Herbert Von Karajan ~ Beethoven: the 9 Symphonies (1963)

By general consensus, Herbert von Karajan's first (1963) Beethoven cycle for Deutsche Grammophon is the best of the four that he recorded. The Berlin Philharmonic was in top form, and they had not yet made an artistic fetish out of the bland smoothness that typified the conductor's later recordings of this music (and just about everything else). Karajan's squeaky clean, emotionally cool Beethoven will always be something of an acquired taste, but this set makes the best possible case for it.

Disc: 1

1Symphonie No.1 C op.21: Adagio molto-Allegro con brio2Symphonie No.1 C op.21: Andante cantabile con moto3Symphonie No.1 C op.21: Menuetto. Allegro molto e vivace4Symphonie No.1 C op.21: Adagio-Allegro molto e vivace5Symphonie Nr.3 E flat op.55 (Eroica): 1. Allegro con brio6Symphonie Nr.3 E flat op.55 (Eroica): 2. Marcia funebre.Adagio assai7Symphonie Nr.3 E flat op.55 (Eroica): 3. Scherzo. Allegro vivace8Symphonie Nr.3 E flat op.55 (Eroica): 4. Finale. Allegro molto

Disc: 2

1Symphonie Nr.2 D op.36: 1. Adagio-Allegro con brio2Symphonie Nr.2 D op.36: 2. Larghetto3Symphonie Nr.2 D op.36: 3. Scherzo. Allegro4Symphonie Nr.2 D op.36: 4. Allegro molto5Symphonie Nr. 4 B flat op. 60: 1. Adagio-Allegro vivace6Symphonie Nr. 4 B flat op. 60: 2. Adagio7Symphonie Nr. 4 B flat op. 60: 3. Allegro vivace8Symphonie Nr. 4 B flat op. 60: 4. Allegro ma non troppo

Disc: 3

1Symphonie Nr. 5 c, op. 67: 1. Allegro con brio2Symphonie Nr. 5 c, op. 67: 2. Andante con moto3Symphonie Nr. 5 c, op. 67: 3. Allegro4Symphonie Nr. 5 c, op. 67: 4. Allegro5Symphonie Nr. 6 F, op. 68 (Pastorale):1. Erwachen heiterer Empfindungen bei der Ankunft auf dem Lan6Symphonie Nr. 6 F, op. 68 (Pastorale):2. Szene am Bach7Symphonie Nr. 6 F, op. 68 (Pastorale):3. Lustiges Zusammensein der Landleute8Symphonie Nr. 6 F, op. 68 (Pastorale):4. Gewitter-Sturm9Symphonie Nr. 6 F, op. 68 (Pastorale):5. Hirtengesang. Frohe und dankbare. Gefuhle nach dem Sturm

Disc: 4

1Symphonie Nr. 7 A, op. 92: 1. Poco sostenuto-Vivace2Symphonie Nr. 7 A, op. 92: 2. Allegretto3Symphonie Nr. 7 A, op. 92: 3. Presto4Symphonie Nr. 7 A, op. 92: 4. Allegro con brio5Symphonie Nr. 8 F, op.93: 1. Allegro vivace e con brio6Symphonie Nr. 8 F, op.93: 2. Allegretto Scherzando7Symphonie Nr. 8 F, op.93: 3. Tempo di menuetto8Symphonie Nr. 8 F, op.93: 4. Allegro vivace

Disc: 5

1Symphonie Nr. 9 d, op.125: 1. Allegro ma non troppo, un poco maestoso2Symphonie Nr. 9 d, op.125: 2. Molto vivace3Symphonie Nr. 9 d, op.125: 3. Adagio molto e cantabile4Symphonie Nr. 9 d, op.125: 4. Presto5Symphonie Nr. 9 d, op.125: Presto-O Freunde, nicht diese Tone-Allegro assai