a little Beethoven......enjoying the 63' Karajan's tonight in 96/24 and loving it.

Mike Lavigne

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i've owned these files for a while; the 1963 Karajan 9 Symphony's in 96/24 are a fine transfer from the analog tapes and sound wonderful on the MSB Select II tonight. these recordings seem to hit the spot for me with energetic and natural renderings, lot's of scale and dynamic range.....majestic and awesome. sitting back and letting the big rig wash over me. not thinking too much......

http://www.hdtracks.com/bpo-karajan-beethoven-9-symphonies

so far tonight it's been the 1'st, 2nd, and 3rd, with the 4th just starting. maybe the 5th too later, then the last 4 tomorrow night.

sometimes tried and true is exactly what i need.
 

asiufy

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Cool... I have the SACDs and DSD files of those... Wonder if these 24/96 are a different transfer?
 

Mike Lavigne

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Cool... I have the SACDs and DSD files of those... Wonder if these 24/96 are a different transfer?

i'm guessing the 96/24 tape transfer are the source for the SACD/dsd files. as i recall all the DG's start out as PCM files. i likely have these also as dsd files somewhere, i'll have to look later.

my 77' Karajan Beethoven 9th DG SACD shows 96/24 PCM as the source. i don't recall ever seeing a DG dsd direct tape transfer.
 
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asiufy

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Thanks for the info, Mike! Might not need those then...
 

astrotoy

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Mike, that is a great set. It was the first classical record(s) I ever bought, in the fall of 1963 when I was a freshman in college. The price was $18.95 (maybe $18) for the entire box and (as an indicator of my future record collecting madness) I didn't even have a way of playing the records. The purchase led me to buy an AR Turntable and Shure cartridge, a Lafayette integrated amp and a pair of headphones. I would type my freshman English essays, starting the night before they were due, putting on my headphones and starting with the first symphony and continuing through until I finished the essay, usually early the next morning somewhere between the Pastoral and the 8th symphony, sometimes even into the ninth. Sometimes I would start with the Ninth, so I would learn it also. My introduction to the Beethoven symphonies, Karajan and Gundula Janowitz, the great young soprano and Karajan protege.

I lost the original set, but rebought it maybe a decade or so ago.

Larry
 

Mike Lavigne

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Mike, that is a great set. It was the first classical record(s) I ever bought, in the fall of 1963 when I was a freshman in college. The price was $18.95 (maybe $18) for the entire box and (as an indicator of my future record collecting madness) I didn't even have a way of playing the records. The purchase led me to buy an AR Turntable and Shure cartridge, a Lafayette integrated amp and a pair of headphones. I would type my freshman English essays, starting the night before they were due, putting on my headphones and starting with the first symphony and continuing through until I finished the essay, usually early the next morning somewhere between the Pastoral and the 8th symphony, sometimes even into the ninth. Sometimes I would start with the Ninth, so I would learn it also. My introduction to the Beethoven symphonies, Karajan and Gundula Janowitz, the great young soprano and Karajan protege.

I lost the original set, but rebought it maybe a decade or so ago.

Larry

wow, great story and i'm not at all surprised.

i had a Beethoven box set in my teens (mid-60's) which may have been this set, i honestly don't know. i loved it then but did not really 'get it'. well, i likely got it more than i thought i did. this music has always connected straight to my soul.
 

Mike Lavigne

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I always thought I would get into the Beethoven Symphonies. I have this Paavo Jarvi set but have yet to listen to it. Fremer references the comparison to others and seems to think it was nice, but we all have our preferences. I believe the DSD or SACD are available as well. The vinyl box was limited.

https://www.analogplanet.com/content/modern-beethoven-cycle-cut-analogue-tape-0


thanks.

someone else recently did reference that box set. i tried to find it to buy it but none are out there to buy. but if i did buy it how much would i actually listen to it?

i think your comment that you have this special box set, yet you 'have yet to listen to it' captures how digital files for large scale classical seem to be more real world than Lp's for me. no doubt i listen to large scale classical on vinyl. but it's likely 5 or 6 to 1 listening to classical digital.

sure the vinyl has a higher ceiling of performance and it's special. but digital can also be special and i just seem to choose it all the time. last night i just wanted to sit back and let the music play and not have to stop for anything.
 
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dan31

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I am with you on accessing these larger collections. I may try the 24/96 download of the Karajan just so I can get access to such a large body of work. Thank you for bringing the 24/96 files to my attention!
 
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astrotoy

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Thanks for the link to Fremer's article. I was a bit surprised that he has some more than superficial knowledge of the Beethoven Symphonies and has multiple box sets of the symphonies from some of the top interpreters of the stereo analogue era. I had never heard of the Paavo Jarvi set before. As Mike said, the vinyl version appears to be unavailable, although the SACD version is pretty easy to get. Reviews on line are not as favorable as Fremer's and I probably would not have looked for the set without reading his article.

I've heard Paavo Jarvi conducting a couple of times, including IIRC the Bremen Chamber Orchestra, along with concerts of his brother Kristien and his father Neevi conducting. Quite a family.

Larry
 

microstrip

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Curious that my "original" 63 german set has a different box - unfortunately the liner notes were exclusively in german, I could not read them.
a1.jpg
 
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bonzo75

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Curious that my "original" 63 german set has a different box - unfortunately the liner notes were exclusively in german, I could not read them.
View attachment 49409

You can look up by the number on the back if it was a later or repress or pressed in another country
 

microstrip

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You can look up by the number on the back if it was a later or repress or pressed in another country

Thanks - just saw it was an original german pressing from 1963 .
 
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Mike Lavigne

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Thanks - just saw it was an original german pressing from 1963 .

love to have a box 'code' number from your set as i can't find that cover art anywhere. and it could be the same pressings as mine but with a different box.

we see that with other labels where there are different boxes for different markets.

my box set is supposedly from 1962, not 1963.....and each box is numbered. for whatever that is worth.
 

microstrip

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Mike Lavigne

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Mike Lavigne

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both (2721 001 & 62 580) Karajan 63' Beethoven 1-9 Symphony Lp box sets arrived today. both are of the same 61' and 62' performances and same recordings, same performances as the 96/24 digital files i referenced.

both have numbered sleeves. the 2721 001 from 1962 seems like it's a bit more pristine and vivid sounding, a touch smoother. the 62 580 from 1963 just a touch rougher sounding. i've only played about 5 minutes from 4 of the 8 pressings in each box so far. the 62 580 has 'Club Sonderauflage' printed on the labels and on the back of the insert. Micro's picture of his box set above has this same thing above the DG logo on the cover but it's blurred. this could be some sort of German record club from the 60's........and possibly other versions of the 62 580 might be different? tried to find more detailed explanations for the differences, but nothing came up. probably some german language website has some more details. if someone knows more i'd appreciate the info.

my guess is one could consider the 2721 001 an original pressing, and the 62 580 a reissue or 2nd pressing. but that is just a guess from what i'm seeing. i've seen the 2721 001 box set priced from $180 to as much as $450, although i paid $30 plus shipping.

i got the 2721 001 from the USA off Discog, and the 62 580 from US Ebay, but from Germany.

when i have time i will listen to both more and if i find anything different i will post it. this music is wonderful and look forward to exploring both boxes.
 
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