Newbee,
There was a time when it was impossible for me listen to the 9th without tears coming to my eyes. The wistful longing of the 1st movement was unbearable. Unfortunately I’m not able to reach that level of emotion these days. It is however still shakingly beautiful to me.
The Bernstein recording definitely rises to that level. His approach is a little over the top to me. I’m used to a more stoic presentation.
Believe it or not my first encounter with it was from a Russian conductor: Kirill Kondrashin. It changed my life. Since then I’ve gone through a myriad of performances including a live one by Solti in Carnegie Hall.
The Bernstein is right up there with the best.