This is Herbert von Karajan's THIRD of FIVE recordings of Beethoven's last and probably greatest symphony.  It boasts the finest solo quartet on disc, the finest orchestral playing, but in the end, something is missing.  This recording gets off to a great start with an electrically intense, gloriously played first movement. Karajan's ideal orchestral texture is at the service of emotion and interpretation, as it is in all his greatest recordings - and not the other way around, as it is in almost all of his recordings from the last twenty years of his life.  The scherzo is similarly intense, at a fast tempo, and similarly well played, but the recording is a handicap: the all-important timpani lack presence and volume.  But the third movement is probably the weakest part of this recording.  The adagio gets it off to an excellent start with playing of hushed beauty from the Berlin Philharmonic.  But as soon as we enter the andante moderato section, the spell is broken.  This section is marked "espressivo" and piano, but we get matter-of-fact playing somewhere between mezzo piano and mezzo forte.  A comparison to Furtwngler's recording (EMI Great Recordings of the Century) reveals the hushed, flowing serenity that this movement lacks in Karajan's hands.  But as soon as we reach the finale, started off by a particularly jolting dissonance, all troubles are forgotten for the moment.  Karajan's direction does not become matter-of-fact as we are taken on what can easily seem like a whistle-stop highlights tour of the first three movements.  But then, with the hushed entrance of the famous "Joy" theme, we run into trouble again.  Karajan's tempo for this section strikes me as too fast, and the playing is not as quiet and meditative as it can and should be.  When the Joy theme comes floating in on the high violins, Karajan totally misses the essential serene sweetness: again, compare Furtwngler.  When the theme enters on the brass and timpani, Karajan's tempo is exactly right: but here is where a tempo fluctuation would have been better.  Furtwngler, the master of tempo fluctuation, starts this passage out slowly and meditatively, brings the violins with tender beauty, and then accelerates in the few crescendoing bars before the big statement of the theme.  However, once we hear the dissonance again, we are in among the best solo team on disc.  Walter Berry's voice sounds unusually dark and rich, easily encompassing the taxing two octave span of the bass-baritone part, Waldemar Kmentt's tenor has power and security (if not the tonal beauty of Hopf for Furtwngler), Hilde Rssel-Majdan sings richly and with great authority ... but the crowning glory of this set is the incredibly beautiful voice of Gundula Janowitz.  She was only twenty-five when this recording was made in October 1962, but she easily surpasses every other soprano in this part ever, including the magnificent Schwarzkopf for Furtwngler.  She sings the most taxing, high stretches with amazing ease, where every other soprano sounds somewhat strained, and she still manages to float over the soloists and chorus easily.  No matter how many recordings of this symphony you may have, this one is essential for Janowitz's sublime singing.  The chorus, on the other hand, is decidedly less impressive, and is not helped by the strangely backward balance - no match for the Philharmonia Chorus on Klemperer's 1957 set.  But Karajan is inspired, and he conducts the last fifteen minutes with intense, magisterial power.
The next question is: how does it compare to other recordings?  The answer is: it is very good, but not quite great.  And I think the reason for this is that however intensely Karajan conducts, however magisterial the power of his conducting, he never achieves the inner fire, the spirituality, the incandescence of the truly great recordings of this symphony.  There are only two recordings I have heard that have these qualities.  The first is Klemperer's 1957 EMI recording, with the Philharmonia Chorus and Orchestra (the orchestra is every bit as good as the BPO, and the chorus is absolutely magnificent), which is in excellent stereo, but is seriously handicapped by the disappointing quartet of soloists, and, less seriously, by Klemperer's plodding tempo for the scherzo.  My first choice, therefore, will always be Furtwngler's incandescent 1951 account, which has an excellent if somewhat nervous chorus and orchestra, a superb solo quartet, second only to this quartet, and, above all, Furtwngler himself, who is genuinely, greatly inspired, and communicates the radiant glory of this music with an Olympian yet still very human spirituality.  However, it is in somewhat dry mono sound, with the chorus quite backwardly balanced, in addition to the audience noises (it was recorded at the concert that reopened the Bayreuth Festival on July 29, 1951).  So my recommendation depends on whether you can take mono sound.  If it is acceptable at all, get the Furtwngler immediately.  If you must have stereo, take your pick between Klemperer and Karajan.  Happy listening!
This is Herbert von Karajan's THIRD of FIVE recordings of Beethoven's last and probably greatest symphony. It boasts the finest solo quartet on disc, the finest orchestral playing, but in the end, something is missing. This recording gets off to a great start with an electrically intense, gloriously played first movement. Karajan's ideal orchestral texture is at the service of emotion and interpretation, as it is in all his greatest recordings - and not the other way around, as it is in almost all of his recordings from the last twenty years of his life. The scherzo is similarly intense, at a fast tempo, and similarly well played, but the recording is a handicap: the all-important timpani lack presence and volume. But the third movement is probably the weakest part of this recording. The adagio gets it off to an excellent start with playing of hushed beauty from the Berlin Philharmonic. But as soon as we enter the andante moderato section, the spell is broken. This section is marked "espressivo" and piano, but we get matter-of-fact playing somewhere between mezzo piano and mezzo forte. A comparison to Furtwngler's recording (EMI Great Recordings of the Century) reveals the hushed, flowing serenity that this movement lacks in Karajan's hands. But as soon as we reach the finale, started off by a particularly jolting dissonance, all troubles are forgotten for the moment. Karajan's direction does not become matter-of-fact as we are taken on what can easily seem like a whistle-stop highlights tour of the first three movements. But then, with the hushed entrance of the famous "Joy" theme, we run into trouble again. Karajan's tempo for this section strikes me as too fast, and the playing is not as quiet and meditative as it can and should be. When the Joy theme comes floating in on the high violins, Karajan totally misses the essential serene sweetness: again, compare Furtwngler. When the theme enters on the brass and timpani, Karajan's tempo is exactly right: but here is where a tempo fluctuation would have been better. Furtwngler, the master of tempo fluctuation, starts this passage out slowly and meditatively, brings the violins with tender beauty, and then accelerates in the few crescendoing bars before the big statement of the theme. However, once we hear the dissonance again, we are in among the best solo team on disc. Walter Berry's voice sounds unusually dark and rich, easily encompassing the taxing two octave span of the bass-baritone part, Waldemar Kmentt's tenor has power and security (if not the tonal beauty of Hopf for Furtwngler), Hilde Rssel-Majdan sings richly and with great authority... but the crowning glory of this set is the incredibly beautiful voice of Gundula Janowitz. She was only twenty-five when this recording was made in October 1962, but she easily surpasses every other soprano in this part ever, including the magnificent Schwarzkopf for Furtwngler. She sings the most taxing, high stretches with amazing ease, where every other soprano sounds somewhat strained, and she still manages to float over the soloists and chorus easily. No matter how many recordings of this symphony you may have, this one is essential for Janowitz's sublime singing. The chorus, on the other hand, is decidedly less impressive, and is not helped by the strangely backward balance - no match for the Philharmonia Chorus on Klemperer's 1957 set. But Karajan is inspired, and he conducts the last fifteen minutes with intense, magisterial power. The next question is: how does it compare to other recordings? The answer is: it is very good, but not quite great. And I think the reason for this is that however intensely Karajan conducts, however magisterial the power of his conducting, he never achieves the inner fire, the spirituality, the incandescence of the truly great recordings of this symphony. There are only two recordings I have heard that have these qualities. The first is Klemperer's 1957 EMI recording, with the Philharmonia Chorus and Orchestra (the orchestra is every bit as good as the BPO, and the chorus is absolutely magnificent), which is in excellent stereo, but is seriously handicapped by the disappointing quartet of soloists, and, less seriously, by Klemperer's plodding tempo for the scherzo. My first choice, therefore, will always be Furtwngler's incandescent 1951 account, which has an excellent if somewhat nervous chorus and orchestra, a superb solo quartet, second only to this quartet, and, above all, Furtwngler himself, who is genuinely, greatly inspired, and communicates the radiant glory of this music with an Olympian yet still very human spirituality. However, it is in somewhat dry mono sound, with the chorus quite backwardly balanced, in addition to the audience noises (it was recorded at the concert that reopened the Bayreuth Festival on July 29, 1951). So my recommendation depends on whether you can take mono sound. If it is acceptable at all, get the Furtwngler immediately. If you must have stereo, take your pick between Klemperer and Karajan. Happy listening!