Beethoven: 9 Symphonies

Herbert von Karajan’s third complete studio recording of Beethoven’s nine symphonies, released in 1977, divided opinion thanks above all to its occasionally bizarre recorded balance. The set’s Spatial Audio remastering, however, totally transforms the sound picture, adding perspective, highlighting solo details, and unlocking countless details of tone and timbre formerly obscured by the original stereo master’s anomalies. Karajan and his magnificent Berlin band emerge here as champions of the revolutionary energy and audacity of Beethoven’s music, notably so in their gripping reading of the Symphony No. 2, deeply affectionate account of the “Pastoral” Symphony and majestic Seventh. Spatial Audio also pays handsome dividends in the Ninth Symphony’s sublime “Adagio” and again in its choral finale, which stands now as a clear-as-crystal celebration of human solidarity and creative invention.