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Szell/Cleveland Beethoven Symphonies on SACD

Posted by Doktor Brahms (A) on August 30, 2016 at 12:21:33

I celebrated my 60th birthday earlier this month, so I treated myself to a little birthday present: the newly-remastered set of Szell's Beethoven symphonies on Sony-Japan SACD. I've finally worked my way through the whole cycle and thought I would share my impressions.

First, musical excellence: the performances are often extraordinary, and never less than good. I added that qualifier because Szell's approach emphasizes the drama of the music. When Beethoven tries to smile--think the Eighth Symphony--Szell doesn't seem to want to let him. That aspect aside, this has to be ranked among the best cycles ever recorded. I've always preferred it to HvK's famed early-1960s set, which DG tends to reissue every hour on the hour. And the playing!! Listening to, and marveling at, these performances brought something to mind that Anshel Brusliov wrote in his memoirs: "Every note was perfect, and every note was beautiful."

But how do they sound? The sessions were spread across several years (from 1957 to 1964), so the sound is variable. And make no mistake: unlike some of the best RCA Living Stereos, the basic sound is somewhat dated. But the good news is that the geniuses at Sony-Japan have wrought a remarkable improvement over any previous remasterings that I've heard. The result is that the sound is never less than listenable, and sometimes it's actually quite good. Two aspects which deserve mention: the bass has more heft and bite than I've ever heard from these recordings, and massed strings are noticeably sweeter, only occasionally becoming harsh. These are not entirely subjective reactions: I compared several movements from these new SACDs to my Original Jacket set, and there really was no comparison. Not even close. And this rendering of the Eroica is superior to an early single-layer Sony SACD that I still have in my collection. (And I'll keep it, BTW, because of cracking performances of three overtures that fill out the disc.)

Christoph von Dohnanyi once referred to Szell's Beethoven cycle as "the Bible." If you buy into that assessment, you'll most definitely want this new set, which represents the best sound these recordings have ever been accorded. But no one should buy thinking that the discs will sound like they were recorded yesterday. Those casually interested in exploring the Szell cycle would be better advised to get the Sony big box currently available for less than $20.

Nice job, Sony. Now how about the Leon Fleisher Beethoven concertos?

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Schiit Audio

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