Beethoven's nine symphonies were recorded by Herbert von Karajan in 1961-1962 with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra — of which he became permanent conductor in 1955 to replace Wilhelm Furtwängler — and released on the DG label in 1963. 1963 October 15, Herbert von Karajan and the Berlin Philharmonic played Beethoven's Ninth Symphony at the inaugural concert of the Berlin Philharmonie. The first complete recording by the Austrian conductor — next will be the versions recorded between 1975-1977 (released in 1977, also a high-flying interpretation) and between 1982 and 1984 (released in 1985) — this version of 1963 remains the most inhabited on the whole. Technically remarkable, she is one of the great peaks of her discography. © Qobuz

When talking about Carlos Kleiber's conducting style and recording catalogue, it is easy to over-use superlatives. Perhaps the secrets of his art are best expressed in the cover picture, with the mad elegance of his gestures, which seem to summon up the music through sheer energy, subtlety and a radiant smile: he seems absolutely possessed by inspiration. But listening to this album should do the trick too. Living as a recluse, cancelling three quarters of his concerts, hardly ever recording, it was like a miracle when Carlos Kleiber agreed to set down these two symphonies for Deutsche Grammphon. In 1975, he recorded the 5th Symphony in the generous surroundings of the Vienna Musikverein, with a Philharmonic that hung off his every word and followed his slightest gesture. Under his philosopher's baton, the "5th" became pure, distilled energy, an explosive Pandora's box that gave off sparks and followed the demands of the score precisely. The fateful four notes around which the entire symphony was built were at once the foundation and the capstone of this landmark work, magnificently structured here by Kleiber. Has there ever been such a tempestuous and light-footed Seventh Symphony? One thinks immediately of Nietzsche: "I would believe only in a God that knows how to dance". Recorded the following year, in the same place, this Seventh soars, pirouettes and exults in a pantheist, saving joy, with a lightness that seems to lift the musicians off the floor. "Now am I light, now do I fly; now do I see myself under myself. Now there danceth a God in me.". Thus directed Carlos Kleiber. © François Hudry/Qobuz

The precocious Japanese-German pianist Alice Sara Ott entered the famous Mozarteum in Salzburg at the age of 12, while continuing her humanities studies in her native Munich. Her exceptional musicality would later propel her to a career whose horizons seemed clouded by an unavoidable illness.In 2009, her recording of Liszt's Transcendental Études caused a sensation. It was soon followed by a dozen other albums, including this one devoted to Beethoven, whom she loves dearly. It includes a selection of solo and orchestral works, such as this fluid, luminous, classical version of Concerto No. 1 in C major, Op. 15, accompanied by the Dutch Radio Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of New York conductor and violinist Karina Canellakis, who pays great attention to nuance and her rhythmic support.The rest of the programme is devoted to a highly meditative vision of the Moonlight Sonata (No. 14, in C# minor, Op. 27 No. 2). Alice Sara Ott's deft, velvety touch and modesty in interpretation are unreservedly admired. Four short pieces conclude this fine monographic album: a fresh, ingenuous vision of Für Elise, two Bagatelles and an Allegretto in B minor without opus number, a delightful Klavierstück composed in 1821 for Ferdinand Piringer, one of his new friends and second conductor in Vienna. © François Hudry/Qobuz

Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 29 in B flat major, Op. 106 ("Hammerklavier"), and Chopin's Piano Sonata No. 2 in B flat minor, Op. 35 ("Funeral March"), are both recorded with great frequency, although rarely, if ever, on the same album. The pairing may have been one factor that put this release by pianist Beatrice Rana on classical best-seller charts in the spring of 2024, and another may well have been this young pianist's undoubted charisma. Rana is inventive in finding a thread that connects the two works. Both pieces are technically difficult, the Beethoven especially so, and pianists have responded with heroic, monumental frameworks and fireworks. Rana does something different. Her slow movement in the Beethoven is very tender, deliberate but not ponderous, with a sense of tragedy to match the Chopin Funeral March. In general, she tends toward detail rather than thundering piano, and there are many fresh insights in her interpretation. Her outer movements in the Chopin have a skittery quality, as if the tragedy marked by the Funeral March has created a sense of dissociation. In the Beethoven, she teases out contrapuntal lines that are obscured by blazing readings, bringing her fugal finale closer to the variation finales of the Piano Sonata No. 30 in E major, Op. 109, and Piano Sonata No. 32 in C major, Op. 111, in mood. It is a fresh album from an artist who has thus far offered less imposing fare, and it is well recorded at the Parco della Musica Auditorium in Rome.© James Manheim /TiVo

Anyone who aspires to a professional career as a violinist must eventually reckon with Beethoven's Violin Concerto. This exacting instrumental jewel demands not only technical mastery, but also an extraordinary sense of lyricism and emotion from those who seek to make it their own. It is not surprising that, over the centuries, famous virtuosos have never stopped reimagining and recording this masterpiece in order to pass it on to posterity: Fritz Kreisler, Isaac Stern, Itzhak Perlman, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Isabelle Faust... Now, it is in their footsteps - rather intimidatingly, let's admit - that a new, irresistibly charismatic voice has now arrived.Only 20 years old, María Dueñas possesses the talent and radiance of a long-standing virtuoso. She grew up in Granada and studied in Dresden and Vienna with Boris Kuschnir. Her first major success came in 2021, when she won first prize in the prestigious Yehudi Menuhin Competition. That same year, she attracted the attention of Deutsche Grammophon, with whom she soon signed a contract. It was with this label that she presented her first album, Beethoven and Beyond."Beethoven's Violin Concerto has been with me at the most important moments of my life," says María, for whom it seems only natural to dedicate the first chapter of her discography to this work. She had the chance to record her œuvre with Manfred Honeck and the Vienna Symphony at the beginning of 2023, during a concert held in a hall with a rich history: the Vienna Music Hall - a 'home' debut, as it were. But how to stand out from the crowd? "With the Beethoven concerto, you can't show off your virtuosity, only yourself. And only sound can reveal it.”It was precisely this sound that convinced us! But that's not all: to really add her own touch to the work, María composed her own cadenzas. The album also includes cadenzas by five other famous virtuosos (Louis Spohr, Eugène Ysaÿe, Camille Saint-Saëns, Henryk Wieniawski and Fritz Kreisler) as well as works for violin and orchestra by each of these composers. María takes up the Concerto with a unique sincerity and authenticity and manages to shed a new light on Beethoven, that of her own time. Let us be the first to warn you; instead of Beethoven and Beyond, there will soon be María Dueñas and Beyond. No doubt about it, this is a Qobuzissime! Lena Germann/Qobuz

Jordi Savall’s Concert des Nations concludes its Beethoven journey with the legend’s final four symphonies. They were recorded in Paris in the autumn of 2021 (the 6th and 7th Symphonies were recorded on October 5th, and the 8th and 9th Symphonies on October 15th), during the same period of time in which the orchestra played two concerts at the Philharmonie de Paris, consequently bringing to a close their complete concert series, which they’d been performing across two years.The finesse that graced their first volume, published in the summer of 2020, has been maintained in their second. These Beethoven pieces are alert and incisive - in accent, in rhythm and in articulation. Strangely enough, these symphonies, which were composed by Beethoven once he’d reached his musical maturity, have almost been arranged in a style that seems to allude to Haydn and Mozart at times. However, it’s clear that textures are becoming denser, and the orchestra is starting to make masterful use of their musical freedom - fans of the timpani will love this!What Beethoven invented in the early 19th century, in terms of timbre and new colours (particularly within Symphonies No.3 and No.4), was consolidated in his later work, transforming symphonic composition for a long time to come. The 7th is often considered the metaphorical Everest of his symphonic repertoire, not only for its choreographic essence (which has never since been found in this genre), but also for its joyous celebration of the true Beethoven spirit: compositional blocks joined together by polyphonic melodies, creating a weighty, triumphant sound. Jordi Savall has clearly focussed on Beethoven’s major impact on the history of music throughout the creation of this project. © Pierre-Yves Lascar/Qobuz

One could easily lose oneself in the meanderings of the many recordings by Wilhelm Kempff, which stretch out across the 55 years from 1920 to 1975, even though he never liked playing for the microphone. But nonetheless he has always been happy to record, and would constantly polish up his technique so as to render the most faithful possible service to his art, across both his own evolution and the technological innovations that he has seen through his many years of recording, from acoustics to stereophony. The great German pianist left behind him three complete recordings of Beethoven's sonatas. The first was in the 1930s, but it wasn't quite complete; the second in the 1950s; and a final collection, brought together in this recording, from the early 1960s, with stereo sound. Recorded quite quickly, considering the volume of material involved, between January 1964 and January 1965, in the studios of Hanover's Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft, it represents Wilhelm Kempff's final statement on Beethoven's work, having drawn closer to it over the course of several years. While the piano isn't without the odd harsh moment, this complete recording is of very even quality, and it brings out Kempff's free playing style which had brought Beethoven into the light, avoiding the heavy-handedness which German pianists had often inflicted on the composer. This search for clarity and simplicity came close to the improvisatory style that was Beethoven's hallmark, as he quickly "noted" whatever his imagination brought forth. © François Hudry/Qobuz

With this recording of the Missa Solemnis, Jordi Savall and Le Concert des Nations bring to an end their “Beethoven Revolution” project, already consisting of the Symphonies in their entirety. Under the direction of this valiant 82 year-old, Beethoven’s masterpiece resounds more than ever as a hymn to peace and brotherhood.The Catalonian conductor sets fire to this score of gigantic proportions with a grip that could move mountains and a fervour capable of making even the most insensitive listener shed a tear. Under the direction of his exemplary and exalted expressivity, the Missa Solemnis is written into the timelessness of Mozart’s Requiem, all while demonstrating the power of Bruckner’s Te Deum in a stunning historical perspective.Recorded in May 2023 in Catalonia during a series of concerts also held in Paris, Barcelona, and Dresden, this version of the Missa Solemnis was poised from the outset to be one of the great recordings of this work, but in a distinctly personal way due to its expression of the pinnacle of pain, fear, and hope. Singing at the top of their lungs, the sensual voices of La Capella Nacional de Catalunya seem to be making a desperate plea to humanity in peril, rounded out by a quartet of excellent soloists: Lina Johnson, soprano, Olivia Vermeulen, mezzo-soprano, Martin Platz, tenor, and Manuel Walser, baritone. By drawing Beethoven’s piece alongside the world of great Spanish painting, Jordi Savall turns it into a drama whose chiaroscuro unveils an exceptional power that will leave no one indifferent. © François Hudry/Qobuz

Jordi Savall’s Beethoven is bursting with life. The accents, rhythms and articulations are sprightly of course. But also in spirited, intelligent phrases, the accomplished orchestral balance cheerfully testifies to this (Adagio from the 4th). The tempos too are relatively measured but alluring. The secret of these Beethoven compositions is their dancing spirit, inherited from the dances of the 18th century, which brings a constant energy. Another way in which these works stand out is the revolution of timbres which inspired the Master of Bonn’s formal constructions, in the new registers (the development of brass instruments and notably horns, but also increased presence of timpani, etc.) and in the development of dense textures. All this is paired with a poetic, theatrical sound: these symphonies are hidden dramas. This is how Ernest Ansermet also saw it in the past and his complete Decca recordings bear the trace of this, despite a naturally different general aesthetic (Decca, 1958-1963, well worth rediscovering). Here, the 4th is bursting with audacity - it is perhaps the greatest of the first works of the genre in the Beethoven catalogue. Jordi Savall achieves a very beautiful ensemble, which very clearly sticks out above the rest in this year of Beethoven (2020), a year overflowing with rather unconvincing artistic proposals. © Pierre-Yves Lascar/Qobuz

The tale of American composer Leonard Bernstein is at the centre of the film Maestro, released in September 2023 on Netflix and starring Bradley Cooper. The biopic retraces the immense career of a man who first became familiar with classical composers like Schumann, Strauss, and Beethoven, before skyrocketing to worldwide fame as Broadway’s star composer. Musical theatre, film music, ballets, symphonic works…this musical eclecticism is transcribed in the soundtrack for Maestro, created by one of his greatest fans, conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin of Québec. Much of the music features Bernstein’s own works, such as “On the Town” (1944) and “Fancy Free” (1944), as well as “West Side Story” (1957) and “Mass” (1971). The album also includes the likes of Mahler and Beethoven, composers that greatly influenced Bernstein: the legendary 1973 “Symphony No. 2 ‘Resurrection’” concert with the London Symphony Orchestra is presented in the film, conducted by director and lead actor Bradley Cooper, who reincarnates this legend of 20th-century music. © Lena Germann/Qobuz 

Marc-André Hamelin, by general acclaim, one of the great virtuosos of the day, here attempts to recapture the compositional as well as technical spirit of the pianistic giants of the past. Liszt, of course, was a pianist-composer, but he was not the only one. Hamelin issued an album of his own etudes in 2010, but in these "New Piano Works," mostly composed during the 2010s, he is even more adventurous. Many of these works are variations of one kind or another, and Hamelin starts off with his own Variations on a Theme of Paganini, previously essayed by Liszt, Rachmaninov, and several others. These variations introduce not only the usual high level of virtuosity but also the eclectic range of references in most of these works; he quotes Rachmaninov's set and also alludes to Alkan, Chopin, Brahms, and others. The variation form is ideal for Hamelin's project, for he can drop in quotations and allusions the same as a 19th century virtuoso would. His Variations diabellique sur des thèmes de Beethoven is a wickedly humorous exegesis on Beethoven's Variations on a Waltz by Diabelli, Op. 120. There are hints of jazz in some of Hamelin's variations, and these flower fully in the Suite à l'ancienne, which annotator Francis Pott proposes as a tribute to the jazz-classical fusionist Nikolai Kapustin; he composed a similar Suite in the Old Style. Hamelin concludes with an explosive Toccata on l'Homme Armé, the medieval tune that served as the basis for numerous Renaissance masses. So Hamelin's range of references is wide, but it is never random, and the listener who missed the subtler allusions will still enjoy the music. This is a bold, highly entertaining re-creation of the role of the classic virtuoso, idiomatically and clearly recorded at London's Henry Wood Hall. This release made classical best-seller lists in early 2024.© James Manheim /TiVo

Musical careers last longer than they used to, and here, it is difficult to detect any weakening of the long-impressive technique of pianist Garrick Ohlsson, 74 years old, when this album was recorded in the summer of 2022. The feat is especially impressive in that all five of the Beethoven concertos (plus the Overture to The Creatures of Prometheus, Op. 43, with no piano) were performed live within a single week. Ohlsson is backed by the Grand Teton Music Festival Orchestra under the direction of veteran conductor Donald Runnicles, who points out that he and Ohlsson had very little discussion about interpretation prior to the performances. It is here that Ohlsson's expertise is evident. He doesn't blaze any new paths in these works, but one has the feeling that he holds the performances, to borrow a phrase from John Le Carré, like a thrush's egg in his hand. His readings are simple in the best way. Sample the arresting opening of the first movement of the Piano Concerto No. 4 in G major, Op. 58; it is direct, yet there are micro shapings that bespeak long familiarity. In fact, it is in the first two concertos, where the lengthy expositions make it less possible for Ohlsson to control the flow of events, that are less effective. The partnership between Ohlsson and the orchestra, though, is lively throughout, and Runnicles gets excellent results from what is likely essentially a pickup group; the orchestra is moderately sized and agile. Superb live recording from Reference Recordings, discussed in detail in the booklet, is another draw. © James Manheim /TiVo

With no slight intended to the other great recordings of the Missa Solemnis in the world, there's this one and then there are all the rest. Truly. Even with the 1940 Toscanini and the 1974 Böhm, this 1965 recording of Otto Klemperer and the Philharmonia Orchestra and Chorus embodies everything that's great about the Missa Solemnis. And everything that's great about late Beethoven is in the Missa Solemnis: the energy, the nobility, the strength, the vision, and -- above all -- the overwhelming sense that the numinous is imminent. Beethoven thought it was his best work and who could not agree? That's what's in Klemperer's performance. His command of the score and control of the orchestra are complete, but it is Klemperer's ability to take the musicians beyond themselves, to go beyond making music to be made music, and to incarnate Beethoven's transcendent revelation in sound that puts this recording in a class of its own. Or rather, that puts it in the same exalted class as Klemperer's German Requiem and St. Matthew Passion, the class of the sublime. EMI's stereo sound was magnificent in its day and its remastering is ideal.© TiVo

What an album cover! The beautiful black and white photo by Robert Freeman is already a kind of must-have... Recorded only four months after their first album Please Please Me, the album With The Beatles, released in November 1963, is like a little extension. This second studio album brings together seven songs by the duo of Lennon/McCartney (notable mention: All My Loving), a George Harrison (Don't Bother Me), as well as six cover songs, and is mostly vintage rock'n'roll, soul and Motown rhythm’n’blues. Introducing new instruments, dubbed voices and sound eclecticism, With The Beatles depicts a young group that gradually extricate themselves from the influences of their elders in order to create their own unique musical universe. The original songs on this album, although certainly at the level that they would go on to achieve in subsequent years, show that The Beatles were already ahead of their time. ©MZ/Qobuz, Translation/BM

The "Beethoven for Three" series, featuring piano trio arrangements of Beethoven's symphonies, offers one or more symphonies together with one of the composer's actual piano trios. The three performers, violinist Leonidas Kavakos, pianist Emanuel Ax, and cellist Yo-Yo Ma, could probably have sold albums on name recognition alone, but they deliver performances worthy of their names. Certainly, arrangements of Beethoven's symphonies for smaller forces were common enough in the 19th century, but the ones here, by composer Shai Wosner, are new and frequently quite artful; hear the delicate slow introduction to the first movement of the Symphony No. 4, Op. 60, where Wosner interprets the original rather than straining to duplicate it. The highlight on this volume may come with the masterful reading of the Piano Trio in B flat major, Op. 97 ("Archduke"), where the players' familiarity with each other really shows. Sample the Scherzo, where there is not a note that isn't distinctively articulated in some way, and the fascinatingly deliberate opening to the finale. Sony Classical contributes impressive engineering from a new studio venue at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in upstate New York. This album breathes new life into the all-star format, and it made classical best-seller lists in the spring of 2024.© James Manheim /TiVo