Karl Böhm & Wiener Philharmoniker • Beethoven • The Nine Symphonies th-cam.com/play/PLpT0iJjEyPDUWvQVuUXP_ieZnJxzg1kAD.html www.amazon.com/Collectors-Beethoven-Symphonies-Nos-Overtures/dp/B00E59ZROG Terrance Aldon Shaw 5.0 out of 5 stars Böhm's Beethoven has never sounded better Reviewed in the United States on October 25, 2013 Verified Purchase What sheer, beautiful, divinely-sparked joy to have Karl Böhm's magnificent, classic Beethoven performances back in my collection again after far-too long an absence--all together in this handsomely packaged 6-disc box set from 2013. Not that these recordings have ever been out of the catalog for very long (if at all) since their initial release in the early 1970s (the symphonies were recorded between 1970 and 1971); the integral 8-LP box set was available for many years under several different cover designs (including the ubiquitous introductory come-on from the International Preview Society (BMG Music Service) in its early days), as well as individual albums on LP, cassette, and CD. I've owned a number of them in addition to that much-treasured box set; an early full-price 2-LP coupling of the superb Eighth and Ninth, a cassette of the Sixth, and a rather disappointing late-eighties or early nineties-era CD-re-issue of the Ninth. Much better was the delightful 1996 pairing of the Sixth with Schubert's Fifth symphony--still one of my very favorite CDs out of more than 1,000. The complete symphonic cycle was again re-issued in the early 1990s as part of the DG Doubles series. The Ninth has knocked about on various mid-price issues for more than thirty years now. It's a pretty safe bet that most long-time collectors will have at least a few of these--in one iteration or another--already. Why then plop down $30 for yet another re-issue of Böhm's Beethoven? Aside from the quality and convenience of this new packaging (individual discs in printed cardboard sleeves housed within a sturdy, laminated cardboard clamshell box with no excess "shake" room), improved sound is a major plus. Many of the earliest analog-to-digital transfers were less than adequate, certainly lacking the warmth and immediacy of vinyl without much gain in depth, detail, or fidelity. While DG was often ahead of the industry's technological curve, it too had its share of disappointing releases in the first years of the CD boom, when it was all some companies could do to keep up with the frenetic, ever-growing demand for more. (The muddy-sounding re-issue of Böhm's brilliant Ninth mentioned above is a case in point.) Then too, some engineers didn't quite know what to make of the new digital technology. As such, one was often subjected to shrill, shrieking trebles, raucous, loud, rock-n-roll-like basses, and murky, nebulous mid-levels that were virtually unlistenable. Sound levels were often set to extremes, sometimes barely turned up beyond a whisper, other times, deafeningly wide open (early BIS CDs even came with a warning label on the jewel case). Although there is no reference to re-mastering in the documentation accompanying this present album--no dates or mention of processing other than 2013 as the year of compilation--my ears remark a greater clarity in the overall sound picture of these transfers, blessedly devoid of tape hiss without the concomitant loss of detail at either end of the spectrum; the trebles less harsh, the basses less rambunctious. The sweet sound of the Vienna Philharmonic woodwind section has never been more pleasantly apparent. The strings shimmer, and the sometimes rather mellow-sounding brass shines through with admirable grace and nobility. This effectively takes the bad taste of so many earlier ill-conceived re-issues from my perpetually skeptically-discriminating palate. Of course, the best and most important reason to own this set is for these splendid benchmark performances--the last of the great "old-school classical" interpretations, and definitely among the finest of their most-celebrated near-contemporaries (the cycles by Szell and the Cleveland Orchestra (Sony) and Karajan with the Berlin Philharmonic (DG)). Where Szell could seem obsessively rigid in his quest for technical precision, and Karajan almost flippant in his prettified, breezy, surface-skimming approach, Böhm emphasized drama without sacrificing lyricism or buoyancy. These lucid, well-paced performances strike a commodious balance between dramatic heft and textural clarity. Beethoven's compositional technique often reminds me of one of those clear-glass clock cases, in which all the workings are plainly (and intentionally) visible solely for the sake of aesthetic delectation, and Böhm takes expert advabtage of this artfully built-in transparency. (Listen, for example, to the scherzo movements of the Second and Third symphonies, or to the wonderfully lithe first movements of the Fourth and Eighth.) While it wouldn't be exactly right to refer to Böhm as "self-effacing"--one is always aware of a strong hand at the helm--there is no conductorly self-indulgence here, no idiosyncratic excess. This is not the temperamental heaven-storming of Toscanini trying to channel Beethoven's tortured soul anew; nor Klemperer at war with his own demons (or, as in the case of his Ninth, with his own orchestra); nor is it Karajan or Carlos Kleiber (as much as I admire the latter's splendid Fifth and Seventh (DG Originals)) striking off in some radically new "modern" interpretive direction, largely involving playing the music faster than anyone before them. This set features what may be the finest versions of Beethoven's Fourth and Eighth ever recorded; a glorious, top-flight "Eroica", a Ninth that comes as close to "perfection" as any one is ever likely to hear (including one of the most exquisitely synergistic vocal quartets ever assembled for the work), a brilliant "Pastoral" for the ages, and, overall, some of the most consistently satisfying readings of these iconic, eternally quintessential works made in modern times. Enthusiastically, passionately recommended! www.amazon.com/Beethoven-Symphonies-Nos-Ludwig-van/dp/B000001GL9 Joseph M. Perorazio 4.0 out of 5 stars Hidden gems. Reviewed in the United States on March 15, 2011 Verified Purchase Deutsche Grammophon's star conductor has always been Herbert von Karajan, so it is his recordings that get the heaviest promotion and the best presentation. As a result, other conductors from the DG roster usually get sidelined onto "budget" releases such as this Beethoven symphony collection by Karl Bohm. Yet despite its rather plain packaging and lack of latter-day remastering, this is still a very successful cycle that is worth owning. Bohm's approach was always classical, and he had little use for either the showy theatrics of Bernstein or the exaggerated orchestral polish of Karajan. He favored slower tempos, and his absolute control of an orchestra was really quite remarkable. His DG recordings were always solid and dependable, perhaps lacking sometimes in drama but revealing a true mastery of orchestral balance. Of special note in this set are the Pastorale, full of bucolic sweetness, and the 9th, quite epic and profound. For those seeking a good, traditional interpretation of the Beethoven symphonies, this set is definitely a good choice. It comes in three 2-CD sets (each listed separately on Amazon), with brief liner notes.
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Karl Böhm & Wiener Philharmoniker • Beethoven • The Nine Symphonies
th-cam.com/play/PLpT0iJjEyPDUWvQVuUXP_ieZnJxzg1kAD.html
www.amazon.com/Collectors-Beethoven-Symphonies-Nos-Overtures/dp/B00E59ZROG
Terrance Aldon Shaw
5.0 out of 5 stars Böhm's Beethoven has never sounded better
Reviewed in the United States on October 25, 2013
Verified Purchase
What sheer, beautiful, divinely-sparked joy to have Karl Böhm's magnificent, classic Beethoven performances back in my collection again after far-too long an absence--all together in this handsomely packaged 6-disc box set from 2013.
Not that these recordings have ever been out of the catalog for very long (if at all) since their initial release in the early 1970s (the symphonies were recorded between 1970 and 1971); the integral 8-LP box set was available for many years under several different cover designs (including the ubiquitous introductory come-on from the International Preview Society (BMG Music Service) in its early days), as well as individual albums on LP, cassette, and CD. I've owned a number of them in addition to that much-treasured box set; an early full-price 2-LP coupling of the superb Eighth and Ninth, a cassette of the Sixth, and a rather disappointing late-eighties or early nineties-era CD-re-issue of the Ninth. Much better was the delightful 1996 pairing of the Sixth with Schubert's Fifth symphony--still one of my very favorite CDs out of more than 1,000. The complete symphonic cycle was again re-issued in the early 1990s as part of the DG Doubles series. The Ninth has knocked about on various mid-price issues for more than thirty years now. It's a pretty safe bet that most long-time collectors will have at least a few of these--in one iteration or another--already.
Why then plop down $30 for yet another re-issue of Böhm's Beethoven? Aside from the quality and convenience of this new packaging (individual discs in printed cardboard sleeves housed within a sturdy, laminated cardboard clamshell box with no excess "shake" room), improved sound is a major plus. Many of the earliest analog-to-digital transfers were less than adequate, certainly lacking the warmth and immediacy of vinyl without much gain in depth, detail, or fidelity. While DG was often ahead of the industry's technological curve, it too had its share of disappointing releases in the first years of the CD boom, when it was all some companies could do to keep up with the frenetic, ever-growing demand for more. (The muddy-sounding re-issue of Böhm's brilliant Ninth mentioned above is a case in point.) Then too, some engineers didn't quite know what to make of the new digital technology. As such, one was often subjected to shrill, shrieking trebles, raucous, loud, rock-n-roll-like basses, and murky, nebulous mid-levels that were virtually unlistenable. Sound levels were often set to extremes, sometimes barely turned up beyond a whisper, other times, deafeningly wide open (early BIS CDs even came with a warning label on the jewel case).
Although there is no reference to re-mastering in the documentation accompanying this present album--no dates or mention of processing other than 2013 as the year of compilation--my ears remark a greater clarity in the overall sound picture of these transfers, blessedly devoid of tape hiss without the concomitant loss of detail at either end of the spectrum; the trebles less harsh, the basses less rambunctious. The sweet sound of the Vienna Philharmonic woodwind section has never been more pleasantly apparent. The strings shimmer, and the sometimes rather mellow-sounding brass shines through with admirable grace and nobility. This effectively takes the bad taste of so many earlier ill-conceived re-issues from my perpetually skeptically-discriminating palate.
Of course, the best and most important reason to own this set is for these splendid benchmark performances--the last of the great "old-school classical" interpretations, and definitely among the finest of their most-celebrated near-contemporaries (the cycles by Szell and the Cleveland Orchestra (Sony) and Karajan with the Berlin Philharmonic (DG)). Where Szell could seem obsessively rigid in his quest for technical precision, and Karajan almost flippant in his prettified, breezy, surface-skimming approach, Böhm emphasized drama without sacrificing lyricism or buoyancy. These lucid, well-paced performances strike a commodious balance between dramatic heft and textural clarity. Beethoven's compositional technique often reminds me of one of those clear-glass clock cases, in which all the workings are plainly (and intentionally) visible solely for the sake of aesthetic delectation, and Böhm takes expert advabtage of this artfully built-in transparency. (Listen, for example, to the scherzo movements of the Second and Third symphonies, or to the wonderfully lithe first movements of the Fourth and Eighth.)
While it wouldn't be exactly right to refer to Böhm as "self-effacing"--one is always aware of a strong hand at the helm--there is no conductorly self-indulgence here, no idiosyncratic excess. This is not the temperamental heaven-storming of Toscanini trying to channel Beethoven's tortured soul anew; nor Klemperer at war with his own demons (or, as in the case of his Ninth, with his own orchestra); nor is it Karajan or Carlos Kleiber (as much as I admire the latter's splendid Fifth and Seventh (DG Originals)) striking off in some radically new "modern" interpretive direction, largely involving playing the music faster than anyone before them.
This set features what may be the finest versions of Beethoven's Fourth and Eighth ever recorded; a glorious, top-flight "Eroica", a Ninth that comes as close to "perfection" as any one is ever likely to hear (including one of the most exquisitely synergistic vocal quartets ever assembled for the work), a brilliant "Pastoral" for the ages, and, overall, some of the most consistently satisfying readings of these iconic, eternally quintessential works made in modern times.
Enthusiastically, passionately recommended!
www.amazon.com/Beethoven-Symphonies-Nos-Ludwig-van/dp/B000001GL9
Joseph M. Perorazio
4.0 out of 5 stars Hidden gems.
Reviewed in the United States on March 15, 2011
Verified Purchase
Deutsche Grammophon's star conductor has always been Herbert von Karajan, so it is his recordings that get the heaviest promotion and the best presentation. As a result, other conductors from the DG roster usually get sidelined onto "budget" releases such as this Beethoven symphony collection by Karl Bohm. Yet despite its rather plain packaging and lack of latter-day remastering, this is still a very successful cycle that is worth owning.
Bohm's approach was always classical, and he had little use for either the showy theatrics of Bernstein or the exaggerated orchestral polish of Karajan. He favored slower tempos, and his absolute control of an orchestra was really quite remarkable. His DG recordings were always solid and dependable, perhaps lacking sometimes in drama but revealing a true mastery of orchestral balance.
Of special note in this set are the Pastorale, full of bucolic sweetness, and the 9th, quite epic and profound.
For those seeking a good, traditional interpretation of the Beethoven symphonies, this set is definitely a good choice. It comes in three 2-CD sets (each listed separately on Amazon), with brief liner notes.