# Beethoven: Symphony No. 8 in F major, Op. 93



## HansZimmer (11 mo ago)

How do you rate this piece?

Conductor: Karl Böhm 
Orchestra: Vienna Philharmonic


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## Mannheim Rocket (Aug 1, 2020)

I voted Excellent. I think it's Beethoven at his most fun in the symphonies. I really like the moment of recapitulation in the first movement, and the whole finale is a blast.


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## Animal the Drummer (Nov 14, 2015)

Very Good. I like it, and it was a favourite of the composer himself, but there are other Beethoven symphonies I prefer.


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

*Not so good and not so bad*
Fine to hear it, also fine if it would no longer be in my CD collection. I have the seventies' Karajan on DG (all LvB symphonies).


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## Brahmsianhorn (Feb 17, 2017)

HansZimmer said:


> How do you rate this piece?
> 
> Conductor: Karl Böhm
> Orchestra: Vienna Philharmonic


Excellent version!


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## EvaBaron (Jan 3, 2022)

I voted excellent, it’s my least favourite Beethoven symphony after the 2nd. But I love them all so it’s still top tier of course. After listening to many different versions my favourite remains Karajan ‘63. He gets the outer movements perfect in tempi, phrasing and of course great orchestral playing. For the inner movements you can definitely do better but I’m much more fond of the outer movements anyway


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## larold (Jul 20, 2017)

It's Beethoven so how can it not be the best?


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## TwoFlutesOneTrumpet (Aug 31, 2011)

An excellent symphony, which I prefer to the much more popular 6th (also an excellent symphony).


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## mbhaub (Dec 2, 2016)

Very good. Not my favorite Beethoven to listen to, but it does have a great 1st bassoon part that is always fun to play.


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## Bulldog (Nov 21, 2013)

Not one of my favored Beethoven symphonies - good.


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## Haydn70 (Jan 8, 2017)

I voted "excellent". It is my favorite Beethoven symphony. I don't consider it his greatest (that would be the 7th)...but this is my favorite. Like EvaBaron I especially love the outer movements, especially the first which might be my favorite movement of all 37 movements of the Mighty Nine!


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## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

I voted Excellent, not one not wrong, the first DG recording form Karjan / Bernstein( twice) and the newest from
Yannick Nézet-Séguin are my top favourites.


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## Brahmsianhorn (Feb 17, 2017)

In addition to Bohm, Karajan ‘63, and Van Kempen, the Furtwängler live BPO 1953 is very powerful, and recorded very well


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## Waehnen (Oct 31, 2021)

Some on this forum have suggested that I should have a hard look in the mirror if I don’t particularly like a work by the great masters.

The 4th and the 8th Symphonies by Beethoven are not my favourites. I have yet to define why. So I am most certainly looking in the mirror still.


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

Waehnen said:


> Some on this forum have suggested that I should have a hard look in the mirror if I don’t particularly like a work by the great masters.
> 
> The 4th and the 8th Symphonies by Beethoven are not my favourites. I have yet to define why. So I am most certainly looking in the mirror still.


I think most of us actually do not like every single (famous) piece by the acknowledged masters. But going from "not liking" to "there's something wrong with it" and then "I can improve it" is a bit much.


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## Waehnen (Oct 31, 2021)

Art Rock said:


> I think most of us actually do not like every single (famous) piece by the acknowledged masters. But going from "not liking" to "there's something wrong with it" and then "I can improve it" is a bit much.


Like I have said before, Mahler is the only major composer whose certain works have continuosly appeared as deeply and irritatingly flawed and mediocre to me, namely symphonies 5-7. I did my best to get around the flaws I perceived. I was unsuccessful.

The ’improvements’ I made by creating playlists were only for myself and for the benefit of the music (in my ears).

Nowhere have I suggested to have a project of improving Mahler’s symphonies. I am not all that arrogant. I just wanted to communicate the problems I had, and communicate I did. But please do not believe all the propaganda of certain forumists. 

I have moved forward from my intensive Mahler phase btw. I just cannot bear the endless TAT-TA-TAA of the middle symphonies. It is just so mediocre, lazy and uninspired. Case closed.

(I even had an idea of making a mix of all the abundance of TAT-TA-TAA -gestures of Mahler’s symphonies to prove my point to everyone. I skipped the idea.)


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## Waehnen (Oct 31, 2021)

I just listened to the 8th Symphony by Karajan. It is a good symphony although it does not particularly excite me. Nervertheless I have a feeling that a very rhythmically intensive, high energy performance would do good for this music. I have a feeling that Karajan is not the definite recording here…


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## Merl (Jul 28, 2016)

Waehnen said:


> I just listened to the 8th Symphony by Karajan. It is a good symphony although it does not particularly excite me. Nervertheless I have a feeling that a very rhythmically intensive, high energy performance would do good for this music. I have a feeling that Karajan is not the definite recording here…


Try de Vriend, Stan the man, John Nelson/Paris, Adam Fischer, Norrington/SWR, Gielen or Vanska for more recent 8ths with the requisite rhythmic bouyancy and impressive sound. I have a soft spot for Mackerras' older RLPO 8th, too.


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## RobertJTh (Sep 19, 2021)

Formally it's an amazingly experimental piece that goes beyond the 7th and prepares for the unique forms of Beethoven's late period. That finale, with its coda being as long as the rest of the movement... just crazy.


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## Waehnen (Oct 31, 2021)

Merl said:


> Try de Vriend, Stan the man, John Nelson/Paris, Adam Fischer, Norrington/SWR, Gielen or Vanska for more recent 8ths with the requisite rhythmic bouyancy and impressive sound. I have a soft spot for Mackerras' older RLPO 8th, too.


Thanks! I have a version by Muti as well with me. Listening to it now — works better, I’d say! The world of rhythms is elastic and full of energy here.

Edit: Yes, the Muti version is very exciting!


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## Brahmsianhorn (Feb 17, 2017)

It seems for some people that music that slows down in spots makes them restless and uneasy, as if they are thinking “just get on it with it now!” I recently worked with a conductor like this. Everything had to keep pressing forward, no matter if it was an allegro or an adagio. It felt if the music stopped to breathe at any point the poor fellow’s head would explode. For me music should have variety. It shouldn’t all be just constant motion forward.


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## RobertJTh (Sep 19, 2021)

Brahmsianhorn said:


> It seems for some people that music that slows down in spots makes them restless and uneasy, as if they are thinking “just get on it with it now!” I recently worked with a conductor like this. Everything had to keep pressing forward, no matter if it was an allegro or an adagio. It felt if the music stopped to breathe at any point the poor fellow’s head would explode. For me music should have variety. It shouldn’t all be just constant motion forward.


I'm listening to Beecham's 1951 recording of the 8th now - and the way he eases the tempo in the finale a bit where the 2nd theme enters, contrasting its lyricism with the relentless drive of the first theme... just beautiful. People always say that the old-timer conductors exaggerated things wildly, but it's the art of the little subtle gesture that makes or breaks the music, that often seems to be forgotten nowadays.


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## Tarneem (Jan 3, 2022)

I used to not get this work. but When I listened the Thielemann conducting it I was like: Ahhhhh,,,, that makes sense 


I voted very good, well.... it's fun, but it ain't Beethoven at his best


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## TwoFlutesOneTrumpet (Aug 31, 2011)

There are only 3 composers whose symphonies I love without a single exception: Beethoven, Brahms and Sibelius.


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## Malx (Jun 18, 2017)

Excellent - but then I'm weird in having the 4th and 8th as two of my fav' Beethoven Symphonies truth be told only the 2nd is less than very, very good.


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## pianozach (May 21, 2018)

Very Good

For me the 8th Symphony missed the "Excellent" vote simply because it isn't as memorable. It simply doesn't stick in my mind like portions of the 3rd, 5th, 6th, and 9th do.


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## Kreisler jr (Apr 21, 2021)

RobertJTh said:


> Formally it's an amazingly experimental piece that goes beyond the 7th and prepares for the unique forms of Beethoven's late period. That finale, with its coda being as long as the rest of the movement... just crazy.


Its a "one of kind" piece that seems in some ways a "subversion" of the classical style; it's basically classical and neoclassical at the same time. It's also a bit like "blowing a raspberry" at people expecting more large scale heroic Beethoven. There are these anecdotes about the youngish Beethoven ending an improvisation or piece he played in a brash way after people had been moved to tears by his playing. Maybe one of the op.126 bagatelles that has brief fast bursts at the beginning and end are a late echo of this habit.


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## Xisten267 (Sep 2, 2018)

An excellent symphony that looks like a return to Haydn and Mozart in the surface but that it's actually full of surprises and very original for Beethoven's time. Tchaikovsky loved it and deeply admired it's orchestration, and it was Stravinsky's favorite symphony by the master of Bonn. I recall reading someone calling it "the first neoclassical symphony" here at TC due to the daring use of harmony in it's last movement. An 8.5 out of 10 in terms of how much I enjoy it.

Favorite performance: Karajan/PO (1955), that gets the tempi just right, contrary to the Karajan/BPO of 1963 that has a super slow Scherzo. Abbado/VPO (not BPO) is superb as well.


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