Beethoven Recordings

[Augustine]

Although my main taste is for rock I have always kept an ear out for other genres. In my early 20's I took jazz guitar lessons for six months, and during that time I tried to take as much interest in "serious" music as possible, including tuning into classical radio and taping the broadcasts to cassette. It was from one of these broadcasts that I heard what has become my all-time favourite classical piece: Beethoven's Coriolan Overture. There is power, fragility, and dark drama all in the space of eight minutes. This is heavy metal, 160 years before heavy metal.

Unfortunately I wasn't savvy enough to take note of the conductor, so when it came time that I wanted to get a better quality copy of the recording I found that none of the versions I came across had quite the ferocity that I remembered first hearing. I eventually gave up the search.

Lately I have felt the need to cast a wider net in my listening. I decided to "discover" Beethoven, to get an insight of the man who wrote the Coriolan, and perhaps to find similar works.

And here's the thing: right now, there are a large number of iconic recordings from the last 80 years of his works at basement prices, many of them disappearing from the catalogues altogether. Some remain available on iTunes but at still-prohibitive prices. If you are going to build a classical library, now is the time to do it. In fact I may have started a little late.

So, to roughly group Beethoven's major works into categories, I got:

Symphonies
Overtures
Choral works (Choral Fantasy, Mass in C major, and Missa Solemnis)
Concertos (5 piano, 1 violin, the Rondo, 2 violin romances, and the Triple)
Piano sonatas
Piano variations and bagatelles
Sonatas for Violin and Piano
Sonatas for Piano, Violin and Violoncello
String quartets
Chamber works with winds (the Septet)

Here's the selections I looked at for a desert-island collection. I'll list them first and then talk about them.

Symphonies:
Nine Symphonies box set: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000FOTHC8
Andre Cluytens isn't talked about with as much frequency or reverence as Karajan, Bohm, Walter etc. yet this is hailed as one of the best and most consistent "cycles", or complete sets. At $18 you could stop right here.

Symphonies 5 & 7: http://www.amazon.com/Beethoven-Symphon ... B000001GPX
Recorded in the mid-70's, Carlos Kleiber's 5th is considered the final word by many, with an excellent 7th. $9.49 for two symphonies.

Symphony 9 "Choral" with Ferenc Fricsay: http://www.amazon.com/Beethoven-Symphon ... B000056TKC $11.99
With Herbert von Karajan: http://www.amazon.com/Beethoven-Symphon ... B000001GPY $9.49
Beethoven's 9th is hotly debated as to whether a definitive performance exists. Here we have two contenders, both with the Berlin Philharmonic. Fricsay was a traditionalist German romantic, and after his untimely death the orchestra was transformed by Karajan from grand and sweeping to lean and mean - a hugely popular move albeit criticised in some quarters as showmanship. Karajan recorded three complete Beethoven cycles, in the early 60's, mid 70's and early 80's, and the Ninth from each set has its adherents although this one from the first cycle is probably the most popular. Incidentally the first cycle is available for $21 if you wanted an alternative to the Cluytens set.

Szell's 3rd "Eroica", Walter's 6th, Bohm's 6th:
http://www.amazon.com/Beethoven-Symphon ... B00005YJSK $10.73
http://www.amazon.com/Beethoven-Symphon ... B000002A7Q $8.49
http://www.amazon.com/Beethoven-Symphon ... B000001GJF $12.99
I have Toscanini's 1939 Eroica and was going to use it here but it just isn't readily available except on iTunes. Szell shares Toscanini's driving tempi regarded by some as necessary for a proper reading of this symphony, and the CD includes a reading of the 8th.
Walter's Pastoral is considered a perfect 6th, bringing the imagery of nature to life, but Bohm's cannot be disregarded, having a surprisingly light and meticulous touch. Both come with superb versions of other symphonies, Walter's with the 4th, and Bohm's with the 7th and 8th.

You could add a Walter, Szell, Karajan or Bohm 3rd and/or 5th and have two contrasting top-flight readings of every symphony from the 3rd to the 9th.

Furtwangler Conducts: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00001W09Z
Furtwangler is spoken of in reverential tones, but I admit to being a little alarmed at finding out the background of these recordings, under the patronage of the Nazi regime at the height of World War Two. It transpired that Furtwangler's motive was to preserve the German music tradition from those that might destroy it, and he was at least responsible for helping Arnold Schonberg escape to the West as well as many others. All this aside, these performances are the sound of a master conductor driving an orchestra with a passion and desperation you will not hear anywhere else. It does not always suit the temperament of the works, perhaps for example the Pastoral, but if Beethoven's best works respond to a dramatic reading, here the drama is on the redline.

When I found out the set included a performance of the Coriolan I had to sample it on iTunes. I recognised it immediately as the version I first heard on radio. No wonder it made such an impression on me all those years ago. From the attack of the timpani in the opening bars you know you're in for a white-knuckle ride. It is bloodcurdling stuff.

It's not the cheapest set at $36 but this is historic art, and the like of which we will probably never hear again. The Amazon reviews make for great reading - "Achilles rang and he wants his heel back", "warning: your sanity may be at risk", "if you have a soul, buy this".

One more thing while we're on Furtwangler - his '51 recording of the Ninth at the postwar re-opening of the Bayreuth Festival is a favourite of many, but I didn't include it against Fricsay and Karajan as it has recently become highly controversial, having been discovered to be a taping of the rehearsal rather than the public performance. Does it matter? I'm not sure. A serious collection would have all of these recordings, and more.

Missa Solemnis with Otto Klemperer: http://www.amazon.com/Beethoven-Missa-S ... B000058USU $16.04
All of the greatest conductors have their idiosyncracies, and Klemperer was no exception. He sometimes gets a bad rap for his leviathan tempi and expression, but here it's perfectly matched to the nature of the work. This recording was hailed as an instant classic on its release in the 60's.

Emperor, Triple Concertos: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000069JLG $10.31
Piano Concertos 3 & 4: http://www.amazon.com/Beethoven-Piano-C ... B000F6YW6W $8.99
You could get the Perahia/Haitink concertos box for $22, or the Alfred Brendel Concertos & Sonatas box set for $35. Or you could start with the first selection here, and add the second later.

Violin Concerto: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003GW1P1C
The popular Beethoven exponents on violin include Menuhin (conducted by Furtwangler), Mutter (Karajan), Oistrakh (any)... this one with Oistrakh/Cluytens isn't in stock at Amazon but I have easily been able to find locally for under $10.

Chamber works:

Violin Sonatas with Perlman & Ashkenazy: http://www.amazon.com/Beethoven-Violin- ... B000E6EGXC
Piano Trios with Perlman, Ashkenazy & Harrell: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000CE7FJ
Perlman and Ashkenazy make a marvellous team for these works, the sound is fantastic, and so are the prices.

Septet Op. 20 and Sextet Op. 81b: http://www.amazon.com/Beethoven-Chamber ... B000001448
A bargain basement offering for the Septet, which was so popular in its day that Beethoven expressed he wished he had burned the manuscript instead of publishing it.

For the String Quartets it gets difficult: Busch, Takacs, Kodaly, Emerson... the list goes on and on, but offerings here are relatively pricey. I only found one "bargain" collection and it has its flaws: The Vegh quartet recorded the cycle of 16 twice, and it's the second recording from the 70's that's available on iTunes for about 8 bucks. A good performance, and well recorded, except that one of the players appears to have developed a respiratory problem. It's not chronic, and it may not even bother some listeners. For the price of admission you can immerse yourself in these works and decide if you want to commit to other (more expensive) versions.

Piano Sonatas with Emil Gilels: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000ICM0YY $36.49
Piano Variations and Bagatelles with Alfred Brendel: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000001K6C $14.78

There are so many great pianists to choose from - Arrau, Richter, Schnabel, Kempff, Pollini, Kovacevich, Barenboim - that it largely comes down to a matter of temperaments. Although Schnabel was the first to record the 32 sonatas cycle, even remastered the sound quality is so abysmal it takes a real dedication to sit through. It's also a question of who has recorded what, and not all of the sets are readily available and cheap. Thankfully, for me the choice was made easy: I was rapt to first hear Gilels' playing - soulful without excessive interpretation, a balanced tone not muted or metallic, and present but spacious acoustics. He died before completing the cycle, so you have to supplement sonatas 1, 4, 9, 22, 24, and 32 from somewhere, which I did with Brendel. There are basically two schools of thought: either the performer's intention is paramount, or the composer's. Brendel belongs to the latter school, and has been accused of being a bore, but again I think his tone is balanced, and he doesn't have the reputation for unwarranted embellishment that some do. Just listen to Brendel's Op. 54 - it's packed with nuance, sarcasm, and wit. Beethoven's, that is.

A final word on CDs versus iTunes - some of these works are cheaper on iTunes, but you sacrifice liner notes (not that all CDs have them either). It would be a shame if the stories behind these recordings were forgotten, although sites like talkclassical, pianostreet, and classicalmusicmayhem include some great vox pop analysis to go with the Amazon reviews.

Classical music patronage was possibly never greater than when most of these classics were recorded, and with the gradual death of the major recording labels I wonder how long this window of opportunity will remain open. Let's hope this great heritage increases in availability rather than disappearing altogether.

[jules]

Hey thanks for taking the time to write out these recommendations.

I've been a long time fan of Beethoven's Piano Sonatas. To me they are one of the greatest of all human achievements. It took 400,000 people (& 8 years and $23.9 billion) to put man on the moon but none of them could create a body of work as profound, groundbreaking and complete as Beethoven did with the Piano Sonatas.

The last 3 are the greatest in my opinion and the final movements of the 30th and 32nd sonatas would be my all time favorites.

My reference is Barenboim's complete cycle on EMI and I also have some selected sonatas by Kempf on DG. I will definately check out your recommendation of Gilels, not a name I've heaerd of before. And also the Brendel discs of variations looks *very* interesting.

To be honest I've never connected quite as much with Beethoven's other works as I have with the Sonatas. Don't get me wrong the 5th Symphony is *amazing* (I own Karajan's 1980's compelete recordings) and the 4th Piano Concerto is incredibly inventive (I own Periah/Haitink box set which is flawless) but they don't enthrall me like the Sonatas do.

The only other body of work that captivates me as much as Beethoven's Sonatas is Sbelius' Symphonies. The first time I heard the 2nd symphony my life was forever changed. How the mood of his music can change so quickly from light to dark yet still remain 'true' is unsurpassed as far as I have heard.

I would recommend checking out the following discs that I own:

http://www.amazon.com/Sibelius-The-Symphonies-Jean/dp/B0000041Z3/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1336744691&sr=1-1
Best 1st, 3rd, 4th and 7th

http://www.amazon.com/Sibelius-Symphony-No-2-Jean/dp/B000003GCO/ref=sr_1_3?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1336744604&sr=1-3
Best 2nd

http://www.amazon.com/Sibelius-Symphony-No-Nielsen-Syriax/dp/B00000DOD2/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1336744782&sr=1-1
Best 5th

http://www.amazon.com/Sibelius-Symphonies-Nos-6-7/dp/B0000016PK/ref=sr_1_6?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1336744907&sr=1-6
Best 6th


I some respects classical music is more accessible than ever, you can listen to extracts on the CDs online before buying which is great and also get some great bargins. Happy days.

Jules.

[Augustine]

Yes, in one way a lot of it is more accessible but many recordings are disappearing from availability altogether. In an ideal world the record companies would publicly archive a recording before deleting it from their catalogue but the sad truth is most of these companies are now run by accountants with clockwork souls. They will not be around for much longer in any case.

I thought I'd add a postscript about the string quartets. If you can't get a decent budget collection you may as well go after the best (that's my reasoning anyway). I stumbled across Quatuor Mosaïques who use period instruments and performance to do the first six quartets.

http://www.amazon.com/Beethoven-String-Quartets-Quatuor-Mosaiques/dp/B0009275TI/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1340920326

I was going to pick up the middle and late quartets box sets from Takács when I discovered a blog by a guy who has really listened to this stuff:

http://rolf-musicblog.blogspot.com.au/2012/04/beethoven-string-quartet-op130.html

I think a bit more reading and sampling is in order before I "complete" the cycle (assuming I stop at only one!).