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BEETHOVEN: SYMPHONIES NOS. 3 EROICA 4 & 5

WARNER CLASSICS

Vinyl

$57.49 May 23, 2025

I waited a very long time to record the Beethoven symphonies, said Daniel Barenboim when this cycle was first released in 2000. "I waited for the music to mature in me - or me in it - and to find an orchestra that not only did what I asked it to do, but which really felt every detail in the music exactly as I did at the moment we were playing it. This is the greatest joy that a conductor can have." Beethoven's 9 Symphonies recorded by Daniel Barenboim and the Staatskapelle Berlin for Teldec in 1999 will be released for the first time on vinyl, in 3 separate albums.

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BEETHOVEN: SYMPHONIES NOS. 3 EROICA 4 & 5
WARNER CLASSICS May 2025
Vinyl
$57.49

Grechaninov: Symphony No 4, Etc / Polyansky, Russian Sso
Chandos Sep 1997
CD
$21.99

Szymanowski: Symphonies No 3 & 4 / Antoni Wit, Warsaw Philharmonic [blu-ray Audio]

Naxos AudioVisual

Blu-Ray

$16.99 Sep 27, 2011

This is an audio-only (i.e., with no video content) Blu-ray disc playable only on Blu-ray players.

Szymanowski’s Symphony No. 3 ‘Song of the Night’ creates a potent atmosphere of Persian mysticism in its rich blend of voices and exotic orchestration. His Symphony No. 4 is largely extrovert in character and has a prominent rôle for piano. Symphonies Nos. 1 and 2 can be found on NBD0021. The CD release of Symphony No. 3 was Gramophone Editor’s Choice and given 5 STARS by ClassicFM (8.570721), and Symphony No. 4 an ‘unbeatable’ 10/10 from ClassicsToday.com ( 8.570722); the complete cycle acclaimed as ‘revelatory’ (ClassicalCDReview.com).

Reviews of the CD versions of these recordings

"Antoni Wit almost always can be relied on to deliver very thoughtful, beautifully musical, even inspired results, and there's no question that he conducts these works extremely well. The performances of both symphonies have a confidence and warmth about them that bespeaks a thorough understanding of Szymanowski's richly textured idiom. The Song of the Night (a.k.a. Symphony No. 3) has many of the same qualities that made Wit's Mahler Eighth so special: terrific choral singing, a bigness of conception that never precludes physical excitement, and very natural balances between vocal and instrumental forces."
--David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com

"As previous issues in this series have shown, when Antoni Wit and his forces are in top form in the music of Szymanowski, they're pretty much unbeatable...The performance of the Symphonie Concertante, one of Szymanowski's greatest works, is superb. Pianist Jan Krzysztof Broja plays the solo part beautifully. He's got the chops for the big moments in the outer movements, but it's his delicacy at the start of the central andante that's most memorable. Wit, typically, directs the orchestra with remarkable clarity as well as power. The finale in particular never has sounded less "clogged" texturally, while the very natural engineering always leaves plenty of room for the sound to expand and fill the hall at those ecstatic climaxes that are such a hallmark of this composer. A splendid release!"
-- David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com

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Szymanowski: Symphonies No 3 & 4 / Antoni Wit, Warsaw Philharmonic [blu-ray Audio]
Naxos AudioVisual Sep 2011
Blu-Ray
$16.99

HOVHANESS, A.: Symphony No. 29 / 4 Bagatelles / Rubaiyat / P
Delos Jan 2005
CD
$18.99

Brahms: Symphonies nos. 1-4; Academic Festival Overture / Milton, Göttingen Symphony Orchestra

Prospero Classical

$29.99 ~~$39.99~~ Save 25% May 20, 2022

Famous musical personalities are often associated with certain places: Bach with Köthen and Leipzig, Handel with Halle and London, Mozart with Salzburg and Vienna, Beethoven with Bonn and Vienna, or Brahms with Hamburg and Vienna. "And Vienna" often occurs, but "and Göttingen" almost never. Johannes Brahms is an exception. The Göttingen Symphony Orchestra under its principal conductor Nicholas Milton honors the great Romantic with a complete recording of his symphonies as well as the "Academic Festival Overture" based on musical material that Brahms heard for the first time in Göttingen.

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Brahms: Symphonies nos. 1-4; Academic Festival Overture / Milton, Göttingen Symphony Orchestra
Prospero Classical May 2022
CD
~~$39.99~~ $29.99

Expanded Edition - Beethoven: Symphony No 5, Etc / Walter

Sony Masterworks

$11.98 Sep 30, 2003

Columbia Symphony Orchestra/Bruno Walter. Sony Classical SMK 64460 [Symphonies Nos. 1 and 2, with Coriolan Overture]; 64461 [Nos. 3 (Eroica) and 8]; 64462 [Nos. 4 and 6 (Pastorale)]; 64463 [Nos. 5 and 7]; and 64464 [No. 9]

Walter recorded the Beethoven symphonies in stereo for Columbia in 1958-59, taping No. 9 in New York and Nos. 1-8 in Los Angeles with orchestras of freelance and studio musicians who rose magnificently to the occasion. Walter was in his eighties, but that didn’t stop him from grabbing these works by the throat; there is no mincing around, no effusive lingering over phrases, no ponderous trudging either. The even-numbered symphonies are sunny and outgoing, full of the warmth the conductor exuded during his Indian-summer years in the studio. Yet the drama of the odd-numbered works is not slighted. Walter’s account of the Fifth, for example, is an intensely expressive one in which lyricism and thrust are in perfect balance, an evocation of stormy Romanticism at its best. The recordings have held up extremely well; the sound on these 20-bit CDs is spacious yet detailed, with amazing presence and solidity. – Ted Libbey, author of The NPR Guide to Building a Classical CD Collection, reviewing Bruno Walter's recordings of Beethoven's Symphonies Nos. 1 and 2, with Coriolan Overture]; 64461 [Nos. 3 (Eroica) and 8]; 64462 [Nos. 4 and 6 (Pastorale)]; 64463 [Nos. 5 - reissued as Sony 93012, and 7]; and 64464 [No. 9].

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Expanded Edition - Beethoven: Symphony No 5, Etc / Walter
Sony Masterworks Sep 2003
CD
$11.98

SCRIABIN: SYMPHONIES 4 & 5 / PIANO CONCERTO
UNIVERSAL JAPAN Jan 2022
CD
$15.99

Brahms, J.: Symphonies Nos. 1-4 / Tragic Overture / Academic
Antes Edition Jul 2002
CD
$53.99

Beethoven: Symphonies Nos. 4 & 5; Creatures Of Prometheus: Excerpts / Munch, Boston Symphony Orchestra

ICA Classics

DVD

$26.99 Feb 22, 2011

Available for the first time since original broadcast!

R E V I E W:

All of a sudden, Charles Munch's star seems to be once again in the ascendant. Sony has recently reissued a swathe of his RCA back catalogue on its new Sony Originals label, including his Debussy orchestral works and his recordings of the Dvorák and Walton cello concertos with Piatigorsky. Coming soon in April is an eight disc box set on RCA Classical Masters that brings together recordings of Brahms, Schubert, Schumann and Mendelssohn symphonies and other orchestral works … and at a ridiculously low price. Meanwhile, the new independent label, ICA Classics, has brought to market three DVDs of Munch in concert with his Boston Symphony Orchestra. This Beethoven DVD and its companions (a DVD of Debussy and Ravel, and a DVD of Franck, Faure and Wagner) capture live broadcasts that have not been seen since they first went to air in the late 1950s and early 1960s.

I have always been in two minds about Munch's Beethoven. His Boston Beethoven 9 for RCA - one of those new Sony Originals reissues - 88697702992 - is one of my favourite recordings of the work. It is unsubtle, oddly up close and spotlit and never plumbs the depths of piano let alone pianissimo, but it is absolutely thrilling from first note to last and very moving. His Beethoven 5, however, is one of the most enduring disappointments of my CD collection. I pull it out every year or so to see if this time I will find something magical in the performance, and each year I hear scrappy and dynamically flat orchestral playing and an interpretation lacking in nuance.

What a delight it was, then, to listen to and watch the performance of the 5 ^th that closes this DVD. Here is the Munch reading I had been listening for in vain: a dramatic and rhetorical performance; a performance that builds inexorably towards the final peroration; a performance of contrast held together by flexible but fundamentally solid tempi; a performance abounding in spontaneous touches, like the extra space and freedom he affords his oboist, Ralph Gomberg, for his solo in the first movement. It is wonderful to hear, and also great fun to watch Munch's facial expressions and the way his baton drops when the dynamics do so that he seems to be conducting with shoulder movements rather than the invisible stick that is beating time around his knees.

As good as the 5 ^th is, it is the 4 ^th that for me is the highlight here. Munch cuts an unexpectedly dour figure in the adagio introduction to the first movement of the Fourth Symphony. If it weren't for the expansive baton strokes and the white hair, you could almost believe you were watching Fritz Reiner. The allegro ignites, and Munch seems himself once more. Is it a trick of the lens, or is his baton bent a little towards its tip? My goodness, he does shake it about a bit in the allegros! Beethoven's games with rhythm in this symphony are right up Munch's street. His knack of pushing a performance forward and building momentum suits this symphony beautifully. There is a bounce and swagger to the third movement that you just won't hear elsewhere and the finale fizzes.

The music from Beethoven's Prometheus ballet is an interesting inclusion. The liner-notes make much of the fact that Munch hardly ever played this music, so the conductor's most ardent admirers will no doubt need to acquire this DVD to round out their collected discographies. The Overture receives a scintillating performance, right from the whip-crack of the opening staccato chords. I was less impressed by the other two selections from the ballet, though the adagio shows off the orchestra's flute, bassoon, cello and harp. The mono sound does their magnificent playing full justice.

The picture quality of the monochrome source tapes is variable. The Prometheus footage has a tendency to fog and fish bowl curvature. The opening of the Fourth Symphony is disfigured by static lines. The camera work itself is conventional, but the editing strikes a fair balance between footage of the orchestra and the man on the podium. Fortunately the mono sound is clear and carries fair detail. Only at the close of the 5 ^th does the music sound a little cramped in its single channel.

Anyone with an interest in Munch and his magnificent Boston band will find this DVD fascinating.

-- Tim Perry, MusicWeb International

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Beethoven: Symphonies Nos. 4 & 5; Creatures Of Prometheus: Excerpts / Munch, Boston Symphony Orchestra
ICA Classics Feb 2011
DVD
$26.99

Brahms: Symphonies 1-4, Etc. / Mehta, Israel Philharmonic
Sony Masterworks Mar 2010
CD
$41.99

Tchaikovsky: Symphonies Nos. 2 & 4 / Järvi, Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich

Alpha

$20.99 Apr 09, 2021

Principal Conductor and Music Director of the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich since October 2019, Paavo Järvi continues his complete cycle of Tchaikovsky’s symphonies, following a first volume devoted to Symphony no.5 and the symphonic poem Francesca da Rimini. This second volume features Symphonies nos. 2 and 4. The Fourth, composed in 1878 and nicknamed the ‘Fate’ Symphony because of its somber coloring, which may recall the neuroses attributed to Tchaikovsky, is one of his most frequently performed. The Second Symphony, composed in 1872 and much less frequently performed in concert, is known as the ‘Little Russian’ because Tchaikovsky drew on Ukrainian folk tunes. The very first movement begins with a solo horn version of the folksong ‘Down by Mother Volga’

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Tchaikovsky: Symphonies Nos. 2 & 4 / Järvi, Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich
Alpha Apr 2021
CD
$20.99

SYMPHONY NO 6
RCO LIVE HOLLAND Jun 2006
SACD
$25.99

Martinu Symphonies Nos. 3 and 4
Supraphon Nov 2003
CD
$27.99

Wilms: Symphony No. 6, Op. 58; Overtures

CPO

$18.99 Nov 15, 2024

In 2017, Croatian conductor Ivan Repusic succeeded Ulf Schirmer as chief conductor of the Munich Radio Orchestra. In this role, he made his cpo debut in 2023 with works by the Swedish composer Gunnar de Frumerie. Now, at the helm of "his" orchestra, he is devoting himself to one of those classics that take second place to the undisputed masters of the era: Johann Wilhelm Wilms (1772-1847), who gained renown in Amsterdam as a composer, organist, and flutist. Two years younger than Beethoven, he was a devoted admirer of Joseph Haydn, whose spirit imparted a peculiar flair even to Wilms' later symphonies. The dramatic tone, which also characterizes long stretches of his overtures, never turns into something fatal and inevitable - and precisely, this balancing act gives the music of the man from Leichlingen in the Bergisch-Gladbach district it's unique charm.

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Wilms: Symphony No. 6, Op. 58; Overtures
CPO Nov 2024
CD
$18.99

Schumann: Symphonies No 1-4 / Rattle, Berlin PO [2 CDs & 1 Blu-ray Audio]

Berlin Philharmoniker

CD + Blu-Ray

$96.99 May 01, 2014

"[M]ightily attractive for the overall quality of the performances…. [The Berlin Philharmonic] play with altogether more heft, a quality born of longstanding tradition and communal spirit. … [T]he playing is always brilliant, with blazing tremolos from the strings, distinctive colorings from the woodwinds and golden orations from the brasses." – James R. Oestreich, The New York Times

With such fresh and invigorating performances this new set conducted by Rattle breathes new life into these Schumann symphonies and is certainly the one to own. [...]

The sound engineers at the Philharmonie are to be congratulated for providing appealing, transparent, well balanced sound with all the instrumental detail wonderfully audible. These are live recordings containing virtually no extraneous noise and I notice that the applause has been removed. As one might expect there has been a lot of time and care lavished on this inaugural release of the Berliner Philharmoniker’s own label. Typical of the work this orchestra undertakes, everything is done with integrity, precision and total empathy for the music. The set is performed with impressive solidity, feeling natural and unmannered with Rattle choosing judicious pacing throughout communicating a spring-like freshness to Schumann’s romantic vision. I can see these Rattle recordings of the Schumann symphonies becoming the benchmark for many years to come such is the excellence of the Berliner Philharmoniker’s performances.

– Michael Cookson, MusicWeb International

I enjoyed these performances greatly. Rattle displays a fine affinity with these scores and though the orchestra members must have played these symphonies many times there’s never the slightest suspicion of routine here: everything sounds fresh and newly discovered – though I hasten to add that there’s never a suspicion of disruptive point-making. In the Behind the Scenes feature one of the orchestra’s first konzertmeisters, Daniel Stabrawa, describes Rattle as one of the few conductors who know what Schumann really means and you sense that the orchestra has relished discovering these scores in performance with him.

This lavish production launches the orchestra’s own label in splendid style and I’m thrilled that I’ve had the chance to experience these fine performances.

– John Quinn, MusicWeb International

-----

For Simon Rattle, Robert Schumann is "the echt Romantic." And in fact, the exuberance of the period, its passion, and its melancholy can be heard with unique intensity in Schumann's music to this day. For the Berliner Philharmoniker, Schumann's symphonies have always been part of their core repertoire. The 1953 Wilhelm Furtwängler recording in particular has attained cult status. And so it only stands to reason that the Berliner Philharmoniker should launch their Berliner Philharmoniker Recordings label with a cycle of the four Schumann symphonies.

The Schumann symphonies have accompanied the orchestra throughout 2013 – in Berlin and on tour in Europe and Asia. The Berlin Tagesspiegel wrote of a "defining moment," while the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung praised the "truly sensational quality." Another special feature of this recording from the Philharmonie is the decision to use the early version of the Fourth Symphony from 1841, whose appeal for Simon Rattle lies in its extra "lightness, grace, and beauty" compared to the established later version. The presentation of the product, its packaging, and the special features, go far beyond what standard CDs offer.

The linen-bound CD/Blu-ray edition includes the Schumann cycle in different formats. In addition to the traditional audio CDs, there is also a Blu-ray Disc which enables music lovers to listen to the recording in audiophile studio quality of 96kHz/24bit or as HD video. If you are looking for the recording in even higher resolution, there is an accompanying code which allows you to download a version online in up to 192kHz/24bit. An additional code grants 7 days' access to the Berliner Philharmoniker's video platform, the Digital Concert Hall. The release also includes bonus material such as behind-the-scenes videos and a comprehensive booklet with articles about the composer, his symphonies, and the Schumann tradition of the Berliner Philharmoniker.

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Schumann: Symphonies No 1-4 / Rattle, Berlin PO [2 CDs & 1 Blu-ray Audio]
Berlin Philharmoniker May 2014
CD + Blu-Ray
$96.99

Schubert: Symphonies nos. 1 & 4 [Vol. 3] / Gardner, City of Birmingham Symphony Orch.

Chandos

SACD

$21.99 Apr 14, 2023

For the third volume in their cycle of Schubert’s symphonies, Edward Gardner and the CBSO turn to the first and fourth symphonies. Composed in 1813, when Schubert was just sixteen, the First Symphony admirably demonstrates the young composer’s grasp of symphonic form and technique, and whilst the influences of Haydn, Mozart and early Beethoven are clearly audible, the spirit of Schubert’s own distinctive voice is certainly in evidence.

Composed three years later, in 1816, the ‘Tragic’ Fourth Symphony is scored for larger forces and is much more ambitious in outlook – Schubert seemingly anxious to create a more substantial work. He took more trouble to unify his thematic material across the four movements, and the symphony is clearly closer to the style of his later works. The Overture to his opera ‘Fierrabras’ completes the album, which was recorded in Birmingham Town Hall

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Schubert: Symphonies nos. 1 & 4 [Vol. 3] / Gardner, City of Birmingham Symphony Orch.
Chandos Apr 2023
SACD
$21.99

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SYMPHONIES NO. 6 & 8
MDG Jan 2015
SACD
~~$24.99~~ $18.99

Immortal Toscanini Vol 4 - Brahms: The 4 Symphonies / NBC SO
RCA Dec 2011
CD
$24.99

Krecek: Stones to Bread - Symphony No. 4
ArcoDiva Jun 2010
CD
$18.99

VIERNE: Organ Symphony No. 1 / WIDOR: Organ Symphony No. 4 /

Wergo

$17.99 Mar 01, 1999

The performer on this CD, concert organist Lionel Rogg of Geneva, is at home in the world's greatest concert halls. He began his worldwide career as a concert organist playing the music of Johann Sebastian Bach, whose works for organ he would subsequently record in full three different times. Since then, he has been much in demand throughout the world as both organist and harpsichordist. As professor for organ in Geneva, Rogg teaches young organists from all over the world. More than forty of his students have been awarded the Prix de virtuosité. Recently, Rogg has been devoting more time to composition. Following the devastating fire of 1984, as a member of a committee of experts, he decisively influenced the specification of the new van den Heuvel instrument in his native city's Victoria Hall. For Lionel Rogg it was particularly important that this concert-hall organ should be optimally configured for the specifics of it's surroundings, whether as an emancipated - orchestral - counterpart or as a solo instrument. The high tonal standard for the characteristic foundation stops (fonds) with wide mensuration and the powerful intonation of the reeds combined with the attention paid to the specification of the (low) mixtures, give the organ in Victoria Hall the desired symphonic, French character. The extensive battery of horizontal reeds and the pedal stops of 32' pitch (labial and lingual) make the four-manual instrument just as appropriate for the music of the founder of the symphonic organ music of France, César Franck, as heard on this Organ-CD, as it is for the effective presentation of Liszt and Bizet transcriptions, with their virtuosically pianistic, even orchestral character. The booklet of this fifth CD of the Organ series contains liner notes in German, English, and French.

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VIERNE: Organ Symphony No. 1 / WIDOR: Organ Symphony No. 4 /
Wergo Mar 1999
CD
$17.99

Sibelius: Symphonies No 4 & 7 / Ormandy, Philadelphia Orchestra

RCA

$17.99 Jan 31, 2008

*** This title is a reissue of a Japanese release with liner notes in Japanese. ***

Great news! Arkivmusic.com has gotten its "on demand" hands on the Japanese RCA Ormandy Edition, making these recordings available in North America at far saner prices. Some of these performances are outstanding, nowhere more so than here--one of the greatest Sibelius recordings ever made. Ormandy's Fourth Symphony is magnificent: gaunt, direct, and unflinching, with stunning string playing and the most intelligent approach on disc to the percussion conundrum in the finale (chimes at the "sonore" climax, glockenspiel everywhere else). Some listeners might prefer a swifter tempo in the scherzo, but this interpretation is all of a piece, taking in the work as if in one sweeping gesture, and Sibelians will understand just what that means.

The Seventh also is a perfectly paced, immaculately played performance, with none of the mannerisms in the pastoral interlude that disturb Ormandy's first recording for Sony. As for the tone poems, there is no finer performance of Oceanides available anywhere, and Pohjola's Daughter is just about as good. Ormandy could come across as a somewhat stiff and unsmiling interpreter, but not here, and particularly not in music that requires an absolutely logical, indeed mathematical approach to tempo relationships between sections. Both in terms of performance quality and programming (Sibelius at his very greatest throughout), it just doesn't get any better.

The Japanese edition apparently used original unaltered sources, meaning the tapes were not remastered in any way, and so vary widely in sound quality--from very good, as here, to virtually unlistenable (Mahler Second). So until someone goes back and redoes them from scratch--and we may have a very long wait--you will have to buy selectively. These recordings, from the late 1970s, stand among the best-sounding of the lot. A magnificent release that you won't want to miss!

--David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com

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Sibelius: Symphonies No 4 & 7 / Ormandy, Philadelphia Orchestra
RCA Jan 2008
CD
$17.99

Sale

Beethoven, L.: Piano Concerto No. 4 / Haydn, J.: Symphony No
Profil Apr 2008
CD
~~$13.99~~ $6.99

Shostakovich: Chamber Symphony Op. 110a "in Memory Of The Victims Of Fascism And War"
Sony Masterworks May 2010
CD
$17.99

Rubbra: Symphonies Nos. 2 & 4 / BBC Symphony

SOMM Recordings

$20.99 Feb 16, 2018

History is re-claimed with two significant archive recordings, newly restored and re-mastered, by the BBC Symphony Orchestra of a master British symphonist in his early prime on Somm Céleste. The first recorded appearance of Edmund Rubbra conducting the wartime premiere of his own Fourth Symphony (taken from an off-air recording of the live broadcast) is coupled with a live 1954 BBC radio broadcast – considered “quite stupendous” by the composer – of the Second Symphony conducted by the work’s dedicatee, Sir Adrian Boult. The Second Symphony boasts a language that is utterly original, the entirety of its four-movement arc spun out from the long-breathed noble theme at its opening. So enamoured of the Second was Boult he later chose it as one of his Desert Island Discs when he appeared on the iconic BBC Radio 4 programme. Recently conscripted, Rubbra was dressed in full military uniform when he conducted the premiere of his Fourth Symphony during the 1942 Proms season at the Royal Albert Hall. At once epic and intimate, powerful and poetic, it has, claims his one-time pupil Robert Layton “one of the most beautiful openings not just in Rubbra but in all English music” and a stirring finale of triumphant dimensions that has been likened to Bruckner. Rubbra’s own introduction to the symphony – first broadcast by BBC Radio five days before its premiere in This Week at the Proms – offers a revealing glimpse into the heart of a mighty and moving symphony.

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Rubbra: Symphonies Nos. 2 & 4 / BBC Symphony
SOMM Recordings Feb 2018
CD
$20.99

Schubert: Symphonies, Vol. 4

Chandos

SACD

$16.99 ~~$21.99~~ Save 20% Mar 14, 2025

Edward Gardner's Schubert cycle concludes with the 'Great' Symphony No. 9 in C major. Having (remarkably) composed a symphony a year between 1813 and 1818, the onset of syphilis and it's intrusive treatment seemed to shake the composer's confidence as a symphonist - the Ninth is the only symphony after those first six that he actually completed. This is attributed by many to a wonderful holiday with friends in the high Austrian Alps that seems to have re-ignited his enthusiasm. The nickname 'Great' may originally have arisen to distinguish it from the 'little' C major Symphony (No. 6), but is apt, as the Ninth is on so much greater a scale than any symphony before it, which can run to almost an hour in some performances. The soprano Mary Bevan joins Edward Gardner and the CBSO in a selection of orchestral songs that complete the album. One was orchestrated by Schubert himself, the others are settings by Britten, Berlioz, Brahms, and Reger.

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Schubert: Symphonies, Vol. 4
Chandos Mar 2025
SACD
~~$21.99~~ $16.99