Beethoven...

Jeremiah

I want to acquire a Beethoven CD. I know nothing about classical music. Who is considered a great interpretator of Beethoven? Recommendations?

I'd rather buy a highly acclaimed rendition as opposed to just any 'greatest hits' type offering.

Cheers.

darjeeling

Jeremiah wrote: »

I want to acquire a Beethoven CD. I know nothing about classical music. Who is considered a great interpretator of Beethoven? Recommendations?

I'd rather buy a highly acclaimed rendition as opposed to just any 'greatest hits' type offering.

Cheers.

Well, classical.net (link) thinks that the 'basic repertoire' for Beethoven means:

* Piano Concertos 4 and 5
* Violin Concerto Op.61
* 'Triple' Concerto for Piano, Violin and Cello Op. 56
Diabelli Variations for Piano Op. 120
Eroica Variations for Piano Op. 35
Fidelio Op. 72 (opera)
* Missa Solemnis Op. 123
Overtures (Leonore, Coriolan, Egmont. etc.)
* String Quartets 7-16 (especially 8, 14)
Quintet for Piano and Strings Op. 16
Serenade and Trios for Strings Op. 3, 8 and 9
Sextet for Winds Op. 71
* Sonatas for Piano - All, especially 8 ('Pathetique'), 14 ('Moonlight'), 21 ('Waldstein'), 23 ('Appassionata'), 29 ('Hammerklavier')
Sonatas for Cello and Piano 1-5
* Sonatas for Violin and Piano 5 ('Spring') & 9 ('Kreutzer')
* Symphonies 1 - 9, especially 3 ('Eroica'), 5, 6 ('Pastoral'), 9 ('Choral') - [I'd add 7 too]
* Trios for Piano and Strings, especially 7 ('Archduke')

With asterisks showing the most recommended music.

For starting out, I'd personally skip the Triple Concerto and the Missa Solemnis (unless you're particularly into choral music). I probably wouldn't start with the quartets either, and maybe leave the Archduke Trio.

That leaves: the above piano sonatas, piano concertos 4 & 5, violin concerto, violin sonatas 5 & 9 and symphonies, all of which would be a good place to start.

And that's where it gets more difficult. There are tens if not hundreds of recordings of all of these. In choosing, you can go on budget - older recordings and recordings by less famous people & labels may be cheaper - on performance style (modern / period), or on preference for a particular performer. If you go into a shop with a large classical selection, they'll often have copies of guides to recordings you can browse (e.g. the Penguin CD guide). You'll also find suggestions at http://www.gramophone.co.uk, from BBC Radio 3 here, at http://inkpot.com/classical/, on Amazon, or generally around the web.

Or you could just go out and buy Carlos Kleiber's 1975/6 recordings of Beethoven's 5th and 7th symphonies with the Vienna Philharmonic on the Deutsche Grammophon label ('Originals' series).

Sandwich

The bargain 'great' Beethoven that you could not go wrong with is Carlos Kleiber's recording of Symphonies 5,7 on DG. Great works, great orchestra, great conductor, great interpretation, great recording.

No collection should be without it.

Jeremiah

Thanks really appreciate the help.

Excellent stuff