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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
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
3,061 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..
mahler123
3,083 posts
 
A lot of choices.  Szell is excellent and dirt cheap.  The venerable Krips/LSO cycle was recorded on 35 mm (film) tape and sounds great in current remastering.  The Von Karajan 1963 cycle is a classic and sounds great on Blu Ray.
  More modern well recorded more modern cycles that I own are Vanska/Minnesota and Herrweghe with a Flemish Orchestra  both in SACD but if you have Surround Sound you really ought to sample the Tacet cycle with a Polish Conductor and Chamber Orchestra which unabashedly places the listener in the middle of the Orchestra and reveals fascinating details
stevecham
3,340 posts
 
I like the version from the Penguin guide recommended box set of Gunter Wand and the NDR Symphony.

Also Ferenc Fricsay’s version on DG with the Berliner Philharmoniker is enjoyable on vinyl.
bdp24's avatar
bdp24
9,510 posts
 
Interpretations are very subjective, and all the above nominees have their devotees. Bernstein is another favorite, but the sound of his Columbia Records recordings are not so hot. Gunter Wand does the Beethoven Symphonies very well, sort of between the "romantic" version of Bruno Walter and the period "correct" ones by Gardiner and Herreweghe, both of which I have and love. Wand's recordings, on German Harmonia Mundi, are, as a bonus, pretty darn good.
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