Complete Beethoven Edition [Box set]

This Beethoven Complete Edition Box is one of the best investments you could make in your classical music collection. Brilliant Classics has done a remarkable job in presenting 85 CDs that cover just about everything Beethoven ever composed, and to my ears, probably a tad more than most of us will ever really listen to. Almost nothing in this set would get a one star if I were rating it alone, and the majority of the set would get somewhere between four and five stars. As a beginning set, or one to fill out your existing Beethoven collection, this is simply a knock out.

Let me address the major groupings in the set, and try to rate them in a way that makes sense - one rating for performance and the other for sound quality.

Symphonies and Concertos. Performance: 4 stars, Sound: 4 stars. Herbert Blomstedt and the Staatskapelle Dresden performing the symphonies. While not Solti, Walter, or Karajan, I am glad to have added these recordings to my collection. Tempos are a little slow, and the equalization is a touch dark - partially due to recording location. However the performances are clear, stereo separation is remarkable. Gulda on piano with Stein conducting the Vienna Philharmonic on most of the piano concertos is a real find. I had heard of neither pianist nor conductor before purchasing this set, but these are as fine a performance of these works as anything in my collection. (Turns out Gulda was a real character - a transgenre'd artist who faked his own death.) But the hidden treasure in this part of the collection is Stanislav Skrowaczevski conducting the Minnesota Orchestra on overtures and orchestral showpieces. Clear recordings and fantastic performances. I own his Bruckner recordings, and he is one of the most under-rated conductors of the modern era.

The Chamber Music. Performance 4 stars. Sound: 5 stars. The highlights of this part of the collection are the Piano Trios by the Borodin Trio, the Cello Sonatas by Heinrich Schiff, and the flute discs. The only slight disappointment - the violin sonatas. They were recorded in the 1950s, and sound it. Performances by Grumiaux and Haskell are quite good, though, and make up for the dated sound.

The String Quartets: Performance: 5 stars. Sound: 4. I don't exactly know what to say here. If you can find this set separately, it is going to set you back at least 40 American bucks. I have a nice stereo with a Nu-Force digital-to-analog converter, and Linn speakers. Audiophile stuff. If these were bad, I'd hear it. What I do hear is texture, sound stage, and lots of "gorgeous." The Guarneri Quartet plays these pieces with precision, conviction. Detailed, almost three dimensional sound. I think the Alexander Quartet box set is the gold standard for the Beethoven string quartets, at least to my taste. But what you get here will be all most people ever need or want.

The Piano Sonatas. Performance: 5 stars. Sound: 3 stars. This is Alfred Brendel's early 1960's set - originally offered as a Vox Box. Dating myself, but that was the budget label of the sixties. And back then, budget usually meant substandard sound and engineering. Love the performances. The sound varies from really good - clear with great acoustics - to slightly muddy, boxy sounding acoustics. But folks, this is Brendel and he turns in one of the best performances of Moonlight Sonata, and the Pathétique Sonata on CD. I am quite tickled that I now own a complete Brendel cycle, even if the critics say it's not his best.

The Stage Works. Performance: 5 stars, Sound: 5 stars. This set contains two versions of Fidelio. Leonora, the earlier version, is a 1970s recording with Herbert Blomstedt and the Staatskapelle Dresden. Fidelio is conducted by Dohnanyi with the Vienna Philharmonic. The singing is competent, the recordings are top notch. My only complaint with this section is the recording of the oratorio, Christ on the Mount of Olives. A slow, amateur performance with unacceptable engineering. Worst CD in the set. But I cannot subtract a star for one bad CD.

The Songs and Arias. Performance: 15 stars. Sound: 1000 stars. Enough said. If there was any doubt by now that this set was worth the asking price, these CDs pushed it over the top. Songs in German, English. You get Irish songs, you get Welsh songs, you get Scotch tunes, and even riddle and jokes pieces. No famous opera stars, but the singers all turn in convincing, reliable performances. This kind of music sounded wonderful in the Mozart set, and likewise here.

Summary. Can you get better recordings of these pieces? Yes. But it all comes down to time and money. 84 of 85 discs in this set are top drawer performances, most sound like they are of the digital age - the rest you accept because of the quality of the performances. I picked the set up for 27 dollars here on Amazon. Knowing what I know now, after hearing these CDs - they really are worth the asking price. This is an obscenely good deal, and I am feeling quite of a bit of "pride of ownership."

This box set is presented as an economical way of hearing practically all of Beethoven's musical output, and on a per disc basis it is indeed quite cheap. However, for those looking for "special" recordings the story is more complicated - paying $100 for 85 discs of mediocre performances isn't really a bargain in their eyes. Thankfully there is quite a lot to like about this box set besides its completeness factor, but its value will really depend on what exactly you are looking for.

Some people will be most interested in the "core" cycles of Beethoven's repertoire - the symphonies, concertos, string quartets, piano trios, cello and violin sonatas, and finally the piano sonatas. There are some important non-cycle works that also fall in this category like the Missa Solemnis, the Diabelli Variations, Leonore/Fidelio and other incidental music, and the late bagatelles. Other people will be most interested in the lesser-known miscellanea that are harder to find on disc. I identify more with the former, so this review is focused on those items. But consider this - the core works listed above account for roughly half of the total music contained this box - There is plenty here to explore for Beethoven-philes, and I expect it will be a long time before I have listened to all of these discs.

Symphonies:
Herbert Blomstedt's symphonies with the Dresden Staatskapelle are a definite highlight of this box. You could probably find other recordings of any of the individual symphonies that are more special, detailed, profound or passionate, but as a whole this is a remarkably consistent and satisfying cycle. The Dresden group offer great ensemble qualities and plenty of energetic and dedicated playing. Fortunately they are captured in full-bodied, gorgeous late analogue stereo sound. I have been very impressed by symphonies #2, 3, 4, 6, 7 and 9, and the other ones are nearly as good. The 5th lacks some of the visceral intensity many people expect after hearing Kleiber, but as a more classical take it is just fine.

Concertos:
Freidrich Gulda and Horst Stein conducting the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra provide respectable recordings of the piano concertos. Gulda's playing can seem cool and calculating at times, and the orchestral part can seem a bit plain, but overall there are no glaring issues. Mainly the problem is that there is no shortage of recordings of these works and it's not difficult or expensive to find more interesting and special interpretations. Sound is good for the recording period (early 70s).

Henryk Szeryng's Violin Concerto with Bernard Haitink and the Royal Concertgebow Orchestra takes an expansive approach to the piece, managing to draw it out to a full 45 minutes. The playing is very beautiful and in great late-stereo sound, but those looking for excitement in this work may be disappointed. Heifetz/Munch provides a good amount of drive and excitement, whereas Tetzlaff/Zinman manages to strike a balance between the two approaches and is quite inexpensive (the same applies to the remainder of Zinman's great concerto cycle). The Tetzlaff is my current favorite.

Cello Sonatas:
The cello sonatas with Heinrich Schiff and Till Fellner are top notch - Schiff is a brilliant cellist and Fellner, while slightly more reserved in his playing, is a great partner. The sound is excellent digital, though it's worth noting that the cello is recorded fairly closely and the piano is slightly recessed in comparison.

Violin Sonatas:
There is pretty broad agreement that Arthur Grumiaux and Clara Haskil's set of Violin sonatas was not recorded particularly well, with the piano significantly recessed in comparison to the violin. But after a few minutes of adjusting, I find the playing to be so beautiful so as to make recording quality a moot point.

Piano Trios:
The Borodin Trio provide an inspired recording of the the piano trios in warm digital sound. I'm not familiar with the trio discography but I have found this set to be quite satisfying.

String Quartets:
The quartets are split between the Sharon Quartet for the early Op. 18 works and the Guarneri digital set from Philips for the middle and late works. I must admit that I am disappointed that the Sharons were thrown in rather than simply offering a complete set of the Guarneri as was done in the previous Brilliant Classics Beethoven box. The Sharon Quartet plays these works competently though quite slowly, and although the sound is quite good (digital) I don't really find anything special in their performances. The experienced Guarneri on the other hand offer an ideal middle-road approach to the middle and late works, dishing up plenty of warm, humane playing without sacrificing the excitement in the faster movements. The consistent wisdom and taste of their interpretive choices, not just within each of these enormously varied quartets, but across the entire set, is remarkable. The Guarneri use a somewhat heavy vibrato and I sense that intonation is at times not as perfect as with some other ensembles out there. However I think the insights presented in their recordings of the quartets are worth it. Again, the sound is full-bodied and warm without being too close, and provides ample separation of the parts to fully appreciate the conversational nature of Beethoven's quartet writing.

Piano Sonatas:
Others have mentioned that Brendel's early Vox set from the 1960s seems to get lots of flak from critics (and himself) but lots of love from listeners. Brendel's playing is fairly uninhibited and unpreoccupied with perfection - rather he is more focused on conveying the mood of any given movement. Still, his approach is fairly classical with respect to tempos and rubato. At times I wish he might show some additional flexibility, especially in the late sonatas, but generally his interpretations are satisfying. Sound quality is varied. It can get pretty rough on the late sonatas, where I think even Kempff's mono cycle can sound better. In other places it is more typical for early-ish stereo, though there are frequent balance issues between channels that can distract from the music.

I apologize for not being able to comment on the other items - I have confined my review to those I am most familiar with, and frankly many more pages would be required to do justice to this enormous collection.

For the purposes of full disclosure I had the good fortune of stumbling across this set when it was mispriced at $30, and Amazon honored my order despite the error. The current asking price (around $100) gives me more pause - The symphonies, middle and late quartets and cello sonatas are all unquestionably gems, but the concertos, early quartets and piano sonatas are not really at the top of the heap. The other major items are good, though it wouldn't be hard to find better. Ultimately what makes this box special is the ability to pick out recordings of any of Beethoven's relatively unknown works at your convenience. For that reason I think these miscellanea need to hold some value to you for this box to be worth the asking price.

Finally, it's worth noting that most of the major items in this box can be purchased separately.

Here is a Beethoven collection worth the price of admission. I have lived with The Complete Beethoven Edition of Deutsche Grammaphon for over a decade now. This collection may almost be its equal.

Guilda's Piano Concerto 4 was absolutely spellbinding. I also enjoyed the 5th Symphony with Blornstedt and Straatskapelle Dresden which is a very traditional, solid interpretation that is well recorded. Sir Colin Davis conducts a more than satisfactory Missa Solemnis in D. Of course I still have the rest of the collection to discover, but the initial response is certainly "Bravo Brilliant!" The upgrades over the 2007 set make this super budget edition a worthy companion to go with their Bach, Mozart and Haydn boxes.

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 9 reviews  4.4 out of 5 stars