Beethoven Complete Symphonies

This is the latest and, they tell us, the last of EMI’s Simon Rattle Edition, gathering together the conductor’s complete forays into certain composers and repertoire. As with any such project the sets hitherto released have contained both treasures and duds. Even though not everything here is perfect, this set sends the series out on a high with his complete Vienna recording of the Beethoven symphonies.

"Muti's Beethoven Fifth is fleet, fluid, and transparent. He shows his usual attention to details, and offers many individual touches. I especially enjoyed the horn crescendo in bar 34 of the Allegro con brio. It's not indicated in my ancient Eulenberg score but makes perfect sense in its context. …Muti achieves a clarity and rhythmic definition found only in the finest interpretations…The playing of the Philadelphia Orchestra is nothing short of spectacular. The fast string triplets from measure 132 in the final movement are not only accurate but beautifully played with full tone.

„Beethoven is the alpha and omega of the symphonic repertoire: a repertoire crucial to any orchestra’s quality. However my orchestra at the Paris Opera had never played the Beethoven symphonies before.“ (Philippe Jordan) This Edition contains all Beethoven Symphonies with the Orchestra and Chorus of the Opéra national de Paris conducted by Philippe Jordan. A brand new production filmed in the highest quality known on the market today made by the creators oft he successful Shostakovich cycle. Philippe Jordan presents a young but traditionalist interpretation in the spirit of historical performance practice, setting a new course in Beethoven interpretation. Includes a documentary film „Philippe Jordan – Born to Conduct“ by Reiner E. Moritz. Reiner E. Moritz sketches his astonishing career and in his film uses exciting excerpts of his most important conducting performances, allowing Jordan to recount not only his childhood memories, but also his own career.

Andris Nelsons has joined forces with the Wiener Philharmoniker to record Ludwig van Beethoven’s nine symphonies for Deutsche Grammophon. The release of their new album on 4 October 2019 will mark the start of the Yellow Label’s celebration of the 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth next year. The Nelsons Beethoven cycle is presented in a specially commissioned deluxe box featuring the nine works on five CDs and a single Blu-ray Audio disc in TrueHD sound quality.