Customer Reviews

The 99 Most Essential Beethoven Masterpieces (Amazon Exclusive)

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

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".

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.

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?

I am still downloading the 99 pieces and have only listened to one... Sonata No. 8 in C Minor for Piano, Op. 13 "Pathétique": II. Adagio cantabile.
Just that piece alone is worth the price of admission.. What a great way to explore the genius of Beethoven's large body of work, and by some of the best players around to boot!
At just 0.02 per piece (many over 10:00 minutes) this is the best bargain that I have ever come across on Amazon. The collection is over 15 and 1/2 hours... Do yourself a favor and downloaded now!

Perfect collection for the casual listener. Purchased through AmazonMP3 without any issues - much better than the Apple iTunes store.

Pro: That's a lot of Beethoven. A lot of clips from Beethoven, incomplete symphonies (it says "essential," you get the "essence".)
Con: It's not re-engineered. The sound level fluctuates; not within tracks, but between tracks.
Pro: You've always wanted to be a recording engineer, right? You've always wanted to make your own ring tones, right?

You don't NEED to keep all 99 tracks on your music player.

Thank you Amazon for this MP3 download! It is the ultimate Beethoven album ever. I'm surprised it has hidden from me this long. If you're into classical, get this downloaded and the download comes across so crisp and clear it's overwhelming. THANK YOU!

It has 99. It was cheap to d/l. What more do you want? Good stuff.

This is an amazing collection of Beethoven works! I even have met an artist or two on this collection. Dubravka Tomsic is a real expert on Beethoven and has performed the Emperor Concerto (#5) with the Boston Symphony Orchestra! An interesting hodge podge of mixed up Beethoven works. I really liked 15 Variations and Fugue Opus 35 in E by Hugo Stuerer. I've never heard it played like he did. Much emotion with loud and soft passages! This work contains themes that Beethoven used as the basis for his third (Eroica) Symphony. Somebody who really knows music put this collection together. A+++

I'm not a classical music expert. However, ever since grade school, I've always had a thing for Beethoven: Perhaps it was being forced to play "Ode to Joy" in front of the entire school. I don't know. But I've always found Beethoven's works engaging, somehow more "alive" than other classical composers.

I seriously doubt this collection is as "essential" as it proclaims. But make no mistake: These ARE masterpieces. You can lay back, close your eyes, and get lost within these wonderful songs, marveling at their complexity, at the intricate way they are strung so delicately together. It's also rather surprising how many you'll recognize; classical music has become so ingrained in our culture, we hear the songs without fully appreciating them for the works of art they are. That is why collections such as these--especially at these remarkable prices--are so precious: They offer the casual music listener a chance to marvel at true mastery.