The 99 Most Essential Beethoven Masterpieces (Amazon Exclusive)

Various Artists | Format: MP3 Download

Product Details

• Original Release Date: December 30, 2008
• Label: X5 Music Group
• Copyright: 2008 X5 Music Group
• Total Length: 15:52:20
• Genres:
• ASIN: B001NWULS0
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #638 Paid in MP3 Albums (See Top 100 Paid in MP3 Albums)
  • #45 in MP3 Downloads > MP3 Albums > Classical

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

164 of 173 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Incomplete works, but a low price, December 30, 2008

By 

T. Fisher - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The 99 Most Essential Beethoven Masterpieces (Amazon Exclusive) (MP3 Download)

At the special deal price of $1.99 (as the MP3 Deal of the Day on 12/30/08), this is a very good introduction to Beethoven's music for those who are not into classical music, or who aren't sure if they are or not, or who are curious and want to try something out. Go for it! It's all to the good.

However, if you have already decided you like classical music and are looking at this set as a quick collection builder, you might want to keep looking elsewhere. It is still a bargain, but a more questionable one, at the "standard" price of $7.99.

My main gripe is that this is a collection of "best of" excerpts -- almost no complete works, just individual movements and snippets cut and pasted together in a kind of hodgepodge. Maddening is that even when multiple movements are presented from the same work, they are not together, but scattered around separately in various places.

I am particularly puzzled by the 9th Symphony. This is the only one of the nine that is actually fully present, with all four movements included in the set. But they are not in order, scattered all around the place. For Pete's sake, why?

The performances themselves are good, sometimes even excellent. There are some world-class orchestras present. I was particularly surprised and pleased to find the "Grosse Füge" in a string symphony version with the Berlin Philharmonic under Wilhelm Furtwangler. I would have bought that for $0.89 alone -- which supports the argument that the set is a great bargain.

The second and third movements of the Violin Concerto feature Christian Tetzlaff, a top-rate Swiss soloist, on violin, in an outstanding performance -- it's just a shame that the 1st movement, which is the real heart of the Violin Concerto, is not included. (The X5 Music Group eventually put this full performance of the Violin Concerto on its great set The 99 Most Essential Violin Masterpieces.

Some symphony excerpts are from a set from the mid-1990s with the London Symphony Orchestra under Josef Krips. These performances have maybe a little non-standard interpretations, but that's what makes them interesting.

The soloists in the sonatas and elsewhere are strong players but not "superstars". It is the strong playing we have since become used to in sets from X5's "99" collections.

If the $1.99 bargain price comes around again, this set is worthwhile without question. But there is a lot of bargain music out there, and listening to the movements these people have cut out -- going beyond the "greatest hits" mentality and listening to full works from start to end, so you can hear the complete vision and logic of the composer -- is one of the real joys of classical music. That being said, this set has great music and should satisfy those who only want "greatest hits".

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Well Done, Well Priced Collection, December 30, 2008

By 

Sarah Thomas (Williamsburg, Virginia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The 99 Most Essential Beethoven Masterpieces (Amazon Exclusive) (MP3 Download)

Although I would tend to agree with others in writing that this collection is lacking in that it's only bits and pieces of Beethoven's music that we love, but it makes up for it in quantity and quality. Yes, we may not have entire symphonies, sonatas, or quartets, but we have many parts from great ones! Although I own most of this music in its complete form, it's worth buying this because I don't have digital copies of that music. Also there's some fabulous recordings here. Definitely worth 2 dollars.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Lots of music, but disorganized, April 12, 2010

By 

Sonoma's Davey (Guerneville, CA United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The 99 Most Essential Beethoven Masterpieces (Amazon Exclusive) (MP3 Download)

Plusses: Lots and lots of music, well more than 15 hours (!); excellent performances
Minuses: It's all disorganized. Most of the longer works are incomplete. The 9th Symphony (great performance by the London Symphony under Krips) is complete, but incomprehensibly the movements are all scattered about. (In iTunes, sort the album by song name -- that will put things in the right order again.)
But hey, for 15 hours of nice music, what's to complain about?