This remastered collection is faithful to the original 1960 performances, which were recorded on 35mm film in order to accurately capture the orchestra. The music here is big, bright and beautiful, with full instrumentation and precise direction. It’s a perfect introduction to Beethoven’s symphony cycle, from the passionate highs and sweeping lows of "Eroica" to Symphony No. 9, fragments of which haunt the creations of so many subsequent composers as well as the scores of countless film and television works.
- Leonard Bernstein & New York Philharmonic
- George Szell & New York Philharmonic
- Academy of St Martin in the Fields & Sir Neville Marriner
- Dame Felicity Lott, Helen Watts, Harold Farberman, Brighton Festival Chorus & Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
- George Szell & The Cleveland Orchestra
- London Philharmonic Orchestra, David Parry & Finghin Collins
- Eugene Ormandy & The Philadelphia Orchestra