Symphony 3 & 8 [Original recording remastered]

Beethoven (Artist), Steinberg (Artist), Pst (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 13, 1999)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording remastered
• Label: Angel Records
• ASIN: B00000JJR6
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #437,524 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Symphony No. 3 in E flat major ('Eroica'), Op. 55: Allegro con brio

2. Symphony No. 3 in E flat major ('Eroica'), Op. 55: Marcia funebre, Adagio assai

3. Symphony No. 3 in E flat major ('Eroica'), Op. 55: Scherzo, Allegro vivace

4. Symphony No. 3 in E flat major ('Eroica'), Op. 55: Finale, Allegro molto

5. Symphony No. 8 in F major, Op. 93: Allegro vivace e con brio

6. Symphony No. 8 in F major, Op. 93: Allgretto scherzando

7. Symphony No. 8 in F major, Op. 93: Tempo di Meneutto

8. Symphony No. 8 in F major, Op. 93: Allegro vivace

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Collossal Interpretation!!, March 31, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Symphony 3 & 8 (Audio CD)

Having performed the "Eroica" for many years now one get pretty intimate with the recorded legacy left on CD from the golden age of record...and much to my surprise we have here one of the finest examples of just how finely wrought Steinberg's ideas about Beethoven are..there is a giant swagger and robustness of approach that surely reccommends itself here. None of this Toscannini copying or emulation...instead the structural integrity of this music is left unsullied by tempi nit-picking.

What one hears is an orchestra that is allowed to make a really wide dynamic...not this smooothly glossy overly even sound one hears from Cleveland on occassion.

Szell was always a dissapointment to me in Beethoven...he was always choosing tempos that were too slow or too fast for a given movement. Here, instead we are served up Beethoven instead of a fussy ready-made peurile Szell interpretation. Another aspect of Steinberg's immense artisty was his ideas on orchestral sound...there is none of this obscession with blend we get with Szell...instead woodwinds and brass sound like woodwinds and brass....

This is well worth investigating if you are a serious collector!

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THE POWER AND PRESENCE OF BEETHOVEN ACHIEVED, July 27, 2000

By 

demien (U.S.A.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Symphony 3 & 8 (Audio CD)

This is a great version of the eroica symphony. Maestro Steinberg was one of those complete conductors in the same vein as George Szell except with more heart. Concentration and intensity are maintained from the first bar to the last and the Pittsburgh ensemble plays with dedication and expressiveness. The first movement is majestic and powerfull. The tragedy and strength of the 2nd movement are brought forth with a rock solid concentration and perfect tempo. It is a such a powerful moment that you feel as if BEETHOVEN is present. The scherzo is playfull and joyous with the the PITTSBURGH ensemble expressing delight in this wonderful movement. The fourth movement is a expression of victory for the warrior of this mighty score and STEINBERG brings this forth with clarity and dignity. I have heard plenty of BEETHOVENS 3rd from SZELL to KLEMPERER and i consider this version to be the definitive version. All the ingredients are there and the inspiraion flows like water.

Essential.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Where have I been?, May 9, 2006

By 

C. Wigley (Hesperia, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Symphony 3 & 8 (Audio CD)

What a performance! I love it! I have always enjoyed Steinberg and the Pittsburgh in the Brahms Symphonies. I was so much up into Szell and Karajan in the Beethoven Symphonies. I heard Steinberg's 3rd and I almost lost it! It sounded like Bruno Walter with Szell coaching. I love it! I wanted more. But, where do you get more? I went to ebay and found a Beethoven set on lp. I am currently in the process of remastering these to CD. Every one of these symphonies are marvelous. The recording engineers did a marvelous job. It's really hard to believe that I now rank this set beside the Karajan 1963 set. What a wonderful discovery! It's a crime EMI has not re-issued the entire set.