Simon Rattle conducts Beethoven’s Symphonies The acclaimed cycle on CD, Blu-ray and SACD

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CD (Hybrid-SACD)

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Recordings of all the Beethoven symphonies with their chief conductor are always a milestone in the artistic work of the Berliner Philharmoniker. So it was with Herbert von Karajan and Claudio Abbado, and expectations are correspondingly high for this cycle conducted by Sir Simon Rattle. Where does the special status of these symphonies come from? Simon Rattle has an explanation: “One of the things Beethoven does is to give you a mirror into yourself – where you are now as a musician.” In fact, this music contains such a wealth of extreme emotions and brilliant compositional ideas that reveal the qualities of the orchestra and its conductor as if under a magnifying glass.

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On his personal approach to the performances, Sir Simon said, “You can make Beethoven too sophisticated or too elegant, you can clean him up too much. You can try to make him agree with himself when often he’s fighting with himself. I have the feeling probably that the more plain-spoken this music is, the better it is. And one knows with this orchestra, when you say ʻwill you joyfully motor this machine off the clifftop?ʼ, everybody says ʻof course we willʼ.” The concerts in which the Berliner Philharmoniker and their chief presented the symphonies in the Philharmonie in October 2015 were as thrilling as this suggests. The virtuosity of the works was revealed as impressively as their revolutionary energy. Performances in Paris, Vienna and New York followed and were rewarded with standing ovations from audiences.

The exclusive hardocer edition contains the cycle on five CDs plus three Blu-ray discs as HD video, in uncompressed audio resolution and DTS surround sound. Its many extras include a video introduction with Sir Simon Rattle and a documentary about the making of recordings with many interviews and glimpses behind-the-scenes.

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Content

Berliner Philharmoniker

Sir Simon Rattle Conductor

Ludwig van Beethoven

Symphony No. 1 in C major, Op. 21

Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 36

Symphony No. 3 in E flat major, Op. 55 “Eroica”

Symphony No. 4 in B flat major, Op. 60

Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67

Symphony No. 6 in F major, Op. 68 “Pastoral”

Symphony No. 7 in A major, Op. 92

Symphony No. 8 in F major, Op. 93

Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125 with
Final Chorus “Ode to Joy”

Annette Dasch Soprano

Eva Vogel Mezzo-Soprano

Christian Elsner Tenor

Dimitry Ivashchenko Bass

Rundfunkchor Berlin

Simon Halsey Chorus Master

Recorded at the Berlin Philharmonie in October 2015

Bonus (CD & Blu-ray edition)

· Documentary: “Living with Beethoven”

The nine symphonies with the Berliner Philharmoniker and Sir Simon Rattle

· Introduction: Sir Simon Rattle talks about Beethoven's Symphonies

Pre-listening

Symphony No. 1

I Adagio molto - Allegro con brio
II Andante cantabile con moto
III Menuetto: Allegro molto e vivace - Trio
IV Finale: Adagio - Allegro molto e vivace

Symphony No. 2

I Adagio - Allegro con brio
II Larghetto
III Scherzo: Allegro - Trio
IV Allegro molto

Symphony No. 3

I Allegro con brio
II Marcia funebre: Adagio assai
III Scherzo: Allegro vivace - Trio
IV Finale: Allegro molto - Poco andante - Presto

Symphony No. 4

I Adagio - Allegro vivace
II Adagio
III Allegro molto e vivace - Trio: Un poco meno allegro - Tempo I - Un poco meno allegro
IV Allegro ma non troppo

Symphony No. 5

I Allegro con brio
II Andante con moto
III Allegro -
IV Allegro - Presto

Symphony No. 6

I Angenehme, heitere Empfindungen, welche bei der Ankunft auf dem Lande im Menschen erwachen: Allegro ma non troppo
II Szene am Bach: Andante molto mosso
III Lustiges Zusammensein der Landleute: Allegro -
IV Donner Sturm: Allegro -
V Hirtengesang Wohltätige, mit Dank an die Gottheit verbundene Gefühle nach dem Sturm: Allegretto

Symphony No. 7

I Poco sostenuto - Vivace
II Allegretto
III Presto - Trio I und II: Assai meno presto
IV Allegro con brio

Symphony No. 8

I Allegro vivace e con brio
II Allegretto scherzando
III Tempo di Menuetto - Trio
IV Allegro vivace

Symphony No. 9

I Allegro ma non troppo e un poco maestoso
II Molto vivace - Presto - Molto vivace - Presto
III Adagio molto e cantabile
IVa Presto -
IVb Presto - Recitativo »O Freunde, nicht diese Töne!«

Available versions

CD & Blu-ray

Simon Rattle conducts Beethoven

5 CD + 3 Blu-ray + download / hardcover edition

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CD 1–5
Symphonies Nos. 1–9

Pure Audio Blu-ray Disc
All recordings in Pure Audio 24-bit / 96 kHz
 Running time: 344 mins
 (2.0 PCM Stereo · 5.1 DTS-HD MA)

2 Video Blu-ray Disc
Symphonies Nos. 1–9 in High Definition Video
 Running time: 397 mins

Bonus videos
· “Living with Beethoven” The nine symphonies with the Berliner Philharmoniker and Sir Simon Rattle (45 mins)
· Sir Simon Rattle talks about Beethoven's Symphonies (49 mins)

 Full HD 16:9 / PCM Stereo · 5.0 Surround DTS-HD, Region Code: ABC (worldwide)

Accompanying booklet
 76 pages / German, English

Download Code
 For high resolution audio files of
 the entire album (24-bit / up to 192 kHz)

Digital Concert Hall
7- Day Ticket for the Berliner Philharmoniker’s
virtual concert hall

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US$ 79.00
Excl. shipping
CD (Hybrid-SACD)

Sir Simon Rattle conducts Beethoven’s Symphonies

5 CD (Hybrid-SACD)

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Playable on any CD/SACD player

CD / SACD 1–5
Symphonies Nos. 1–9
Running time: 343 mins

Audio format
CD Stereo
SACD Stereo
(higher resolution, requires SACD player)
SACD Surround
(requires SACD player and surround system)

Booklet
76 pages

Packaging
Hardcover Box Set

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US$ 39.00
Excl. shipping
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Simon Rattle conducts Beethoven’s Symphonies Nos 1–9

24-bit Download

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Provided Formats
Stereo 24/96 [FLAC / WAV]
Stereo 24/192 [FLAC / WAV]
5.0 Surround 24/96 [FLAC]
5.0 Surround 24/192 [FLAC] 

Digital Booklet
 76 pages / German, English
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US$ 39.00
Excl. shipping

Video trailer

Photos