Shopping for THE Best Beethoven "Ode To Joy" Recording

posted by swampgirl

10 months 2 weeks ago • 899 views

My 9yr old son's piano teacher gave him Beethoven's "Ode To Joy" (for beginner

) Because he asked for more exciting music..and "because he likes to play hard"

Well she gave him this song and he loves it so much he wants to hear the real deal! We saw some clips on YT w/ the choral part that's so great.. but the quality is well..youtubish.

Youtube just isn't cutting it. He can't get his work done for humming it.

I'm shopping I-tunes for a download right now, but I want to make sure I get the most kick ass orchestral performance of the 9th Symphony EVAR

Any suggestions?

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I'd go for anything done by the Vienna Philharmonic.

Or maybe this:

written by rasch187

| 10 months 2 weeks ago | CH

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LOL^ You did it! Brought a tear to my eye, Rasch

written by swampgirl

| 10 months 2 weeks ago | CH

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Herbert von Karajan, Berliner Philharmoniker, Wiener Singverein, New Year's Eve 1977 in Berlin

Amazon link ... if you really like the 9th, this one will blow your brains out. Well, maybe not. But it's a good one.

It's on YT as well, here's the first part of the first movement. If it wasn't out of sync, i would have sifted it a long time ago.

written by radx

| 10 months 2 weeks ago | CH

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Austrian conductor Herbert von Karajan is still considered to be one of the greatest conductors of the 20th century, and you can buy his MP3 of Symphony #9 at Amazon.com for $8.99. Or if you feel like splurging, you can buy all nine Beethoven symphonies (conducted by Karajan) for $22.97.

I don't recommend iTunes because of the goddamn DRM they still use. All of Amazon.com's MP3 dowloads are DRM-free.

One more thing: Karajan was a member of the Nazi party from 1933 to 1939. I don't know how important that is to you in regards to this purchase, but many Jewish musicians refused to play for him, so I think it's only fair that you know.

written by kronosposeidon

| 10 months 2 weeks ago | CH

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D'oh! Radx beat me to pointing out Karajan while I was typing my response. Notice how we both pointed out Amazon.com. I'm not trying to push Amazon.com, but I think you should avoid iTunes.

written by kronosposeidon

| 10 months 2 weeks ago | CH

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Don't worry, they're all equally primitive and unnecessary.

written by gorillaman

| 10 months 2 weeks ago | CH

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>> ^kronosposeidon:
I don't recommend iTunes because of the goddamn DRM they still use.

Not any more:

"The big news about the iTunes music store is that every song on the store is going to be DRM (Digital Restriction Management)-free by the end of this quarter."

I know you want to get as great a rendition and recording as possible, but really - it's the 9th. I don't think a crappy version exists, does it?

written by jonny

| 10 months 2 weeks ago | CH

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Well, I just downloaded the one KP and Radx recommended.. I've been listening to it all afternoon. Great guys, thanks.

written by swampgirl

| 10 months 2 weeks ago | CH

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I did not know that about iTunes, jonny. That's good news.

However the MP3's at amazon.com are 256 kbps/sec, while iTunes use 128 kbps/sec .m4a encoding, which I understand makes them equivalent as far audio quality is concerned. Am I wrong?

written by kronosposeidon

| 10 months 2 weeks ago | CH

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