London Symphony Orchestra, Josef Krips – Beethoven: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 8 (1960/2013) [Official Digital Download 24bit/192kHz]

London Symphony Orchestra, Josef Krips – Beethoven: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 8 (1960/2013)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/192 kHz | Time – 53:07 minutes | 1,82 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Digital Booklet, Front Cover | © Everest Records

It is not known exactly when Beethoven completed his First Symphony, as the autograph score was lost. It is known, however, when the symphony was first performed and what the critics thought of it. It premiered in Vienna in 1800, also on the program was a Mozart symphony, an aria and duet from Haydn’s Creation, an unspecified piano concerto by Beethoven, his Septet, and some improvisations at the piano by the composer. The critics were rather complimentary about all the works but the Beethoven symphony. The Eighth is the shortest of Beethoven’s symphonies, also probably the jolliest, with much of that “unbuttoned” humor so frequently ascribed to the composer.

Josef Krips’ cycle of Ludwig van Beethoven’s nine symphonies was recorded in 1960, originally on 35mm film for the Everest label, but this deluxe audiophile treatment was hardly apparent in several inferior-sounding reissues over the years. However, this situation has been rectified by Madacy, who reissued the Everest recordings in a fresh remastering from the original tapes. This recording is reasonably faithful to the professional but not fully polished sound of the London Symphony Orchestra, presenting the way it sounded before its rise to world-class status; the orchestra is quite smooth in a fairly reverberant acoustic that provides a pleasant aural effect. Krips may be grouped among conductors of the conventional approach to performing Beethoven that was prevalent in the mid-20th century, for his performances reflect a preference for a full-size orchestral scale, modern instruments, and homogenization of timbres. Interestingly, Krips’ tempos tend toward the fast side, which early music orchestras would later adopt as the norm for period practice, especially in Beethoven. These recordings of the symphonies are solidly played and consistently clear in reproduction, and first-time listeners seeking a bargain could hardly do better than to try this set. –Blair Sanderson

Tracklist:

01. London Symphony Orchestra, Josef Krips – Symphony No. 1 in C Major, Op. 21 – I. Adagio molto – Allegro con brio (09:17)
02. London Symphony Orchestra, Josef Krips – Symphony No. 1 in C Major, Op. 21 – II. Andante cantabile con moto (06:27)
03. London Symphony Orchestra, Josef Krips – Symphony No. 1 in C Major, Op. 21 – III. Menuetto: Allegro molto e vivace (03:53)
04. London Symphony Orchestra, Josef Krips – Symphony No. 1 in C Major, Op. 21 – IV. Finale: Adagio – Allegro molto e vivace (06:20)
05. London Symphony Orchestra, Josef Krips – Symphony No. 8 in F Major, Op. 93 – I. Allegro vivace e con brio (09:54)
06. London Symphony Orchestra, Josef Krips – Symphony No. 8 in F Major, Op. 93 – II. Allegretto scherzando (04:17)
07. London Symphony Orchestra, Josef Krips – Symphony No. 8 in F Major, Op. 93 – III. Tempo di Menuetto (05:25)
08. London Symphony Orchestra, Josef Krips – Symphony No. 8 in F Major, Op. 93 – IV. Allegro vivace (07:30)

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