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Title: Definitive versions
Review: Maazel does the best Beethoven, and he did it best when he was with the Cleveland Orchestra. These are my definitive versions of the 9th and 5th, with the 9th being particularly sublime. Every single movement he (and the singers) just nail. Perfect sound quality, wonderful recording. You can often find the individuals symphonies on single CDs, but it's nice to have them all together. The included Overtures (Egmont and Fidelio) are just OK, not my favorites by a long shot, but decent enough for a free-be. If you just need to have the nine symphonies on CD and don't want to spread them out over different conductors / orchestras, you could do a lot worse than this.
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