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| |  | Religion & Spirituality | Home » » » Beethoven: The 9 Symphonies | | | | | | | Product Promotions: | | | | | Description: | | No Description Available
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Media Type: CD
Artist: BEETHOVEN,L.V.
Title: SYM 9
Street Release Date: 05/11/2004
Domestic
Genre: CLASSICAL COMPOSERS | | | Product Details: | | | Audio CD Release Date:
| May 11, 2004 | | Studio:
| Deutsche Grammophon | | Composer:
| Ludwig van Beethoven | | Conductor:
| Leonard Bernstein | | Orchestra:
| Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra | | Number Of Discs:
| 5 | | Format:
| Box set, Collector's Edition | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 29 reviews |
| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
Average Customer Review:
 ( 29 customer reviews )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
42 of 46 found the following review helpful:
 Still One of the Great Beethoven Symphony CyclesDec 04, 2004
By John Kwok
Critics have accused Leonard Bernstein of being too idiosyncratic in his interpretations, and some have claimed that his later recordings with Deutsche Grammophon were too flamboyant. I tend to disagree, since I have enjoyed listening to his Beethoven and Brahms symphony cycles with the Vienna Philharmonic and virtually all of his Mahler symphony recordings. Bernstein was as comfortable conducting Beethoven as he was with Mozart, Haydn, Mahler, Sibelius, or Copeland, to name but a few. And there were only a handful of orchestras with whom he had a great relationship, of which his partnership with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra surely ranks at the top, perhaps even more so than his critically acclaimed relationship with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra (I might add that he is still remembered by musicians in the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, who regard him as one of the most inspirational conductors with whom they've collaborated with.).
Bernstein's Beethoven symphony recordings were among Deutsche Grammophon's finest recording achievements in the late 1970's. This bargain CD set is thus a tribute not only to Bernstein and the Vienna Philharmonic, but also to the technical excellence demonstrated by Deutsche Grammophon's producers and recording engineers. My own personal favorites in this cycle are Bernstein's riveting accounts of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 6th and 7th symphonies (His interpretation of the 5th Symphony is a bit too slow for my taste, and doesn't quite seem nearly as riveting as Carlos Kleiber's electifying account with the Vienna Philharmonic recorded by Deutsche Grammophon a few years earlier.). Althought this is an excellent Beethoven symphony cycle, it will not replace my more recent recordings from Harnoncourt, Zinman and Abbado as my primary recommendations for a Beethoven symphony cycle, but nonetheless, it is an excellent cycle for those interested in hearing the recordings of one of the 20th Century's greatest conductors.
48 of 56 found the following review helpful:
Bernstein's Beethoven is the Crown JewelJul 18, 2004
This Beethoven set was the first one I purchased many years ago; I "learned" many of the Beethoven symphonies through Lenny and the Vienna Phil. I couldn't have asked for better teachers. Actually, Bernstein is more like a tour guide through the mountains. What he shows you eludes so many other conductors who supposedly rule this terrain.
Bernstein is often overlooked or diminished as a conductor of the standard classical reportoire, but he was often just as brilliant with Mozart or Beethoven as he could be with Mahler or the Americans. Unlike the Sibelius or Elgar recordings from this new Bernstein Edition, his Beethoven set is a great place for anyone to begin with these works, and I still place it toe to toe with any of the other contenders. As for those who already own other DG sets by Karajan, Abbado, or Bohm, or have legendary sets by Szell, Walter, or Furtwangler, give this one a try, especially at the bargain price, and see where Bernstein and the Vienna Philharmonic take you. A word of caution. No journey through Beethoven is perfect, as every set has its mis-steps (some result in total disaster). Bernstein's only flaw here is the Fifth, where he favors a slow and old-fashioned performance. But this is easily remedied: simply buy the Kleiber recording with the same orchestra, also from DG, and you will have years of great performances to relish.
Beethoven's name stands front and center on a golden jewel above the stage in Lenny's old stomping grounds -- Symphony Hall in Boston. Originally, the designers were going to surround Beethoven with the names of other composers, but that never happened; they never reached a concensus on what other names were worthy to be enshrined in this symphonic crown. So, Beethoven remains the sole jewel in the crown. Perhaps no set of Beethoven symphonies deserves similar recognition, because there are so many other great perfomances out there. But Bernstein's Beethoven from Vienna comes pretty damn close.
18 of 19 found the following review helpful:
 Surprisingly tame Beethoven from a great conductorJul 21, 2007
By Santa Fe Listener
The tameness of this Beethoven cycle from Bernstein and the Vienna Phil. was deliberate, I suspect. The conductor had already made a massive-sounding cycle in New York with the Philharmonic, and he apparently wanted to hear these works slimmed down, fleet, and classically inclined in Vienna. Even understanding the rationale, there are moments when the readings come close to being either tepid or ordinary. The VPO sounds lovely, and DG has improved on the original thin sonics from the LP era. But I can't square these cautious performances with the free-wheeling and inspired Bernstein I love. If you play any single movement side by side with, say, Riccardo Muti's middle-of-the-raod cycle from Philadelphia on a bargain EMI line, it's hard to tell where Muti ends and Bernstein begins. (Joining Muti and Bernstein, another firebrand conductor, Solti, also tended toward tameness when it came to Beethoven.)
I see that the reviewers here are sharply divided between champsions and naysayers. I'm not completey disappointed. The smaller, more graceful symphonies (#1, #2, #4, #8) are the best in the cycle, largely thanks to the orchestra's elegant execution. Of the heroic symphonies, the Fifth is dull, the Eroica and Seventh are better but by no means inspired, and the Ninth comes the closest to making one sit up and take notice. LB made a specialty of this work, but his three official versions don't really capture the magic. This one comes closest, and I much prefer it to the emotional wallow that LB indulged in with his famous "Ode to Freedom" performance at the Berlin Wall after it fell in 1989.
As for the reviewers here who heap superlatives on this set, I can't come close to agreeing, and I am a Bernstein fan par excellence.
43 of 51 found the following review helpful:
Bedrock stuffFeb 20, 2007
By James Biques
"bixx7"
I couldn't live without recordings of classical music, but please, somebody shoot me if I ever get as snobbish as some of the reviewers nitpicking this box set. The sound quality is excellent. (These symphonies were all recorded live in concert, so the performances truly breathe.) The interpretations are, to my ear, deeply considered and extremely moving, especially the second movement of the Seventh. And best of all, you can't beat the price (and this is Deutsche Grammaphone we're talking about, usually the most expensive pressings). So if you know some person, young or old, who wants to know where to start with building a classical collection, get them this set as a gift. How can you not like this music?
8 of 9 found the following review helpful:
An Excellent Exploration of Beethoven by Bernstein and the VPOMar 01, 2009
By Cosmic Muser
I have been listening to Beethoven's music for many years, and have recordings of Beethoven by von Karajan, Abbado, Rattle, Kleiber, Bernstein and Levine to name a few. I also had the opportunity to see Claudio Abbado and the Berlin Philharmonic perform the Eroica symphony live several years ago in Orange County, California. Needless to say that was the definitive performance for me. I only recently bought this boxed set of Bernstein's symphony cycle from Vienna in the late 70's. I was pleasantly surprised to realize how much I grew to love this set very quickly. It also has a good deal of historical significance as well, considering Bernstein was a Jewish American conducting music by the greatest German composer who ever lived in Vienna, only 30 years after World War II. It is astonishing to hear how the orchestra is so obviously and completely under Bernstein's command throughout these symphonies. It is a wonderful collaboration.
Berstein's approach overall is very broad, with a lot more histrionic tempo changes and dynamic extremes than is customary for Beethoven performances, but it is utterly captivating as far as I'm concerned. Only the performance of the 5th taxes the patience, with its lugubrious pacing in the first movement.
I think the 3rd, 7th and 9th are particularly good performances. Under Bernstein, the 9th becomes a leisurely yet powerful journey through this most amazing of symphonies. The soloists in the finale make an absolutely heavenly quartet, even if Kollo is a bit taxed at times. Gwyneth Jones and Kurt Moll both shine, with her creamy high notes and his sepulchral heft the finale becomes more operatic than ever before, and the final quartet before the eruptive finale is performed slowly and intensely so that the listener can follow every exquisite note from each singer-for me this is one of the most immaculate moments I have ever experienced in all my years of listening to Beethoven recordings. It seems to last for an eternity and sounds as if one is ascending into heaven itself. The concluding eruption is taken very fast and builds to a very emotional and grandiose conclusion.
All in all, especially for the price, this set is well worth having. It is a different approach to Beethoven that yields many rewards both in terms of emotional accessibility and in the details one notices in the music due to the broader tempi. The recording quality is generally excellent. It cannot match the smooth, warm glow of the newer digital recordings, but there is plenty of detail, presence and warmth to satisfy most listeners, and the acoustics of the Musikverein provides sufficient weight to the bass and enough air for the music to breath. If you like Beethoven, this is highly recommended to help rediscover his music from a new perspective. For Bernstein fans, it's a no-brainer.
See all 29 customer reviews on Amazon.com
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