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From: greg@olivee.UUCP (Greg Paley)
Newsgroups: net.music.classical
Subject: Re: Beethoven's Ninth Survey
Message-ID: <420@olivee.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 16-Jul-85 13:51:08 EDT
Article-I.D.: olivee.420
Posted: Tue Jul 16 13:51:08 1985
Date-Received: Thu, 18-Jul-85 06:13:54 EDT
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Organization: Olivetti ATC; Cupertino, Ca
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The two recordings of Beethoven's Ninth that I've found consistently
satisfying over some years are the early 50's Toscanini/NBC (on German
pressings - avoid the unbearably shrill CD) and the early 70's Solti/
Chicago Symphony (Mobile Fidelity remastering is good, but I preferred
the original English Decca - the English Decca and the American London
should have been the same, but weren't, at least on my sample copies).

I find both of these recordings avoid the excessive slowing down and
sentimentalizing that I find disfigure the Walter, Furtwaengler and
Karajan recordings (I've heard 4 Karajan's - 3 DGG and 1 EMI) but are
still able to communicate all of the necessary inflections of tempo
required to enliven the score, as well as being very well played and
sung.  The Toscanini has poor sound by current standards, but the
sound on the Solti need apologize to nobody.

	- Greg Paley