专辑简介

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 sets of the Beethoven symphonies.