Markevitch Conducts Beethoven: Symphonies Nos. 1,2,3,5,6,8 & 9 ,Overtures

You may not agree but no matter what you think, this is a must-have. Great performances. If you think Germans are Germanic on Beethoven, listen to these. After all, French made a symphony orchestra for Beethoven a year after his death. That tradition continues.

I attempted to purchase this set in 2022 from a Japanese merchant through Amazon and was not successful. Without necessary research, I unwisely purchased the Scribendum 21 CD Markevitch anthology containing Symphonies 1, 5, 8 and 9, also part of this set. The Scribendum CD with Symphonies 1, 5, 8 had some audible flaws in Symphony 1: I, III. So just this month, I purchased this set and Symphony 1 is perfect! Markevitch’s Lamoreux Orchestra Beethoven is perfect: Clean, Classical and lean, rather resembling Szell/Cleveland or Reiner/Chicago. While I still love Bernstein/Vienna (DG);Karajan/Berlin (DG, 1975-77);Bohm/Vienna (DG);Steinberg/Pittsburgh (MCA or DG)Walter/Columbia (Sony) in these works, I wouldn’t want to be without Markevitch’s Lamoreux recordings, all here in one convenient 4 CD Beethoven box. Highly recommended!

This set is somewhat hard to find but well worth the effort. Everything is excellent, but the performances of 1, 5 and 8 are astonishing - if not always faithful to the score. For these, it seems as if Markevitch decided to really let loose and did so. There is heavy use of tympani, including (I believe) extra thumps and rolls. Somehow, the performances manage not to be vulgar - they blast off successfully and nearly blow one's socks off. 3, 6 and 9 are much more restrained but very fine. A bonus is an interview from the mid-fifties which shows (sadly) just how much the classical music scene in America has changed. Unfortunately, the set is not complete, but one can find a video of 7 on youtube. Get this set if you can find one.

a composer who is also a great conductor...never dull

If you love great orchestral performances, you MUST have a LOT of Markevitch.So why 4 stars? To get your attention. At HMV across the Pacific there is a 33 CD set now out on Venias that has all these performances in excellent transfers and a whole lot more. Generous timings, NO BOOKLET (just individual labeled sleeves; a pain) and intense, individual, kinetic, imaginative conducting. Mostly from Philips, DG, and Melodiya, so your Icon box is not redundant. Even the mono Mozart symphonies had me dancing.While you are at it, the same label has a 33 CD box of Ancerl, mostly stolen in good sound from Supraphon. Get both and see why today's conductors are mostly boring, despite the richer sound (which you won't think about while listening to these).

The marriage of Igor Markevitch and the Lamoureux Orchestra was a match made in Heaven. These are stellar interpretations catching these artists in top form. Love the unapologetically French sound of this orchestra. These are a bit off the beaten path but well worth a listen. Other recordings by this team that I recommend: Berlioz Symphonie Fantastique, Berlioz La Damnation de Faust, and Rimsky-Korsakov Le Coq d’Or Suite...All on DG.