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I have heard and owned many recordings of Beethoven's 5th. This one is hands down the best of them all. The only one that is in the ballpark is Klieber with the Vienna symphony. The medium tempo, strong string balance, precision, and interpretation are right on for my personal tastes.
Reviewed in the United States on November 18, 2007
I purchased this CD in 1990, and both my children grew up listening to it on road trips, often yelling with the windows open and at full blast. This capture of the 1963 NY Philharmonic, and the incomparable Bernstein, is flat-out my favorite piece of music. The CD started skipping three minutes into the first movement about five years ago; I polished the disc with toothpaste, hoping for lengthened life. It lasted until this past Summer. I can't stand fast-forwarding past the skip anymore, so between Google and Amazon, I will have a new copy of this wonderful work.
Strengths: - Bernstein's sublime recording of the 5th with the New York Philharmonic.
Weaknesses: - The 1st and 4th movements of the 5th symphony are missing the exponential repeats. It is Sony's sneaky way to cram two symphonies into one CD. - Schubert's 'Unfinished' Symphony is merely a filler. There are better options to consider (such as Giulini's 1978 recording with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra).
Additional comments: If you're interested in listening to the complete recording of Bernstein 1963 reading of the 5th symphony, look for the Bernstein Century edition or The Royal Edition (or get the LP edition). Both of these editions include the complete recording with the repeats of the exposition theme in the 1st and 4th movement. What Sony did here is unacceptable and is more or less of a scam.
The original vinyl LP, Columbia MS 6465, proudly announced that this recording was a rare complete performance with all repeats observed "exactly as Beethoven directed". When this CD came out, 1985, the repeats had been neatly hacked away, totally disfiguring one of the better recording Beethoven's 5th had ever received. What is worse, the timings on the CD are the same as listed on the original LP -- this is a big fat LIE! (The total timings listed on the CD are about 3'30" short of the actual times, with cuts taken to the 1st and 4th movements.) Therefore, one cannot look at the CDs listed track timings and feel comfort that anything is correct. I hope some of the other CDs released with this performance do present it correct and un-butchered, but this one for the scrap pile. To add insult to injury, I just listened to above referenced LP, and can report that the audio quality on my 50+ year old record sounds MUCH better than this particular CD. A complete loss. This review is written only as a warning to anyone considering this particular release -- CBS Masterworks, MYK 36719 -- try to find a different issue, don't buy this one!
Follow up: THIS release has the symphony uncut -- Beethoven: Symphony No. 5 . It also has some weirdness, read the reviews there; but the main piece is presented complete, and the timings on it are correct. I still like the original LP, a gift from a most dear friend, better; that good sound just has not been recaptured on the CD.
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