Sold Date: July 23, 2020
Start Date: July 5, 2020
Final Price: $58.00 (USD)
Seller Feedback: 2000
Buyer Feedback: 0

Herbert von Karajan recorded the entire cycle of Beethoven symphonies four times during his long career, and this, the final one, summarizes his attitudes about both Beethoven, and recording technology in general.

Karajan was always keen to explore new recording technologies, and was the first major conductor to champion the compact disc. His recording of "The Magic Flute" was Deutsche Grammophon's first digital release, and in his final years he made a special effort to record much of his core repertoire in the new digital format. At the center of this repertoire was the set of Beethoven symphonies.

As a Beethoven interpreter, Karajan presented listeners with consistent, if not overly passionate readings of the symphonies. His "creamy" orchestral sound is very smooth, but not to everyone's taste. Most critics agree that his 1963 cycle is the best of the four that he recorded, and yet this final digital cycle has its own merits, and should not be overlooked entirely.

This set arguably contains his finest rendition of the 5th symphony, along with a stunning and powerful 9th, and a very successful Eroica. Karajan's choice of tempos for the Pastorale has always been controversial, so those who disliked his earlier recordings of it will probably not like this final one either. Finally, his refusal to observe most repeats will probably offend some purist listeners.
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<My Grading Criteria>
Vinyl grading is basically visual only unless otherwise noted.
Mint > Near Mint > Excellent > Very Good Plus > Very Good > Good > Poor
NM : Played once or twice, no flaws, may have slightest signs of wear, slight paper scuff, maybe one bumped corner, or a hint of edge wear. 
 
Excellent : Record may have some marks (very, very light scratching or some light sleeve scuffing) that may sound briefly in a quieter passage.   The jacket may have the very lightest signs of ring wear, some light corner or edge wear, maybe an old price sticker or two, that should peel off with the proper guidance
 
VG+: Record will have some light marks (light scratches and light sleeve scuffs), and it might make an occasional pop or crackle in parts, but will not even come close to overwhelming the listening experience.  Still a very desirable grade.. As for the jacket, it will start to show more signs of wear, the ring wear may be slightly  more evident, the edge wear or corner wear may be more defined as well.
 
VG: Record may have several scratches and scuffs, though aside from some popping and crackling, will still be an enjoyable listen. No skips here. The jacket will have far more wear than the previous grades, such as:  edge wear to the point of some seam splitting(the kind that can be repaired with tape or other means), ring wear(not terrible, but still distracting from the image), edge and corner wear, minor writing or a few stickers, or other similar defects.