Search - Ludwig van Beethoven, Herbert Blomstedt, Dresden Staatskapelle :: Beethoven: Complete Symphonies (Box Set)

One of the best

Jeffrey Wozniak | Shelby Twp., MI United States | 09/24/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This cycle, if you can still find it, is one of the finest available. The price was $20-25 dollars when I got it a few years ago. You can't beat the price.



This cycle is in the same vain as Karajan, Klemperer, Bernstein, etc in that this is a full-fledged all-out set. I think of someone like Zinman's cycle as "Beethoven-light". Some people seem to like that kind of approach, however, whenever I think of Beethoven or Mahler, for instance, I think of them as in-your-face and heart-on-sleeve music. Nothing I have ever read about either one would indicate to me that they would have their music played in the manner of Bach or Mozart like too many people do these days.



If you want a set played like Zinman or Gardiner then stay clear of this one. If you like a full sounding orchestra playing your Beethoven, a top rate orchestra with the great Blomstedt at the helm then this set is for you. Buy it used it you have to. It's that good.



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A First-Rate Bargain

T. Beers | Arlington, Virginia United States | 01/08/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This ridiculously inexpensive set would make a great "stocking stuffer" at Christmas or serve as a wonderfully cheap, quality introduction to the Beethoven symphonies for a classical music novice. But, regardless of price, it stands on its own merits so that even experienced listeners should find much satisfaction. The performances, recorded in Dresden's acoustically-famed Lukaskirche in the late 1970s, also are available on the Berlin Classics label, but you'll pay a lot more. Blomstedt's Beethoven isn't flashy and certainly owes nothing to recent period instrument-style. But the conductor's musicianship is sound and the orchestra plays beautifully, all within a performance style that can be roughly characterized as "traditional middle european" (think Karl Boehm or Eugen Jochum). And what an orchestra! The Dresden Staatskapelle has been one of Germany's premiere bands since its founding in the sixteenth(!) century. To this day, it has maintained a darkly burnished, rich sound that Herbert von Karajan said reminded him of the look of old gold. More recently, the orchestra recorded a digital Beethoven cycle with Sir Colin Davis for Philips. IMHO Blomstedt's cycle has just as much integrity as Davis's, and the orchestra playing is, if anything, superior in the earlier set. Sound quality is very good analog stereo. The 5 CDs are set in sturdy cardboard envelopes and packaged in a space-saving library box. There are no liner notes, but hey, that's a minor inconvenience when so much quality can be had at such a reasonable price."