but they do not feature a first class orchestra and legendary conductor.

I frankly could not believe what I saw when I looked at this page. ALL 9 symphonies by the LSO for less than a dollar a symphony? It's one of those, "if it sounds too good to be true ...."

It's phenomenal. Maybe it's because I'm old and I grew up with vinyl and learned to not hear the scratches and hisses. But I hear nothing in these recordings except music - glorious. So it used to be on vinyl? Great! But - now it's on my computer. Unfortunately, I don't have Bose speakers connected but the advantage is, "Gee - I'd like to listen to the Scherzo movement of Beethoven's 3rd symphony. <click> and there it is. Amazing. Take that, old Dual player and wooden, blackboard eraser looking thing to clean the disk with first. <click> and there it is. Not only that, there is the London Symphony Orchestra responding to my click. They sound wonderful, the fact I can call it up almost as quickly as I can think of it is amazing and the whole thing is less than a dollar per symphony.

I only hope Uncle Ludwig is not watching. I think he and his publicist would be having a fit knowing that I am listening to music that sounds better than his orchestra did live and I can listen to any one of his symphonies immediately. Just <click>

Do it. It's a no-brainer.

I grew up listening to the "Beethoven's 9th" from this set, when it came out on Everest records. Later, I purchased the entire set -- they were cheap THEN, as now! SINCE THEN, I have purchased DOZENS of COMPLETE sets of the entire nine Beethoven symphonies, as well as different editions of his COMPLETE works. After all these years, I still have to say that the absolute THRILL produced by the climax of Krips' brilliant performance with the London Symphony, et al, of the 9th Symphony is unsurpassed by any other recording I have heard, and approached by very few indeed. Overall, this remains my FAVORITE set of the complete Beethoven Symphonies! I still remember hearing the "Eroica" the first time I finally received the "complete" set in the mail... I was so taken with the recording that I took the day off from school -- playing "hooky" for the one and only time of my life. Little did I know then, I had found my favorite set. Years and THOUSANDS of dollars later, I have found no greater satisfaction with these great symphonies than these miraculous recordings.

For the record, if you want a more modern recording, the most satisfying set I have found is the one with Riccardo Muti conducting the Philadelphia Orchestra. I've heard MOST of the other "favorites," and have to question the slam dunk critical praise for Karajan's "famous" 1963 set. It's great, as are dozens of others -- one favorite of mine is George Szell's Cleveland Orchestra set -- but, if you ask ME... this set is a wonderful bit of music making. I recommend it to everyone, regardless of how many other sets you own. And for those of you for whom this is the ONLY set you own, don't feel like you're missing out on anything, Beethoven's greatness pours out of every bar. It is my favorite recording of Beethoven's symphonies and the sound quality is miraculous for its age!

After I downloaded this set, I was infuriated that some of the movements were missing.

After closer inspection, I realized that the "missing" movements are there, but they aren't listed as separate tracks.

Perhaps this is because the "missing" movements are bridged. I'll have to take note of that.

Otherwise, this is an incredible deal for a set of one of the greatest bodies of work that humankind has ever produced.

...not only is this an amazing deal price wise, the level of musicianship and sound quality are outstanding. I am particularly a fan of the 9th performed here. Is it Furtwangler or Wand? No, it is not. But it is simply stellar in its own right, as are all the others. I love having all of the symphonies in one cycle such as this (not just limited to Beethoven). This is a fantastic set, very aptly performed and worth at least five times the cost at which it is being offered here.

For those interested, bit rates range from 222kbps to 240kbps, with a total download size of 571MB (5.6 hours).

Highly recommended.

Hi, I bought the complete symphonies for christmas to give to my nephew. (I bought it on December 24!) I am not an audiophile, but am somewhat familiar with the repertoire and have listened to many versions of Beethoven symphonies.

The performances are overall good, but less melodramatic and more cerebral and more subdued than what you'd find in a Beethoven performance. This approach worked particularly well for Symphony #3, but not so well for Symphony #5 (though it was still somewhat interesting). By the way, in #9, the beginning of the last movement sounded warbled and distorted for the first 3-5 seconds. (Everything else was fine). But aside from that, it was fine (the tenor, by the way was incredible!).

In general, I thought the sound quality was ok (with the only exception noted above).

This is a mainstream interpretation of Beethoven, with no performances that stood out except for #3. Still a remarkable bargain! I am still considering buying the Andre Cluytens' complete Beethoven symphonies Beethoven: Les 9 Symphonies [Box Set], which generally received plaudits. It is regrettable that older recordings like the Cluytens still aren't available as an mp3 download (hurry up, EMI!) and must be obtained as CD.

This is one of the better performances of Beethovens Symphony's that I have heard. Unlike many of the albums on Amazon that have tons of Beethovens selected works, this album lets you listen to his symphonys in their entirety and allows you to truly experience the journey of his composition.

I never had the Everest Lp's of this Beethoven set although I did find them on cassettes (by a company who's name I don't remember) which I played many times & then I found them in a Madacy tin can CD set which I have also played several times. This is a good set of recordings that I'd recommend to anybody who likes Beethoven's symphonies.

11/11/11 Update. Recently found two LP sets of the Everest LP's. One a 9 disc set & the other a 7 disc set of the same material in a later Everest LP pressing. Enjoyed playing both all the way through over a few days. Try listening to the music samples & then give this $5.99 1960's era set of recordings a try. They are quite good I think & worth adding to your Beethoven collection.