Clear, strong, and direct with virtuosic ensemble and conducting, George Szell and the Cleveland Orchestra's set of the Beethoven symphonies was one of the great cycles of the '60s. Szell's interpretations are thoroughly thought through from opening gesture to final apotheosis, but still passionately and powerfully played by the superb Cleveland Orchestra. Their First is poised and elegant. Their Second is monumental and exhilarating. Their Third is grand and violent. Their Fourth is graceful and balanced. Their Fifth is ...
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Clear, strong, and direct with virtuosic ensemble and conducting, George Szell and the Cleveland Orchestra's set of the Beethoven symphonies was one of the great cycles of the '60s. Szell's interpretations are thoroughly thought through from opening gesture to final apotheosis, but still passionately and powerfully played by the superb Cleveland Orchestra. Their First is poised and elegant. Their Second is monumental and exhilarating. Their Third is grand and violent. Their Fourth is graceful and balanced. Their Fifth is brutal and glorious. Their Sixth is, for all of its intelligence and brilliance, a little too fast in the opening movements. Their Seventh is vigorous and vivacious. Their Eighth is fabulously well-played but a bit too straight-laced. Their Ninth goes from despair to joy and right up to the starry firmament where a loving father must surely dwell. And Sony's magnificent remastering of the original Columbia's hard and impervious sound is revelatory. This is still one of the greatest...
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Szell's Cleveland Orchestra Beethoven cycle has always been well regarded as one of the best. Tempos are generally brisk but not overly so, and his Fifth symphony is simply breathtaking. I had the fifth on LP because I was disappointed with the playing of other Beethoven symphony cycles I've heard. The sound on the LP, however was less than stellar. These CD transcriptions have corrected that issue. Obviously there was much better sound on the master tapes than the LP captured. You will be impressed with the sound. Packaging is a little minimal - it's basically a set of individual CD releases in a slipcase. But that really is sufficient - the music comes through and that's all that counts.
