Beethoven: Sym's. #'s 5 & 7: VPO/ Kleiber - SACD  E-mail this product to a friend

If High Art were a democracy, Carlos Kleiber's recordings of Beethoven's Fifth and Seventh symphonies with the Vienna Philharmonic would be voted the greatest recordings of those works ever made. The performances are perfect, the interpretations ideal, and best of all, they make these two overplayed and over-recorded works sound absolutely new. Everyone -- every man, woman, and child on earth -- should hear these performances. It'll change their lives. But which recorded incarnation of these recordings is best? The original LPs from 1975 and 1976 still have an impact and an immediacy that placed them among the best-sounding LPs Deutsche Grammophon ever released. The first generation, full-priced CDs sounded just like the records, except cleaner and harder. The second-generation "Originals" CDs sounded just like the records, except clearer and louder. This third-generation "SuperAudio CD" sounds just like the second-generation CDs, except these are even clearer and even louder. Which is the worst CD incarnation? The first generation. Which is the best CD incarnation? The third generation. But which recording is still the best? The LPs: the CDs are reproduction and the LPs are the real thing. -- James Leonard Symphony No. 5 in C minor ("Fate") Op. 67 Symphony No. 7 in A major, Op. 92