Title: The best of Muti's Beethoven, especially the Seventh
Product review: After three decades of Muti recordings and hering him on one occasion in Carnegie Hall, I came away unimpressed. His career high on CDs began in the Seventies when Muti made scads of recordings on EMI with the Philadelphia Orch. he inherited from Ormandy. This coupling of the Beethoven Seventh and Eighth finds the orchestra in great shape, and the recorded sound is warm, clear, and detailed. Both supply strong support for Muti's surprisingly powerful readings.This is particularly true of the Seventh, which emerges with great spirit and vigor. It's not as prpulsively intense as Carlos Kleiber's or as epic as Karajan's 1963 recording, but Muti comes closer than Dohnanyi on Decca. One gets the feeling of a large-scale, lush orchestra playing with grandeur but not pomposity. I am somewhat less fond of Muti's Eighth, wishing for more lightness and fleetness, but it is admirable on its own terms. In all, this is the best Beethoven I have heard form him.
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