This Audio CD Music item from Naxos was reviewed on 23-Jul-2008.
Beethoven: The Complete Symphonies and Piano Concertos Reference Music. Classifications : Beethoven, Ludwig van ( B ) Featured Composers, A-Z Classical Styles Music General Concertos Forms & Genres Classical Styles Music Romantic Symphonies Forms & Genres Classical Styles Music General Cla . Click the following link to view the cover of Beethoven: The Complete Symphonies and Piano Concertos. Related topics: Adagio Molto - Allergro Con Brio - Bela Drahos. Andante Cantabile Con Moto - Bela Drahos. Menuetto: Allegro Molto E Vivace - Bela Drahos. Adagio - Allegro Molto E Vivace - Bela Drahos. Erwachen Heiterer Empfindungen Bei Der Ankunft Auf Dem Lande (Awakening Of Cheerful Feelings Upon Arrival In The Country)/Allegro Ma Non Troppo - Bela Drahos. Szene Am Bach (Scene By The Brook)/Andante Molto Mosso - Bela Drahos. Lustiges Zusammensein Der Landleute (Merry Gathering Of Country Folk)/Allegro - Bela Drahos. Gewitte, Sturm (Thunderstorm)/Allegro - Bela Drahos. Hirtengesang: Frohe Und Dankbare Gefuhle Nach Dem Sturm (Shepherd´s Song: Happy And Thankful Feelings After The Storm)/Allegretto - Bela Drahos. Adagio Molto - Allegro Con Brio - Bela Drahos. Larghetto - Bela Drahos. Scherzo: Allegro - Bela Drahos. Allegro Molto - Bela Drahos. Allegro Con Brio - Bela Drahos. Andante Con Moto - Bela Drahos. Allegro - Bela Drahos. Allegro - Bela Drahos. Allegro Con Brio - Bela Drahos. Marcia Funebre: Allegro Assai - Bela Drahos. Scherzo: Allegro Vivace - Bela Drahos. Finale: Allegro Molto - Bela Drahos. Allegro Vivace E Con Brio - Bela Drahos. Allegretto Scherzando - Bela Drahos. Tempo Di Menuetto - Bela Drahos. Allegro Vivace - Bela Drahos. Adagio - Allegro Vivace - Bela Drahos. Adagio - Bela Drahos. Allegro Vivace - Bela Drahos. Allegro Ma Non Troppo - Bela Drahos. Poco Sostenuto - Vivace - Bela Drahos. Allegretto - Bela Drahos. Presto - Bela Drahos. Allegro Con Brio - Bela Drahos. Adagio Ma Non Troppo, Un Poco Maestoso - Claudio Otelli. Molto Vivace - Claudio Otelli. Adagio Molto E Catabile - Andante Moderato - Claudio Otelli. Finale: Presto - Claudio Otelli. Allegro Con Brio - Stefan Vladar. Largo - Stefan Vladar. Rondo: Allegro Scherzando - Stefan Vladar. Rondo In B Flat, WoO 6 - Stefan Vladar. Allegro Con Brio - Stefan Vladar. Adagio - Stefan Vladar. Rondo: Molto Allegro - Stefan Vladar. Allegro - Stefan Vladar. Adagio Un Poco Mosso - Stefan Vladar. Rondo: Allegro - Stefan Vladar. Allegro Con Brio - Stefan Vladar. Largo - Stefan Vladar. Rondo: Allegro - Stefan Vladar. Allegro Moderato - Stefan Vladar. Andante Con Moto - Stefan Vladar. Rondo: Vivace - Stefan Vladar. ( B ). Classical. Styles. Music. General. Concertos. Forms & Genres. Classical. Styles. Music. requestid: 47742a10-8c5d-4c5b-9c44-74fda46c7240
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1) Audio CD Music Beethoven: The Complete Symphonies and Piano Concertos by Naxos. I recently ordered this box set from Amazon. I must say that I´ve enjoyed the performances on the CDs thus far. I have to confess that I am a Herbert von Karajan fan. I love the sounds that he coaxed from the Berliner Philharmoniker, and enjoy his 1962 recordings of Beethoven immensly.
That being said, there is much to be said for the chamber orchestra being used in the performance of Beethoven´s work. We know that the orchestras of Beethoven´s time were much smaller than the symphony orchestras of today. There are certain details that can sometimes be obscured by larger orchestras.
These are perfectly acceptable performances of Beethoven´s work. While they lack the dramatic sweep of Karajan´s or Bernstein´s work, they are worth looking into, especially for those interested in acquiring a budget collection of the symphonies. There are better performances out there to be sure, but this is still quite a good collection overall.¤ 2) Audio CD Music Beethoven: The Complete Symphonies and Piano Concertos by Naxos. This ´White Box´ set from Naxos combines the complete symphonies of Beethoven played by the Nicolaus Eszterházy Sinfonia under Béla Drahos, and the five piano concertos (plus the rarely heard Rondo in B flat, WoO 6) played by pianist Stefan Vladar accompanied by the Capella Istropolitana (Bratislava) under English conductor Barry Wordsworth. There are 8 CDs in the box with a total timing of right at 9 hours. The symphonies had been recorded in the mid-1990s, the concerti in the late 1980s. The sound is acceptable. These are fairly routine performances, with nothing particularly objectionable but also very little that is outstanding. There are a few exceptions. Drahos seems to have a better feel for the even-numbered symphonies (as well as No. 1), which are, of course, the more temperate of the series. However, when the storm breaks loose in the ´Pastoral´ Symphony, No. 6, not much happens. And the dramatic qualities of Symphonies 3, 5 and 7 are somewhat muted. This may be at least partly because the orchestra sounds fairly small. Surprisingly, the Ninth is pretty good except for a rather pallid first movement. Certainly the soloists and chorus in the last movement are more than acceptable, even notable. The chorus has a nice blend and their attacks and releases are very well synchronized. My own personal favorite - not a widely accepted opinion, I´m aware - for budget symphonies is the David Zinman/Zurich Tonhalle set on Arte Nova, available only as single issues as far as I know and perhaps a little hard to find these days. But there are complete Karajan, Bernstein, Walter and Klemperer sets, admittedly in somewhat old sonics, for budget outlay. The concerti feature a pianist from whom we´ve not heard much since the late 1980s, Stefan Vladar. He was only in the his early twenties when he recorded them and he does a competent job but there are so many other similarly priced sets of the concerti featuring better soloists that they are hard to recommend. Spend a little more and get the Leon Fleisher set. Barry Wordsworth, primarily a ballet conductor as far as I know, leads routine performances with this Slovak orchestra. This set might be a good ´starter´ set for someone on a tight budget who wants to acquire the complete symphonies and piano concerti in one purchase. Certainly someone who has never heard any of it before can become familiar here with some of the most glorious music ever written. But with a little shopping around one can do better, I think, for very little more outlay. Scott Morrison¤ 3) Audio CD Music Beethoven: The Complete Symphonies and Piano Concertos by Naxos. The White Box is Naxos’ flagship boxed set series, dedicated to exploring complete areas of a composer’s work. All releases in the White Box series are presented in durable and attractive packaging with the discs enclosed in individual sleeves. From the beginning, Naxos has sought to let these masterpieces speak for themselves and in designing these boxes, the music is presented with minimal fuss. Such minimalism does not apply to the generously sized booklets, which offer full essays on each work plus a biography of the composer and artists. The booklets also contain a specially created chronology for this series, which sets events in the composer’s own life into a wider musical and overall historical context.¤ 4) Audio CD Music Beethoven: The Complete Symphonies and Piano Concertos by Naxos. The super-super-bargain price of this set is only the beginning of the reasons for recommending it. Drahos, a Hungarian flutist with no particular reputation as a conductor, came out of nowhere more than a decade ago with his small band of players from the Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra to provide one of the more worthwhile sets of Beethoven symphony recordings. The performances aren´t as dramatic or exciting as some of the better-known sets, but they are beautifully played in their mellow way, with pleasing instrumental tone and excellent balances. No important lines are lost here. Drahos is generous with repeats, and the natural, unforced musicality of the playing makes up for any losses in voltage. The Piano Concertos show a somewhat different interpretive style. Vladar doesn´t drive the music into the ground, but he´s an intense interpreter with a strong point of view. He has the range to differentiate the geniality of the First Concerto from the power of the Third, and then gives us Olympian detachment in the "Emperor" which conveys Beethoven´s inentions very well. The excellent Wordsworth and his fine players (members of the Slovak Philharmonic) provide alert support. As in the Symphonies, you can hear every important line in the orchestra even when the piano is playing full blast. The space-saving packaging and informative booklet are further virtues in a set which is overall worth several times its price. Maybe these shouldn´t be your only performances of these works, but they illuminate the music in a way that´s well worth hearing. --Leslie Gerber¤ Page Updated: Robert N. Goolsby, 20-Aug-2008, 730099180726, BCB-8 
Beethoven: The Complete Symphonies and Piano Concertos, Music, Image © Naxos
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