# Best way to find good recordings?



## EvaBaron (Jan 3, 2022)

Lately I have been trying to find the best recordings for every Beethoven Symphony. I have been copying the 10 recommended recordings from Trout's blog here on TC for the Beethoven symphonies that he made a blog post about (3,5,6,7 & 9) and I have been copying every recommendation from David Hurwitz's videos. I know he can be very neglective towards certain conductors or performances but it is the only youtube channel i can find that does this kind of thing. So i'm asking for your help. Now i get the irony of asking help for finding good recordings on TC but when i look at threads for individual symphonies i find that there are so many different ones being recommended and people ******** on each other's choices that i never know if it's a good recommendation, also don't feel like listening to the about 30 different recommended recordings on every piece just to find a good recording. Also sometimes people post a recommended recording but that's about the only one they actually listened to so does anyone have good ways to find a good recording? Right now i'm going to post 3 recordings i prefer for each symphony just for fun but please don't make this thread only about your favorite recordings of each beethoven symphony but also answer the question of the thread, thank you!

Symphony no. 1: Chailly, Toscanini (1952), Abbado (Live in Rome), the only exciting performances to my ear along with gardiner but i dont like period instruments.
Symphony no. 2: Haven't listened to this one yet
Symphony no. 3: Szell, Furtwaengler 1944 , klemperer 1955
symphony no. 4: C. Kleiber (live with bavarian state orchestra), bernstein nypo, toscanini 1952
Symphony no. 5: C. Kleiber, Karajan 63 (best first movement btw), szell (live with vienna)
Symphony no. 6: Böhm (best 1st & 4th movement imo), Klemperer, Bernstein nypo
Symphony no. 7: Szell (best allegreto imo, tempi is perfect, but sloppy third movement), C. Kleiber (overall amazing but not as exciting as szell and honeck), Honeck (exciting last 2 movements but not best orchestra)
Symphony no. 8: Karajan 63, Bernstein, Chailly
Symphony no. 9: Have only listened to fricsay because i just started listening to this symphony recently
Symphony no. 9: Have only listened


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## Tarneem (Jan 3, 2022)

well, perhaps I should share my list

Symphony no. 1: Karajan


Symphony no. 2: Barenboim


Symphony no. 3: Fabio Luisi (the guy ain't that famous but believe me he is gooooooood)


symphony no. 4: Barenboim (once again lol)


Symphony no. 5: Tennstedt 


Symphony no. 6: Celibidache (MUST LISTEN TO IT!)


Symphony no. 7: Bernstein (his last concert with the new york philharmonic)

Symphony no. 8: Thielemann with the Viennese philharmonic orchestra 


Symphony no. 9: Tennstedt (LEGEND!)


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## Tarneem (Jan 3, 2022)

EvaBaron said:


> but please don't make this thread only about your favorite recordings of each beethoven symphony but also answer the question of the thread, thank you!


Youtube has a very healthy community and endless options


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## Ganz Allein (Mar 26, 2021)

I think there's kind of a contradiction in your question - if you want to know the "best" recordings without having to listen to all of them, you need to find a reviewer you trust. But you can't know if you trust the reviewer until you listen to all the recordings they praised, dismissed, or neglected. So why not just listen to all the recordings you can find and figure out which ones you like best?


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## vtpoet (Jan 17, 2019)

The best way to find the Beethoven performances you most enjoy and prefer (as opposed to what someone else thinks is the best) is to use a streaming service like Spotify. Period. Pay for a month's membership and sample to your heart's content.

For guidance, there are obviously reviewers. Try Hurwitz's channel:

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=Hurwitz+beethoven+symphonies&t=newext&atb=v298-1&ia=web

I know this will make any number of TC forum members projectile vomit their coffee and doughnuts, but Hurwitz's opinions are informed and probably more so than most. There's also Gramophone:

https://www.gramophone.co.uk/features/article/the-50-best-beethoven-albums-2021-update

Who comes with their own baggage.

Most broadly speaking, you could try a strategy as follows:

First, decide what era appeals to you most (if that matters). From what I can tell, you seem to be favoring old-school conductors whose heydays were in the 50s, 60s and 70s. If you don't mind the recording quality of that period, along with the historical assumptions guiding their interpretations, then stick with it. If you decide you like the more modern pace and recording quality of modern performances, then you can narrow it down to HIP (Norrington or Weil for example), HIP with modern instruments (Harnoncourt and Chailly), and non-HIP performances (Haitink or Rattle).

If you want to go deep-dive-hardcore HIP, there's Schoonderwoerd's recording of the 3rd Symphony. He manages to send just about everyone to the fainting couch (one instrument per part) and especially Hurwitz-and not because of the playing, which is quite good, but because of the instrumental forces. My own opinion of the results is mixed, but there you have it.


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## Kreisler jr (Apr 21, 2021)

1 Toscanini, Fricsay
2 Reiner, Leibowitz
3 Bernstein/NYPO, Scherchen (stereo), Munch
4 Bernstein/NYPO, C. Kleiber (live)
5 E. Kleiber, C. Kleiber, Karajan (1962), Markevitch
6 Maazel/Berlin, Mackerras/Liverpool
7 Bernstein/NYPO, C. Kleiber, Harnoncourt
8 Scherchen, Leibowitz
9 Karajan (1962, partly because soloists), Klemperer (live on Testament 1957), Munch


(I got the Chailly rather recently but have only listened to the first 2)


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## BrahmsWasAGreatMelodist (Jan 13, 2019)

vtpoet said:


> , then you can narrow it down to HIP (Norrington or Weil for example), HIP with modern instruments (Harnoncourt and Chailly), and non-HIP performances (Haitink or Rattle).
> .


Are there modern interpretations with period instruments? For Beethoven symphonies or any other repertoire. I've always been interested in this.


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## vtpoet (Jan 17, 2019)

BrahmsWasAGreatMelodist said:


> Are there modern interpretations with period instruments? For Beethoven symphonies or any other repertoire. I've always been interested in this.


Yes. A good many. Norrington , John Eliot Gardiner, Bruno Weil & Tafelmusik immediately come to mind. *Edit:* Also, Gottfried von der Goltz with the Freiburger Baroque Orchestra. Some of his interpretations are idiosyncratic. They're refreshing to some but send others, like Hurwitz again, to the fainting couch.


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## BrahmsWasAGreatMelodist (Jan 13, 2019)

vtpoet said:


> Yes. A good many. Norrington , John Eliot Gardiner, Bruno Weil & Tafelmusik immediately come to mind. *Edit:* Also, Gottfried von der Goltz with the Freiburger Baroque Orchestra. Some of his interpretations are idiosyncratic. They're refreshing to some but send others, like Hurwitz again, to the fainting couch.


Oh yeah I remember hearing Gardiner's _Eroica_, great interpretation, I need to listen again. I will listen to Goltz.


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## Phil loves classical (Feb 8, 2017)

My list of the recordings of Beethoven symphonies I listen to most often:
No. 4: Walter (without 1st movement repeat), *Klemperer (with repeat)* Bolded because I much prefer with the repeat.
No. 5: *Munch (without 1st movement repeat)*, Klieber (with repeat) Bolded because I prefer without the repeat.
No. 6: Walter
No. 9: Solti


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## MatthewWeflen (Jan 24, 2019)

In my experience the way to sample recordings is to just buy them. For Beethoven symphonies I just bought a cycle every few months and listened to it. 

But absent that, the two best resources are YouTube, which has many recordings in full, and Presto Classical, which has most recordings available for download, with high quality samples of each track on their website. 

This forum can be a good guide for seeking out which recordings to sample and see if they align with your taste. Merl has an exhaustive survey of Beethoven cycles, for instance.


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## vtpoet (Jan 17, 2019)

MatthewWeflen said:


> In my experience the way to sample recordings is to just buy them. For Beethoven symphonies I just bought a cycle every few months and listened to it.


That's awfully expensive advise. Much cheaper to buy a month of Spotify. You can sample one cycle a week or even a day if you're commuting, let's say.



MatthewWeflen said:


> But absent that, the two best resources are YouTube, which has many recordings in full, and Presto Classical, which has most recordings available for download, with high quality samples of each track on their website.


I order my CDs from Presto Classical (and some digital downloads) but this too is expensive advise. Every so often their digital downloads are considerably more expensive than their CDs but, again, why purchase individual recordings (you may or may not like in the long run) when, for the price of one purchase, you can sample almost every recording in existence?


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## mbhaub (Dec 2, 2016)

EvaBaron said:


> ...does anyone have good ways to find a good recording?


"Good" is the trick; in fact, there are very, very few bad recordings of Beethoven, or anything else for that matter. The cost of producing a record makes it necessary to create something at least good so it will sell. (Of course there are recordings with bad sound, bad conducting, bad orchestras.) By and large, the major labels, conductors, orchestras will turn out something that is at least good. One Beethoven set I enjoy is from the Des Moines Symphony of all places.

If you're looking for "great" recordings then there's a whole new problem. Ask 10 listeners for the greatest Eroica ever and you'll likely get 10 different answers. I've learned over the years to not trust critics; there's not one that I agree with more than maybe half the time. Same with books like the Penguin Guide. But records that have been in the catalog for a long time have something going for them especially when early reviewers thought highly of them. Martin Bookspan wrote a book 101 Masterpieces of Music and Their Composers where he lists his favorite recordings. Here's how he rates Beethoven symphony recordings:

1. Toscanini or Szell
2. Beecham
3. Klemperer, Toscanini, Szell, Walter
4. Toscanini, Ansermet, Ormandy, Szell, Walter
5. E Kleiber, Reiner
6. Walter
7. Walter, Bernstein, Steinberg
8. Casals, Klemperer, Steinberg
9. Reiner, Schmidt-Isserstedt

All of those have been in the catalog for decades and are still highly regarded. Some surprises? I have most of those, and they're all fine - they are "good". I long ago gave up the endless and pointless quest to find the "best". It's a fool's errand.


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## MatthewWeflen (Jan 24, 2019)

vtpoet said:


> That's awfully expensive advise. Much cheaper to buy a month of Spotify. You can sample one cycle a week or even a day if you're commuting, let's say.
> 
> I order my CDs from Presto Classical (and some digital downloads) but this too is expensive advise. Every so often their digital downloads are considerably more expensive than their CDs but, again, why purchase individual recordings (you may or may not like in the long run) when, for the price of one purchase, you can sample almost every recording in existence?


I think you're missing the major, comprehensive, completely free option in the middle of my post.

I don't like streaming. To each their own. If you do, then certainly it's a good way to sample recordings.


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## vtpoet (Jan 17, 2019)

MatthewWeflen said:


> I think you're missing the major, comprehensive, completely free option in the middle of my post.


I just didn't want to sound completely negative. Youtube is okay, but it's hit or miss and poorly organized for anyone wanting an overview of available recordings (probably deliberately so because Google wants to distract you with clickbait). It's not meant to be a music streaming service (though Google makes a weak feint in that direction). I tried typing in "Beethoven Symphonies" and got a whole slew of performances (many of which aren't available as recordings)-a complete mess of stuff for the uninitiated.



MatthewWeflen said:


> I don't like streaming. To each their own. If you do, then certainly it's a good way to sample recordings.


I don't either. I prefer CDs; but we both agree that nothing beats it for sampling the available catalog of recorded music. For the price of one purchase he can sample that same recording on [insert streaming service here) alongside a hundred others.


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## HenryPenfold (Apr 29, 2018)

Best way to find best recordings is to discover great music, then go looking for good performances of it. Am I missing something?


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## Brahmsianhorn (Feb 17, 2017)

There are a lot of people with very narrow definitions for what constitutes good recordings. Generally speaking, some prefer more straight forward interpretation while others (like me) prefer greater liberty. Getting as broad a range of advice as possible is the best path. 

Beethoven symphonies 

1 - Jochum/DG, Bernstein/DG, Karajan ‘77, Barbirolli, Klemperer

2 - Beecham, Jochum/DG, Cluytens, Böhm, Norrington

3 - Furtwängler 12/8/52, Klemperer stereo, Toscanini ‘39, Furtwängler ‘44, Karajan ‘84, Van Kempen, Kleiber ‘50, Szell, Barbirolli, Harnoncourt 

4 - Böhm, Furtwängler’43, Karajan’62, Walter, Klemperer

5 - Furtwängler 5/25/47, Furtwängler 5/23/54, Mackerras, Bernstein/BRSO ‘76, Jochum ‘51, C. Kleiber, Klemperer ‘55, Toscanini’39, E. Kleiber, Giulini, Szell/VPO ‘69, Gardiner ‘94, Karajan ‘62

6 - Klemperer, Walter, Furtwängler 5/23/54, Böhm, Cluytens, Bernstein/DG

7 - Furtwängler ‘53, Toscanini ‘36, Klemperer/Testament live ‘57, C. Kleiber/Orfeo, Böhm, Davis/EMI, Bernstein/DG

8 - Van Kempen, Furtwängler ‘53, Karajan ‘62, Böhm, Barbirolli 

9 - Furtwängler 3/22/42, Furtwängler/Lucerne ‘54, Klemperer/Testament live ‘61, Klemperer/Testament live ‘57, Fricsay, Karajan ‘76, Bernstein/VPO, Böhm ‘72, Solti ‘72, Cluytens, Walter/Orfeo ‘55, Toscanini live ‘38, Abendroth ‘50, Schuricht, Karajan’62, Kubelik/Orfeo, Reiner, Schmidt-Isserstedt

.


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## FrankinUsa (Aug 3, 2021)

I agree with the streaming option. I have never used Spotify. I have used Apple and find classical selections are easy to find. As for purchasing CDs,it is more expensive and the state of the recording labels is such that many may be nla after you have done all your research. Archivmusic.com remains in limbo and it was at least the best place(IMHO) to find out new recordings. I’ll go with a few selection. Sym3(Eroica)-Szell,Sym5-Carlos Kleiber,Sym6(Pastorale) Bruno Walter,Columbia Symphony,Sym7 Szell,Sym9 Karajan 1970s. 
Over the decades I have bought so many Beethoven recordings that I have huge duplication and I am rather reluctant to buy any more.


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## MatthewWeflen (Jan 24, 2019)

vtpoet said:


> I just didn't want to sound completely negative. Youtube is okay, but it's hit or miss and poorly organized for anyone wanting an overview of available recordings (probably deliberately so because Google wants to distract you with clickbait). It's not meant to be a music streaming service (though Google makes a weak feint in that direction). I tried typing in "Beethoven Symphonies" and got a whole slew of performances (many of which aren't available as recordings)-a complete mess of stuff for the uninitiated.


I agree that to use YouTube one must already have an idea of their search item - it's not a music discovery service, just a huge repository of recordings legal and otherwise. That's why coming here first to get some recommendations is a good idea.


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## larold (Jul 20, 2017)

The best way to find recordings you like is to listen to as many as possible. YouTube makes this possible without costing a cent. There are plenty of online places you can pay a little to that allow you to hear new releases, if that's your thing. There's also the old-fashioned way of buying them.


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## EvaBaron (Jan 3, 2022)

Hi friends, thank you for all the answers so far. I have concluded that i really do need to listen to a lot of recordings and there isn't a shortcut. i really don't always agree with gramophone and david Hurwitz so i'm just keep on listening


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## Brahmsianhorn (Feb 17, 2017)

My go-to stream service is Apple Music. The only thing I occasionally cannot find there are Testament releases, but often these are available on Idagio.


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## wkasimer (Jun 5, 2017)

EvaBaron said:


> Now i get the irony of asking help for finding good recordings on TC but when i look at threads for individual symphonies i find that there are so many different ones being recommended and people ******** on each other's choices that i never know if it's a good recommendation, also don't feel like listening to the about 30 different recommended recordings on every piece just to find a good recording. Also sometimes people post a recommended recording but that's about the only one they actually listened to so does anyone have good ways to find a good recording?


Well, unfortunately, everyone's taste is different, so there's no shortcut to listening to a s***load of recordings and deciding for yourself. That's why I use Spotify. You're never going to get the folks on this forum, or any other, to agree on "best", but if a lot of people recommend something, it's likely to be at least "good". You might also look at online surveys of recordings, but they tend to be out of date.

Finally, don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good. Don't worry about perfection or "best". I've been listening to Beethoven symphonies for 50 years, and I haven't found a perfect recording; nor would I dream of posting a list of my favorites or "best" recordings, because there are too many of them.

BTW, though, looking at your list, you're off to a pretty good start!


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## EvaBaron (Jan 3, 2022)

Thanks a lot, this is exactly the answer I was looking for and you’re right about the ‘best’ performance, when listening to different recordings I pick up things I hadn’t noticed in the other recording and the other way around, and thanks for the compliment on the list, I have come to the conclusion that I at least in most beethoven symphonies I prefer recordings on the faster side that are exciting


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## MatthewWeflen (Jan 24, 2019)

wkasimer said:


> You're never going to get the folks on this forum, or any other, to agree on "best", but if a lot of people recommend something, it's likely to be at least "good".


I think this is good advice. There are lots of technically well done recordings. It all comes down to taste.

My exploration of recordings is guided by the composer. If I'm into, say, Beethoven, I will want to fill out my catalog of his works. For instance, after I had explored the symphonies, I moved on to Piano Concertos and String Quartets. I looked at the available complete sets of String Quartets, and settled on the Tokyo String Quartet. I bought it on Amazon for a relative pittance. And it just didn't do it for me. I was kind of bored by it. But then, in an unrelated exploration of Mendelssohn, I came across a set by Emerson String Quartet which really blew my mind with the sound quality and liveliness of performance. So I scanned Presto and found a complete Beethoven set for another relative pittance. Listening to the samples was encouraging, so I bought and downloaded it. And what do you know, the same repertoire played by the Emersons clicked with me (I did go back and compare it to Tokyo, and that one still came off a bland to my ear). So then I located a used copy of the complete Emerson String Quartet on DG recordings, which has now exposed me to many other works they've recorded. I've really enjoyed Mozart's Flute Quartets, for instance, as well as Shosty's Quartets. I like complete sets quite a bit because they give a lot of material to explore for what generally are pretty low prices ($2-4 per album).

Anyway, all of this could be accomplished via streaming, I suppose, and possibly for less money (though I can resell a CD if it doesn't do it for me). I'm just not into it. My high quality headphones are driven by a digital audio player that doesn't do streaming, I like to be offline when I listen, and I don't want yet another monthly fee.

So my path to "discovering good recordings" is: 
1. Get interested in particular composer;
2. Try to fill out a selection of their works by looking at reviews, forum recommendations, availability of complete sets, and sampling via Presto/YouTube;
3. Buy a complete set and listen;
4. Search alternative sets if the primary purchase was unfulfilling;
5. Seek out a catalog of a given fulfilling performer's output to expose myself to other composers..... Go back to step 1.


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## Triplets (Sep 4, 2014)

I think Beethoven’s symphonies are relatively conductor proof. Even routine performances provide a lot of enjoyment. Certain recordings will resonate more with you than others. Another issue is whether you prefer the sound of HIPP Orchestra vs a “traditional “ approach. I’ll recommend two complete cycles that are enjoyable consistently.

Karajan/Berlin PO 1963

Hogwood/Academy of Ancient Music (early nineties, I believe)

The OP is already checking different recordings on YT. Other streaming services also offer a cornucopia of choice.

Enjoy


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## arpeggio (Oct 4, 2012)

I subscribe to and use the Naxos Music Library Website.


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## Bulldog (Nov 21, 2013)

arpeggio said:


> I subscribe to and use the Naxos Music Library Website.


That's the best way to go. NML is first-class with a definite classical music identity; services like Spotify are all over the place.


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## wkasimer (Jun 5, 2017)

EvaBaron said:


> ...thanks for the compliment on the list, I have come to the conclusion that I at least in most beethoven symphonies I prefer recordings on the faster side that are exciting


Which is probably why I like your list; my taste is similar. There are a couple of really superb recordings of all nine symphonies that you might particularly like - Paavo Järvi's on BMG, and Emmanuel Krivine's on Naive. I'm not sure of their availability, but I think that both are streamable on Spotify.


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## wkasimer (Jun 5, 2017)

Triplets said:


> I think Beethoven's symphonies are relatively conductor proof. Even routine performances provide a lot of enjoyment.


I wouldn't call them "conductor proof". But it's the difference between music that is truly great vs. music that is merely good. Great music tolerates virtually any performance; the good needs a stronger interpretive hand.


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## juliante (Jun 7, 2013)

BBC 3 'Building a Library'. Been going for years. A expert reviews a selection, normally 5 or 6, of great recordings of a piece. Working through the piece playing excerpts, discussing strong and weak points and finally arriving at his or her personal selection for 'the library' of great recordings. 

Great show if you can access it.


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## Merl (Jul 28, 2016)

Stream and listen is my first advice. As BHS rightly said earlier in this thread everyone has a different idea of what constitutes a 'best' performance of any symphony. Your ear is the best reviewer. By the way, I *would* read reviews and build up knowledge of the available recordings (and tge reviewers' biases). Reviews should not form your opinions but they are very useful in flagging up performances that might be of interest or that you never knew existed. A few people on here have done Beethoven reviews. Granate and myself have reviewed plenty of Beethoven cycles. Some agree with us, some don't. Here's a few links that might be of interest....

Merl's Beethoven Symphony Cycle Reviews Pt.17 (a retrospective one)

Links to my other reviews are at the bottom of that thread. Or here's a link to one of Granate's (you'll have to search for his others) .

Granate's Beethoven Symphony Challenge - Table 6 (Germany 2)

Again, I'd urge you to do as much listening and reading as possible. It will really help you understand the different types of performances available. More threads to trawl thru include...

Your Beethoven Frankencycle

Best Beethoven Symphony Recordings

Beethoven Symphonies set recommendation?


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

Subscribe to a publication specializing in the music you enjoy that reports on new recordings; sign up for record label emails (Hyperion is a good example). Subscribe to a streaming service, or YouTube Premium (there are channels for just about every kind of music - subscribe to a few), and then sample as many new recordings as you can. 

Read about periods and composers and develop your own discographies of your favorite works. Then keep abreast of new recordings of those works by regularly Googling them.

It can be time consuming getting started but once you've got the infrastructure in place, keeping current is an enjoyable process that can offer daily diamonds of pleasure.


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## ORigel (May 7, 2020)

EvaBaron said:


> Lately I have been trying to find the best recordings for every Beethoven Symphony. I have been copying the 10 recommended recordings from Trout's blog here on TC for the Beethoven symphonies that he made a blog post about (3,5,6,7 & 9) and I have been copying every recommendation from David Hurwitz's videos. I know he can be very neglective towards certain conductors or performances but it is the only youtube channel i can find that does this kind of thing. So i'm asking for your help. Now i get the irony of asking help for finding good recordings on TC but when i look at threads for individual symphonies i find that there are so many different ones being recommended and people ******** on each other's choices that i never know if it's a good recommendation, also don't feel like listening to the about 30 different recommended recordings on every piece just to find a good recording. Also sometimes people post a recommended recording but that's about the only one they actually listened to so does anyone have good ways to find a good recording? Right now i'm going to post 3 recordings i prefer for each symphony just for fun but please don't make this thread only about your favorite recordings of each beethoven symphony but also answer the question of the thread, thank you!
> 
> Symphony no. 1: Chailly, Toscanini (1952), Abbado (Live in Rome), the only exciting performances to my ear along with gardiner but i dont like period instruments.
> Symphony no. 2: Haven't listened to this one yet
> ...


For Symphony No. 9, listen to the three Furtwangler recordings: 1942, 1951, and 1954, Boehm, and Karajan '63.


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