A live set of Beethoven's symphonies is almost guaranteed to have some flaws, and as much as one may enjoy the exciting playing on this 2006 Edinburgh Festival cycle by Charles Mackerras with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and the Philharmonia Orchestra, audio defects detract a little from the package. In the four discs with the first ensemble, there is an intermittent hiss that resembles faulty breathing or the excessive rustling of pages; this is most noticeable in the softer passages of slow movements, though it is ...
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A live set of Beethoven's symphonies is almost guaranteed to have some flaws, and as much as one may enjoy the exciting playing on this 2006 Edinburgh Festival cycle by Charles Mackerras with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and the Philharmonia Orchestra, audio defects detract a little from the package. In the four discs with the first ensemble, there is an intermittent hiss that resembles faulty breathing or the excessive rustling of pages; this is most noticeable in the softer passages of slow movements, though it is sometimes detectable in the Allegros. Furthermore, the microphone placement is close enough to the players that other incidental sounds were picked up, so sensitive listeners can find numerous spots where the reproduction is a little too faithful to reality. But these are minor problems for anyone who can get past surface distractions to appreciate the bravura style Mackerras brings to the SCO's performances of the symphonies Nos. 1 through 8, and the Philharmonia Orchestra's potent...
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