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"Best" Beethoven 9 Symphonies Recording, Digital

Howdy,
I'm hoping to zero in on the combination "best" of sound/recording quality and, of course, performance.
I did a search here on Agon and the last posting was in 2003, so perhaps there's a new pressing, mastering or even performance. 
I've been a prog-rock, blues, grateful dead type of guy most of my life but have recently started appreciating the symphonic/classical genre. These guys, ie. Beethoven, Mozart, Bach, Vivaldi etc, were really something else, that two to three hundred years after their compositions, so many of the works are still so powerful. Remarkable.
I do most if not all my non-classical listening on a ARC Ref series tube amp set-up, with a Basis 2800 tt and Raidho C1.1s, but for classical I've gone digital with headphones. The truly awesome Stax Sr-009 electrostat headphones through a Blue Hawaii headphone tube amp running through a Schiit multibit dac, all I can say is wow. So seeking out the best recordings, because what else is there to do :)
Thanks!
128x128moryoga
Post removed 
tdimler
132 posts
 
Like everything else, peoples taste in Beethoven varies wildly, but I can heartily recommend John Eliot Gardiner's Beethoven.  The classical music show on NPR called Performance Today broadcasted a live performance of Gardiner conducting Beethoven 5 some years ago ...........it was the first orchestral performance of Beethoven that really grabbed me.  I've tried many other interpretations but always go back to Gardiner.

SQ on these recordings is quite good too.....

https://www.amazon.com/Beethoven-Symphonies-Ludwig-van/dp/B003DEIZBQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1473...  
lowrider57's avatar
lowrider57
5,397 posts
 
Conductors have different approaches to interpreting Beethoven’s symphonies. Beethoven used metronome notations on his scores, so some performances reflect these quick tempos (Gardiner), while other conductors use a larger orchestra and slower tempi.

Rene Leibowitz/Royal Philharmonic on Chesky Records has outstanding SQ, and follows the faster historically accurate pacing.
Really incredible Redbook CD sound, ADD.

Barenboim "The Nine Symphonies" on Warner Classics (Teldec) is a boxed set with excellent sound. These interpretations use a large orchestra and a slower, romantic tempo. DDD.

Some call John Eliot Gardiner’s recordings the "definitive Beethoven." These are dynamic performances which follow Beethoven’s notations for quicker pacing than most modern performances.
I think both interpretations should be experienced.
rcprince
3,062 posts
 
Von Karajan's 1963 cycle on DG is one of the best to me, if you can still find it.  Of modern recordings, I really like Vanska's cycle with the Minnesota Orchestra on the Bis label.  Not sure if you're looking for downloads or discs (the two I mention are on disc, Vanska's is a hybrid SACD), as I have no knowledge on what's available for download..
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