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Karajan 9 Symphonies Beethoven

ALLE HERSTELLER

FIRST PRESSING DGG Skl 101/8 - 8 MINT LP/EXC- Box 1962

Herbert Von Karajan-Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra/Beethoven-The Nine Symphonies/Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft SKL 101/8 (8-LP Box Set with booklet). Classical. 

Vintage 1962 blue tulip labels pressing of the 8-LP box set with original cream colored inner sleeves with printing, as shown.

LPs:NM for LPs, these are immaculate, no spindle hole wear.

Cover: EXC- 1960s box with breaks between spine and rest of cover. Wear along spine. Dirt on rear of cover.

Booklet: NM like it was printed yesterday.

List of recordings and recording sites. Like new. Not often included.

CONDITION (VISUAL GRADING): The LPs range from NM to EX to VG with wear and marks on about half of the sides. NM booklet and NM insert sheet. EX box (some loose threads on spine, mild spotting).

ADDITIONAL DETAILS: Stereo 8 LP boxset with booklet and insert sheet and advertising booklet. Large tulip LP labels. "Alle hersteller" pressings. Made in Germany. Oversized cloth-edged box. Award-winning recordings. Released c. 1962.

David Hurwitz from Classics Today:

By general acclamation this 1963 production ranks as the finest of Karajan’s four complete cycles, and while some listeners might prefer individual performances from later (or earlier) sets, here the consensus really is correct. The reason is easy to understand: by 1963 Karajan had managed to put his personal stamp on the orchestra in terms of polish and virtuosity, playing the music like a sort of high-gloss Toscanini, but he had not yet succumbed to that fetish for smoothness at all costs that so often mars his later work–and that incidentally banished the orchestra’s wind, brass, and percussion sections to several decades of sonic purgatory, at least on recordings.

And so in the Seventh the horns ring out as they should; the winds make their emphatic contribution to the Second Symphony’s rich textures; the Pastoral hasn’t lost every vestige of charm as it was later to do; and the chorus in the finale of the Ninth has more impact than latterly. This classic set was very well remastered as part of DG’s complete Beethoven Edition, and here on SACD stereo the improvement is small but noticeable, perhaps not so much in terms of brighter timbres or increased clarity, but as a function of added warmth and naturalness–a touch more depth to the sound image and a greater sense of fullness. The bonus CD of Karajan rehearsing the Ninth is interesting and a thoughtful gesture. In short, whatever the medium, these performances have withstood the test of time, and even if Karajan’s is not your favorite Beethoven (and it’s not mine), there’s no denying this set’s excellence.

From Wikipedia:

The 1963 cycle of Complete Beethoven Symphonies remains available in the CD and digital download formats, rather than the original release format of the 33rpm LP format. The eight-LP set on release in 1963 in the U.S. retailed for $47.98,[1] while a weekly average salary in 1963 was $114.[2] A limited edition eight-LP box set of 2000 copies on 180-gram vinyl was released in 2016 retailing for $166.[3]

The cycle is usually now presented across five CDs. It is available in 24-bit/96 kHz high definition sound on six hybrid SACDs[4] or one Blu-ray audio disc,[5] the latter two also containing a rehearsal session for the ninth symphony. The 1962 cycle has been cited for the particular commitment and driven energy of the playing by the orchestra, which was considered to mark high new standards among European orchestras.[6] Critics cited the interpretation of von Karajan as a benchmark in this repertoire.[7]

Recording technology in the sphere of recording orchestral and concerto repertoire had also seen numerous advances in the preceding years, with the advent of tape from the mid-1950s as the medium for recorded music, which facilitated better fidelity and easier editing, together with advances in microphone technology and superior playback technology.[8]

Richard Osborne, music critic and biographer to Herbert von Karajan, cites "astronomical" recording costs in the venture, with a figure of 1.5 Million Deutschmarks expended to make the recordings.[9] Estimates at the time indicate a requirement to sell 100,000 LP boxed sets to recoup the costs.[9] The head of a rival classical music recording company, EMI, suggested that Deutsche Grammophon was "heading for a colossal financial catastrophe".[9]

The executive producer of the set was Deutsche Grammophon’s Head of Artists and Repertoire, Elsa Schiller.[9] Each recording in the cycle was engineered by Günter Hermanns, with production by Otto Gerdes (Nos.1,2,8) and Otto Ernst Wohlert (Nos.3-7,9). The location of the Jesus-Christus-Kirche in Berlin was a venue often used by this label for its studio recordings of this orchestra and conductor during the 1960s until the 1980s.