Beethoven Edition: Complete Works (85CD Box Set)


Manufacturer: Brilliant Classics
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List Price:$139.98
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Beethoven Edition: Complete Works (85CD Box Set)
Reviews:

starsLvB's published works, in one set
In terms of coverage of LvB's published works, this set is indeed impressive. While I'm not a specialist who can verify whether this edition indeed includes all of LvB's published works, everything I recognize is there, from his first published work to the last.

There's a reason why the set is cheap: the performances are minor, and the recordings often suffer from quality problems. You can hear a lot of performing mistakes, more so than "established" recordings. A lot of tracks have problematic sound dynamics.

But overall, this is a good set to own, if nothing else just to get all of LvB's music together without spending a fortune.


starsYet another successful Brilliant Classics release
I bought this in Europe a week ago. I've listened to about half of the discs since, and it's pretty clear Brilliant Classics has come up with yet another very successful box set.

The recordings included here range from ok to stellar. The Symphonies are definitely a highlight -- they're well-balanced and performed very well by the Leipzig Orchestra. The standard concertos (5 Piano, the Triple and the Violin) are excellent too, but the non-standard ones (Piano Concerto #0, the Violin Concerto transcribed for Piano, all the works without opus), are not so great. The sound is a little fuzzy, which doesn't help the fact that these works already aren't very good to start with.

The chamber music is a little hit and miss, but more hits than miss. The wind music overall is very good. I'm sure others will disagree, but I think the Piano Sonatas by Friedrich Gulka are a little on the limp side. They're ok, they're definitely not bad, but they lack fire. For the bargain side of things, I think John Lill's recordings are much better. The Violin Sonatas with Grumiaux and Haskil are from the 50's, so the sound again isn't perfect. But the performances are top notch. I've listened to about a third of the String Quartets performed by the Guarneri Quartet, and they're all outstanding.

This set also includes Leonore and Fidelio, which is interesting to compare. They're pretty similar, and they're both solid performances. I didn't listen to many of the songs and I'm not a vocalist, so I don't much to say there. They seem ok, but I'm no authority on that.

I'm thrilled to see Brilliant Classics come out with this set -- it seems like a natural progression after Bach and Mozart. The quality of those two box sets really set a pretty high bar for this one, and they didn't disappoint.

Brilliant Classics has really given DG's set a run for its money. And at a 90% discount to their set, there really isn't a question who comes out on top. Do yourself a favor and buy these discs!



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