The complete set was first released in 1963 in Europe, and as a result the cycle of symphonies is now generally known as the 1963 cycle. This distinguishes it from a 1977 cycle of nine Beethoven symphonies made by the same combination of orchestra and conductor for the label Deutsche Grammophon and a subsequent cycle issued using the then-prevailing 16-bit digital recording technology, also for Deutsche Grammophon, in 1984. A fourth audio-visual cycle, issued originally on Laserdisc by Sony Classical, was completed not long before his death in 1989.
Background
Jesus-Christus-Kirche, BerlinHerbert von Karajan's signature
The 1963 cycle of Complete Beethoven Symphonies remains available in the vinyl, CD and digital download formats. The eight-LP set on release in 1963 in the U.S. retailed for $47.98,[1] while a weekly average salary in 1963 was $114.[2] A limited edition eight-LP box set of 2000 copies on 180-gram vinyl was released in 2016 retailing for $166.[3]
The cycle is usually now presented across five CDs. It is available in 24-bit/96kHz high definition sound on six hybrid SACDs[4] or one Blu-ray audio disc,[5] the latter two also containing a rehearsal session for the ninth symphony. The 1962 cycle has been cited for the particular commitment and driven energy of the playing by the orchestra, which was considered to mark high new standards among European orchestras.[6] Critics cited the interpretation of von Karajan as a benchmark in this repertoire.[7]
Recording technology in the genre of orchestral and concerto repertoire had also seen numerous advances in the preceding years, with the advent of tape from the mid-1950s as the medium for recorded music, which facilitated better fidelity and easier editing, together with advances in microphone technology and superior playback technology.[8]
Richard Osborne, music critic and biographer to Herbert von Karajan, cites "astronomical" recording costs in the venture, with a figure of 1.5 Million Deutschmarks expended to make the recordings.[9] Estimates at the time indicate a requirement to sell 100,000 LP boxed sets to recoup the costs.[9] The head of a rival classical music recording company, EMI, suggested that Deutsche Grammophon was "heading for a colossal financial catastrophe".[9]
The executive producer of the set was Deutsche Grammophon’s Head of Artists and Repertoire, Elsa Schiller.[9] Each recording in the cycle was engineered by Günter Hermanns, with production by Otto Gerdes (Nos.1,2,8) and Otto Ernst Wohlert (Nos.3-7,9). The location of the Jesus-Christus-Kirche in Berlin was a venue often used by this label for its studio recordings of this orchestra and conductor during the 1960s until the 1980s.
A figure of one million complete sets sold in the first ten years has been claimed.[10]
The Berlin Philharmonic is a German orchestra based in Berlin. It is one of the most popular, acclaimed and well-respected orchestras in the world.
The Philharmonia Orchestra is a British orchestra based in London. It was founded in 1945 by Walter Legge, a classical music record producer for EMI. Among the conductors who worked with the orchestra in its early years were Richard Strauss, Wilhelm Furtwängler and Arturo Toscanini; of the Philharmonia's younger conductors, the most important to its development was Herbert von Karajan who, though never formally chief conductor, was closely associated with the orchestra in the late 1940s and early 1950s. The Philharmonia became widely regarded as the finest of London's five symphony orchestras in its first two decades.
Claudio Abbado was an Italian conductor who was one of the leading conductors of his generation. He served as music director of the La Scala opera house in Milan, principal conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic, principal conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra, principal guest conductor of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, music director of the Vienna State Opera, founder and director of Lucerne Festival Orchestra, founder and director of Mahler Chamber Orchestra, founding Artistic Director of Orchestra Mozart and music director of European Union Youth Orchestra.
Herbert von Karajan was an Austrian conductor. He was principal conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic for 34 years. During the Nazi era, he debuted at the Salzburg Festival, with the Vienna Philharmonic, the Berlin Philharmonic, and during the Second World War he conducted at the Berlin State Opera. Generally regarded as one of the greatest conductors of the 20th century, he was a controversial but dominant figure in European classical music from the mid-1950s until his death. Part of the reason for this was the large number of recordings he made and their prominence during his lifetime. By one estimate, he was the top-selling classical music recording artist of all time, having sold an estimated 200 million records.
Sergiu Celibidache was a Romanian conductor, composer, musical theorist, and teacher. Educated in his native Romania, and later in Paris and Berlin, Celibidache's career in music spanned over five decades, including tenures as principal conductor of the Munich Philharmonic, Berlin Philharmonic, Sicilian Symphony Orchestra and several other European orchestras. Later in life, he taught at Mainz University in Germany and the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Eugen Jochum (German:[ˈɔʏ̯ɡeːnˈjɔxʊm] 1 November 1902 – 26 March 1987 was a German conductor, best known for his interpretations of the music of Anton Bruckner, Carl Orff, and Johannes Brahms, among others.
Karl Richter was a German conductor, choirmaster, organist, and harpsichordist.
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau was a German lyric baritone and conductor of classical music. One of the most famous Lieder performers of the post-war period, he is best known as a singer of Franz Schubert's Lieder, particularly "Winterreise" of which his recordings with accompanists Gerald Moore and Jörg Demus are still critically acclaimed half a century after their release.
Anne-Sophie Mutter is a German violinist. Born and raised in Rheinfelden, Baden-Württemberg, Mutter started playing the violin at age five and continued studies in Germany and Switzerland. She was supported early in her career by Herbert von Karajan and made her orchestral debut with the Berlin Philharmonic in 1977. Since Mutter gained prominence in the 1970s and 1980s, she has recorded over 50 albums and performed as a soloist with leading orchestras worldwide and as a recitalist. Her primary instrument is the Lord Dunn–Raven Stradivarius violin.
Walter Berry was an Austrian lyric bass-baritone who enjoyed a prominent career in opera. He has been cited as one of several exemplary operatic bass-baritones of his era.
Anton Bruckner's Symphony No. 5 in B-flat major WAB 105, was written in 1875–1876, with minor changes over the next two years. It came at a time of trouble and disillusion for the composer: a lawsuit, from which he was exonerated, and a reduction in salary. Dedicated to Karl von Stremayr, education minister in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the symphony has at times been nicknamed the "Tragic", the "Church of Faith" or the "Pizzicato"; Bruckner himself referred to it as the "Fantastic" without applying this or any other name formally.
Alexis Sigismund Weissenberg was a Bulgarian-born French pianist.
The Coriolan Overture, Op. 62, is a composition written by Ludwig van Beethoven in 1807 for Heinrich Joseph von Collin's 1804 tragedy Coriolan.
Elisabeth Batiashvili, professionally known as Lisa Batiashvili, is a prominent Georgian violinist active across Europe and the United States. A former New York Philharmonic artist-in-residence, she is acclaimed for her "natural elegance, silky sound and the meticulous grace of her articulation". Batiashvili makes frequent appearances at high-profile international events; she was the violin soloist at the 2018 Nobel Prize concert.
Edith Mathis is a Swiss soprano and a leading exponent of the works of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart worldwide. She is known for parts in Mozart operas, but also took part in premieres of operas such as Henze's Der junge Lord.
José Francisco Araiza Andrade, is a Mexican operatic tenor and lied singer who has sung as soloist in leading concert halls and in leading tenor operatic roles in the major opera houses of Europe and North America during the course of a lengthy career. Born in Mexico City, he studied singing at the Conservatorio Nacional de Música de México and later in Germany, with Mozartian tenor Richard Holm, and lieder interpretation with Erik Werba. He made his operatic debut in 1970 in Mexico City as First Prisoner in Beethoven's Fidelio. Araiza initially came to international prominence singing in Mozart and Rossini operas, but in the 1980s broadened his repertoire to include Italian and French lyric tenor roles and Wagnerian roles such as Lohengrin and Walther von Stolzing. He was made a Kammersänger of the Vienna State Opera in 1988. Now retired from the opera stage, he teaches singing and serves on the juries of several international singing competitions.
Jan Lisiecki is a Canadian-born classical pianist of Polish ancestry. Lisiecki performs over a hundred concerts annually and has worked closely with the world's leading orchestras and conductors, his career at the top of the international concert scene spanning over a decade. He has been a recording artist with Deutsche Grammophon since the age of fifteen.
Otto Gerdes was a German conductor and record producer.
Michel Glotz was a French classical music record producer and impresario.
Mahler Symphony No. 4 is a 57-minute studio album that the operatic mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade recorded with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Claudio Abbado. It was released in 1978.
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