# The best recording of Beethoven's Symphony 7



## Karoll

Hi! What is your favourite recording of Beethoven's Symphony No. 7? I heard live performance on Youtube and, as always, I looking for the most disciplined recording. Some recommendations?


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## realdealblues

There are lots of great 7th's...depends on what you're looking for. 

Slow Beethoven, Fast Beethoven, Beethoven on Period Instruments, Beethoven on Modern instruments, Beethoven played with Small Orchestra, Beethoven played with Large Orchestra?

What kind of recording, old Mono, Analog Stereo, Modern Digital? Lots of variables...

All that said, a few of my favorites are probably:

Mono
Wilhelm Furtwanger/Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra (Live) 1943
Arturo Toscanini/NBC Symphony Orchestra

Stereo
Antal Dorati/London Symphony Orchestra
George Szell/The Cleveland Orchestra
Leonard Bernstein/Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
Paul Kletzki/Czech Philharmonic Orchestra
Gunter Wand/NDR Symphony Orchestra
Riccardo Chailly/Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra


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## KenOC

A favorite for many people is Carlos Kleiber with the Vienna Philharmonic. It's coupled with a very fine 5th Symphony.


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## hpowders

The greatest performance of Beethoven's 7th Symphony I have ever heard is from the great NBC Symphony Beethoven Cycle from 1939 conducted by Arturo Toscanini. He also leads the NY Philharmonic in another great performance.

Arturo Toscanini had few peers in the music of Beethoven and that includes the Missa Solemnis as well as the opera Fidelio, in addition to the symphonies.


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## Ukko

Did Beecham record it?


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## Haydn man

KenOC said:


> A favorite for many people is Carlos Kleiber with the Vienna Philharmonic. It's coupled with a very fine 5th Symphony.


I will second this recommendation


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## Rangstrom

My all time favorite is the Casals.


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## Antiquarian

At the moment my favourite is LSO / Haitink, recorded at the Barbican in 2005. (LSO live label, LSO0598 -6SACD) Tomorrow it could an entirely different recording. But I agree that Kleiber with the Vienna Philharmonic is very nearly the benchmark that all other performances are compared to.


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## Declined

Immerseel with Anima Eterna is quite good.


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## GGluek

An excellent, but more deliberate one, is Fricsay's with the BPO.


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## JACE

My favorite recordings of LvB's Seventh are Karl Böhm's with the Vienna PO (DG) and Carlo Maria Giulini's with the Chicago SO (EMI).

I admit that I'm not a fan of Kleiber's Seventh. I realize that I'm in the minority!  To my ears, Kleiber always has a strangle-hold on the music. He doesn't let it breathe and dance. (I do think Kleiber's massively controlled approach works better in the Fifth.)


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## jim prideaux

Harnoncourt set has just arrived in the post-have 'lived with' Herbie mid 80's for so long decided I needed new interpretations and after lengthy deliberations this was the one I chose-the 7th was the work I listened to first and boy what an impression that has left!


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## ptr

Stokowski and NPO, who else! The rest are pathetic imitators... 

/pt


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## Radames

KenOC said:


> A favorite for many people is Carlos Kleiber with the Vienna Philharmonic. It's coupled with a very fine 5th Symphony.


That's always been mine.


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## Mister Man

Disciplined? Perhaps try Riccardo Muti with the Philadelphia Orchestra.


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## Marschallin Blair

> Stokowski and NPO, who else! The rest are pathetic imitators...
> 
> /pt


I've _got_ to hear it!


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