Favourites,
Ludwig van Beethoven - Orchestral & Choral Works
Well, where do I start when it comes to choosing my favourite recordings of the Beethoven symphonies? There are so many magnificent performances of each one that inevitably some great conductors have had to be omitted, but I've tried to cover as many bases as possible with my final choices, making sure to include both older and more recent recordings, as well as a mixture of modern and period instruments.
Complete Symphonies
Toscanini conducts the NBC Symphony Orchestra in this set from 1939 which for many is still the benchmark when it comes to conducting and performing Beethoven. Movements such as the last movement of the Second and the Scherzo of the Fifth are full of fire and riveting momentum. Considering the age of the set, the recorded sound is quite stunning.
Available Format: 5 CDs
I'm sure it's possible to fill several pages simply discussing the relative merits of Herbert von Karajan's various recordings of the complete symphonies with the Berlin Philharmonic, but in the end I've plumped for the set first released in 1963. There's an intensity to the Funeral March of the Eroica, a warmth to the Pastoral and a grandeur to the Ninth that amazes me every time, with none of the heaviness that arguably crept into some of his later accounts with the same orchestra. Exemplary in every respect.
Available Formats: MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Bernard Haitink and the London Symphony Orchestra treat us to one of the most outstanding cycles on disc in recent years. There's a clean crispness to the orchestral sound, with performances that are consistently full of life. As well as a superlative account of the Ninth, the highlight of the set for me is the Fifth: the timpani playing in this live recording makes for one of the most thrilling last movements that I think I've ever heard!
Available Formats: 6 SACDs, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Another absorbing set, with Nikolaus Harnoncourt bringing his impeccable, historically-informed sensibilities to the modern instruments of the Chamber Orchestra of Europe. The Eroica is mightily commanding, and the set also includes marvellous accounts of the five Piano Concertos with Pierre-Laurent Aimard, and an impassioned performance of the Violin Concerto with Gidon Kremer.
Available Formats: MP3, FLAC
If you want to go all the way when it comes to historically-informed performances, then I thoroughly recommend this set on period instruments, with Jos van Immerseel conducting Anima Eterna. The Fifth and Seventh symphonies positively crackle with energy, and there's great tenderness in the slow movements, especially in the Fourth Symphony, which sounds unusually but wonderfully mournful.
Available Formats: MP3, FLAC
Individual Discs of Symphonies
With some pretty fast tempos throughout, Riccardo Chailly and the Gewandhausorchester certainly don't hang about, but there's never any question of the music sounding rushed, and the last movements of both symphonies here are tremendously exciting. Chailly gives the music space when it needs it, though, and the Larghetto movement of Symphony No. 2 in particular is full of beauty.
Available Formats: MP3, FLAC
A recording from the Minnesota Orchestra under Osmo Vänskä that for me does everything just right. There's heft and weight in the first movement without a hint of stodge, and the horns are quite magnificently robust in the Trio of the third movement! There's also a delightfully fresh account of the Eighth, full of quirky charm and with a joyous spring in its step.
Available Formats: SACD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Douglas Boyd conducts the Manchester Camerata in a highly energetic recording of the Fourth Symphony. There's a wonderful sense of line and phrasing in the slow movement, and some virtuosic playing in the last movement, not least from the principal bassoon in its notoriously fiendish solo! This is coupled with an equally fine Seventh, with a slow movement full of passion.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC
Carlos Kleiber's recordings of the Fifth and Seventh symphonies with the Vienna Philharmonic are surely at the top of most people's lists of legendary Beethoven recordings. The Fifth has an irresistible drive and sense of drama, not least in the famous first movement, and a stately, noble feel to the last movement. For me, though, it's all about the Seventh: Kleiber brings an unmatched vigour, with a breathtaking account of the last movement, aided in no small measure by some boisterous horns.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
If you're looking for an alternative take on these two symphonies, then this live recording with John Eliot Gardiner conducting the Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique is ideal. The period-instrument orchestra bring a pleasing clarity to the textures, and Gardiner's often swift tempos (for example in the outer movements of the Fifth) brush away any cobwebs that might have been allowed to accumulate over the years.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Karl Böhm conducts the Vienna Philharmonic in a radiant account of the Pastoral Symphony, with a leisurely but never turgid account of the Scene by the Brook, a Scherzo with a satisfiyingly rustic swagger from the horns, and surely one of the most violently tempestuous storms on record! Simply put, this is a first-rate performance that oozes class from beginning to end.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC
A phenomenal interpretation of the Choral Symphony from the Berlin Philharmonic under Ferenc Fricsay, with a truly bewitching slow movement, and some exceptional singing from both the chorus and the quartet of soloists, led with authoritative aplomb by Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau. Utterly splendid!
Available Formats: MP3, FLAC
Concertos
Maurizio Pollini brings plenty of poise and a formidable technique to this set of the five Piano Concertos, with some jaw-droppingly virtuosic cadenzas. Claudio Abbado conducts the Berlin Philharmonic with a grace and elegance that few can match.
Available Formats: MP3, FLAC
Claudio Abbado is again on conducting duty for this stylish recording of the Violin Concerto, this time with Orchestra Mozart, and with Isabelle Faust providing her most beautiful, singing tone throughout.
Available Formats: MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
I probably need do little more to recommend this recording than state the names of the three soloists: Itzhak Perlman, Yo-Yo Ma, and Daniel Barenboim (conducting the Berlin Philharmonic from the piano). They perform with the most tender expression in the slow movement, and there are fireworks from all three in the last movement. Coupled with that is the Choral Fantasy, a slightly bonkers piece for piano, chorus and orchestra given a highly polished performance here, again conducted from the piano by Barenboim.
Available Formats: MP3, FLAC
Choral and Opera
Carlo Maria Giulini draws an almost spiritual glow from the London Philharmonic in a luminous performance of the Missa Solemnis. The Et incarnatus est section is heart-stoppingly spine-tingling, with some melting contributions from the soloists (not least Janet Baker), and there's some full-bodied singing from the chorus, both here and in the accompanying Mass in C (also conducted by Giulini, but with the New Philharmonia Orchestra).
Available Formats: MP3, FLAC
Not perhaps Beethoven's best-known choral work, but a worthwhile piece nonetheless; this recording conducted by Kent Nagano features a spectacular trio of soloists including Plácido Domingo as Jesus, whose German pronunciation won't satisfy everyone, but who sings with glorious tone. The Rundfunkchor Berlin sing resplendently, with great playing from the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin.
Available Formats: MP3, FLAC
My colleague Katherine would never forgive me if I didn't choose this live recording from the 2010 Lucerne Festival of Beethoven's only opera, conducted by Claudio Abbado and featuring the incomparable pairing of Nina Stemme as Leonore and Jonas Kaufmann as Florestan. His agonised cry of "Gott! Welch Dunkel hier!" after the slow orchestral build-up is astonishingly moving, and there's memorable support from Falk Struckmann as Pizarro and Christof Fischesser as Rocco.
Available Formats: MP3, FLAC
A performance simply crackling with excitement from the Wiener Staatsoper in 1978, conducted by Leonard Bernstein and featuring sublime performances from Gundula Janowitz as Leonore, René Kollo as Florestan, and Lucia Popp as Marzelline. The celebrated quartet, Mir ist so wunderbar, is nothing short of exquisite.
Available Format: DVD Video
Overtures and other Orchestral Works
I won't claim that Wellington's Victory is Beethoven's greatest composition ever, but Herbert von Karajan and the Berlin Philharmonic give the piece just the right amount of knowing tongue-in-cheek, complete not only with stereophonic side drums and trumpet fanfares, but with cannons aplenty. The disc also includes the complete incidental music from Egmont, with Gundula Janowitz singing Die Trommel gerühret and an extremely eloquent spoken contribution from Erich Schellow in the melodrama, Süßer Schlaf.
Available Formats: MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Sophisticated, expressive performances of the two Romances for Violin and Orchestra by David Oistrakh, accompanied by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra under Eugene Goossens. It almost goes without saying that Oistrakh's tone is the very essence of refinement, with a remarkable glow throughout.
Available Format: 2 CDs
James Longstaffe - Head of Retail
