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Category: Beethoven

Symphony No. 1: Beethoven

Symphony No. 1: Beethoven

If you happen to not have Beethoven 1 in your collection, and do not want to spring for a set, there are literally dozens of options out there. I think the best bet would be the classic Szell/Cleveland release. Along with a great 6th, there is some great conducting, good energy and good sound.

Great Conductors of the 20th Century – Fritz Busch

Great Conductors of the 20th Century – Fritz Busch

  Great Conductors of the 20th Century was a 2CD series from IMG Artists and EMI featuring famous conductors of the 20th century. As per the norm, the website has disappeared, so here is all the information [and more] that was included for this great series. Very rare broadcast recordings from Danish Radio and also Busch’s studio recordings of Mozart, Haydn and Weber on CD for the first time. Catalogue no: 7243 5 75103 2 5 (2 CD)   CD1 [77:26]…

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Great Conductors of the 20th Century: Adrian Boult

Great Conductors of the 20th Century: Adrian Boult

Great Conductors of the 20th Century was a 2CD series from IMG Artists and EMI featuring famous conductors of the 20th century. As per the norm, the website has disappeared, so here is all the information [and more] that was included for this great series. All these rare recordings, with the exception of a stunning Theme & Variations from Tchaikovsky’s Suite No.3, are issued on CD for the first time. With the exception of Walton’s ‘Portsmouth Point’, the repertoire is non-British…

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Beethoven Symphonies: Szell – update

Beethoven Symphonies: Szell – update

Originally Published on: Jun 18, 2012 The Szell Beethoven Box Set with the Cleveland Orchestra is currently out of print on CD, but 4 individual CD’s are still part of the Sony Essential Classics series, and well worth getting. Symphonies 4 & 7 are only available from ArchivMusic through their ArchivCD program at full price, the other sets are 1 & 6, 2 & 5, 3 & 8 and Symph 9 with Fidelio Overture. These are also available as MP3 albums,…

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Beethoven Brahms Bruckner Schubert

Beethoven Brahms Bruckner Schubert

I needed another set of Beethoven Symphony recordings about as much as I needed another Brahms set, not to mention Bruckner or Schubert. But running across the Gunter Wand Great Recordings box set, who could resist? A 28 CD set in a large LP size box, with a really nice booklet, and under $35, so on order it went. My recordings from Wand were quite sparse to my surprise, mainly some of his later live Bruckner recordings, but I enjoyed those…

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Perlman Jacket

Perlman Jacket

  The Itzhak Perman ‘Original Jacket Collection’ is a 10 CD set that was issued by Sony several years ago featuring a variety of Perlman’s recordings. Bach, Mozart, Prokofiev and Paganini are only a few of the composers represented here. This collection was a bit expensive at the time, and to be honest not one I was inclined to purchase at full price. Fortunately almost the entire set has been reissued in a bargain Sony import collection: ‘Itzhak Perlman Plays…

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Big Beethoven Box

Big Beethoven Box

The Bach Guild [aka Vanguard Classics] has released their latest super bargain MP3 set, the “Big Beethoven Box”. There are symphonies, cello sonatas, piano sonatas, some string quartets, and other miscellaneous goodies. And all for the bargain price of 99 cents. As usual this set will most likely creep up in price to $9.99 eventually, but even then it is a bargain. The performers are good, such as Maurice Abravanel & Utah Symphony Orchestra. Some of the tracks have questionable…

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Beethoven Missa

Beethoven Missa

Karl Bohm and the Vienna Philharmonic in a great 70’s era recording of Beethoven’s ‘Missa Solemnis’. Performances byMargaret Price and Christa Ludwig add to this excellent recording. http://youtu.be/fhm-b4sKCdw:

Beethoven: Classic Piano Sonatas

Beethoven: Classic Piano Sonatas

You can find a lot of surprises when you are browsing Amazon.com. I came upon a bargain set of the Beethoven Piano Sonatas by Artur Schnabel. These were recorded in the 1930’s and I believe may have been the first set of complete sonatas issued on 78s. Whether they were first or not, they have a history of being legendary performances, and I never got around to listening to them, until now. They set of 101 tracks is on sale…

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Beethoven Box Sets: From The Old School

Beethoven Box Sets: From The Old School

Classical Box Sets abound, and are great ways to collect full groups of works, like Beethoven’s Symphonies, Mozart’s Late Symphonies, etc. Beethoven Symphonies and Piano Concertos are probably the most popular sets available, and if you look around, there are some great bargains out there. After a long absence, the Toscanini performances have finally been compiled into one set by BMG/RCA. The recordings are old, in mono, and I could not care less. The power and energy that Toscanini brings…

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