Hank Drake | Cleveland, OH United States | 04/10/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Originally issued on Columbia's budget label, Epic, George Szell's early stereo (1957-1967) cycle of Beethoven's Symphonies became legendary on its original release. Originally released one at a time, the cycle was later reissued as a boxed set, individually again in the late 1970s, debuting on CD in the 1980s, and in several incarnations during the 1990s. Now, for the 21st Century, Sony has created a lavish reissue.
Ever the perfectionist, Szell drilled the Cleveland Orchestra to within an inch of its life, and the result here is orchestral playing of immaculate perfection, with the various choirs balanced as if they were one soloist. Technically, there is no better Beethoven cycle on records, not from Maazel's and Dohnanyi's later cycles with the same orchestra, not from Karajan's Berlin Philharmonic, and certainly not from Toscanini's NBC Orchestra.
Toscanini bears mentioning here, because there are similarities of approach. Szell chooses not to let details obscure the overall structure of each symphony--though there are telling details in plenty. By the time this cycle was recorded, Szell had lived with these masterpieces for half a century, and it shows in the judicious tempi, straightforward phrasing, and architectonic grandeur.
Receiving its first CD release is the same orchestra's recording of Beethoven's Creatures of Prometheus ballet, superbly conducted by Szell's assistant director, Louis Lane. Also included is Mozart's "Jupiter" Symphony, which was originally the B side for Beethoven's ubiquitous 5th. Since this is one of the finest Jupiters ever recorded, no complaints about breaking the one composer rule.
Sony's set reproduces the original cover art and sequencing (with once exception, the Overtures disc features two bonus tracks). Generally, the CDs are not well filled, however this is more than made up for by the superb documentation. The booklet contains the original LP liner notes (most of them by Klaus G. Roy, then program annotator of the Cleveland Orchestra), unfortunately whittled down. But, with a magnifying glass, one can read the miniaturized backs of the original LP covers. Sony's engineers have done an excellent job remastering the rather dry sounding original tapes.
For those encountering Beethoven's sypmhonies of Szell conducting for the first time, there is no greater starting point. For longtime fans, this set will impress with its refreshed sonics and deluxe packaging.
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Music Production At Highest Level
Johnson Lee | Irvine, CA USA | 01/14/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"No need to explain why Szell's Beethoven performances are exquisite - perfect balancing among instruments, expressive phrasing, unbelievable intensity, and oh yes, details!
But equal amount of praises should go to Sony's remastering engineers. You will hear a night-and-day difference from the old Essential Classics versions!
Just listen to the magnificent 9th. Szell and the Cleveland musicians give out their lives."
Muscular, Great Sounding Symphonies
J. Savett | Rockville, MD United States | 12/24/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I own the Klemperer complete set of Beethoven symphonies plus a number of wonderful individual versions (Carlos Kleiber's 5th, Bruno Walter's 6th, Wilhelm Furtwangler's 9th), and yet this might be the finest sounding Beethoven symphonies. The quality of the remastering is phenomenal, the sound of each symphony is warm and detailed, better than many modern digital recordings I have. The nice part about Szell's (and the Cleveland's) interpretations is that they are strong but still nauanced enough that I can hear new things with every listen. All the same, the Cleveland Orchestra sounds absurdly triumphant in these recordings. I've heard many of the symphonies from the famous Karajan/Berliner Philharmoniker set and the Cleveland Orchestra puts them to shame. If you enjoy a thinner, sort of, effete Beethoven, the Karajan set is in order. But even better than the rock solid (but often too slow) Klemperer, these symphonies retain much of their beauty but they still sound revolutionary. As a newish (three of four years of collectiong and listening) fan of classical with a background in punk, rap, and hard-core, I actually felt a rush of adrenaline while listening to many of these. As a relatively minor side note--the packaging of this set is actually pretty cool. The 10 CDs come in a moderately sized box. But each CD is in a cardboard sleave designed with the LP's original artwork and cover. The back of each sleave retains the original essays and commentary from the LP jacket (though it's quite difficult to read). For some reason my sleave for symphony 8 and 9 was not factory wrapped, but it's a mere quibble.
This set is amazing. It will insure your love of Beethoven if it's your first listen, but it will enhance and deepen your indebtedness to him and Szell if you've already heard many."
Superbly Remastered Classic Beethoven Symphony Cycle From Sz
John Kwok | New York, NY USA | 01/30/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"In the 1960s, there was no other orchestra in the world - including Karajan's Berliner Philharmoniker - which sounded as fine as the Cleveland Orchestra under George Szell's magnificient direction. I am delighted that Sony has made this fine CD set available once more, using the latest digital state-of-the-art remastering, since I remember well from some old LPs I had of this Beethoven Symphony Cycle, superb performances of the 3rd, 5th, 6th and 7th symphonies from Szell and his crack precision ensemble of a symphony orchestra. I concur with others who regard this CD set as the best recorded by the Cleveland Orchestra of not only Beethoven's symphonies, but indeed, of any of the great 18th and 19th Century composers. This 1957 to 1967 recorded cycle will remain as one of the most important artistic legacies of the Cleveland Orchestra during Szell's tenure as music director. Moreover, I am willing to guess that this CD set may be remembered as the best Beethoven Symphony Cycle recorded during this time, even if others, most notably Karajan's early 1960s Deutsche Grammophon cycle with the Berliner Philharmoniker, have earned lavish praise from critics and fans alike."
Szell's Beethoven in best sound, forty years later
Santa Fe Listener | Santa Fe, NM USA | 04/21/2007
(4 out of 5 stars)
"I empathize with fans of the late George Szell, who had to endure shallow, hissy sonics on the original LPs of his Beethoven cycle, then had to wait decades longer while Sony put the recordings through cheap CD remastering on various budget lines. Now jsutice has been done, and the original tapes come up sounding quite good. (The same renovation has been done to the Szell-Fleisher Beethoven 3rd and 4th piano concertos though not to their great Emperor Concerto, so far as I know).
The hallmarks of Szell's conducting style are well known. He followed Toscanini's propulsive lead, allowing little expressive rubato, insisting on perfection of execution, and in essence bringing the Italian maestro's disciplined rigor into the stereo era. To some ears this makes for great Beethoven, but there's more humanity, heroism and romance to be found elsewhere. I don't think Beethoven should be so well drilled, but if you favor Szell's meticulous, chilly style, his Beethoven cycle is quite strong.
Sony deserves some finger wagging for filling these CDs so stingily and for stretching the material for 6 or 7 CDs out to ten. Charging the full price of $100 seems like gouging, particularly when you have to buy Szell's Jupiter Sym., available elsewhere, and a Prometheus ballet that isn't even conducted by him but his pedestrian assistant, Louis Lane. that sai, here is a famous set of the Beethoven symphonies in best sound."