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BEETHOVEN 2020 PLAYON

DG presents the most modern and complete set of Beethoven’s work ever issued:

175 hours of music on 118 CDs, 2 DVDs and 3 Blu-ray Audios

BTHVN 2020
The New Complete Edition

Released: November 1, 2019.
ORDER HERE

Limited edition – limited remaining availability

This limited edition is largely sold out through regular retailers. Remaining stock and pre-owned copies may still be available through Amazon and eBay.
Availability may vary.

 

Beethoven Edition Packshot exploded

175
hours of music

250
legendary performers

118
CDs

9
genres

  • Assembled in cooperation with Decca and 10 other labels, it includes many alternative performances including three complete symphony cycles.

  • The Edition includes over 250 legendary performers from Gilels to Gardiner, Amadeus Quartet to Arrau, Furtwangler to Fischer-Dieskau, Kempff to Karajan, Böhm to Brendel, Menuhin to Mutter and Perahia to Pollini.

  • Leading Beethoven scholars have contributed to the editorial.

  • Over 150 minutes of new recordings, including several world premieres recorded especially for this edition by Lang Lang and Daniel Hope.

  • The Edition has been compiled in partnership with the Beethoven-Haus Bonn, the only Complete Edition with support of the official Beethoven 2020 foundation. It was unveiled to journalists at a press conference on September 3 at the Beethoven-Haus in Bonn together with Daniel Hope and Andris Nelsons.
  • 118 CDs divided into 9 genres

  • DVDs: Fidelio (Bernstein) and Symphonies nos. 4 & 7 (Kleiber)

  • 3 BD Audio: Symphonies (Karajan) / Piano Sonatas (Kempff) / Quartets (Amadeus Quartet)

  • Colour-coded for easy navigation

  • Lavishly illustrated hardback book with new essay by Christine Siegert, introductory note by Barry Cooper and a biography in pictures, alphabetical work index & artist index

  • 9 softcover books with track listings, notes and sung texts (EN/DE), illustrations, and full recording information

  • Limited & numbered edition 

NEW RECORDINGS

Following the complete cycles of symphonies and piano concertos from Andris Nelsons and Jan Lisiecki respectively we now present further new recordings with Anne-Sophie Mutter and Daniel Barenboim, Maurizio Pollini, Matthias Goerne and Jan Lisiecki, and Rudolf Buchbinder. More to come as we progress through the year.

STREAMING ALBUMS

Our entire New Complete Edition is available on streaming services. But in order to make it navigable we split it into the following 16 groupings.

NEW CATALOGUE RELEASES

On Christmas day 1989 Leonard Bernstein gave two concerts of Beethoven’s 9th either side of the Berlin Wall. This recording has earnt itself a special place in history. Wilhelm Kempff’s cycle of the complete piano sonatas from the 1960’s and Friedrich Gulda and Pierre Fournier’s complete cello and piano sonatas are further examples of legendary recordings that we now re-release remastered in High Definition Pure Audio. These lead our rolling schedule of re-releases from our Beethoven catalogue through 2020.

WILHELM KEMPFF - COMPLETE BEETHOVEN SONATAS

The Complete Piano Sonatas – performed by Wilhelm Kempff

Reviewing the reissue of this Beethoven sonata cycle in 1997, remastered with “noticeably improved sound”, Gramophone critic Edward Greenfield wrote: “Once again, Kempff’s magic leaves me in awe: his charm, his inexhaustible sense of spontaneity, his ability to define textures with astonishingly clean articulation and sharp dynamic contrasts and, last but not least, his lyrical, flowing rhythm, always avoiding extreme speed.”

CULT ALBUMS

In the course of the Beethoven year, 25 top journalists from all over the world will present their "cult album" from the Deutsche Grammophon archives. Watch the latest video #15 - by Thomas Michelsen (Politiken, Denmark) on Piano Sonatas Nos 8, 14, 21 & 23 by Wilhelm Kempff. See the album below and watch the video in the video section.

Beethoven 2020 Gardiner Syms black
John Eliot Gardiner

Complete Symphonies

Recs.: November 1991 (No. 2), October 1992 (Nos. 6 & 9), December 1992 (Nos. 7 & 8), March 1993 (Nos. 1, 3 & 4) & March 1994 (No. 5). Performed on period instruments.

HERMANN SCHERCHEN - COMPLETE SYMPHONY CYCLE & OVERTURES

This is not Scherchen’s Beethoven, it’s Beethoven’s Beethoven. Originally recorded between 1951 and 1954 for the Westminster label, this mono cycle is a hidden gem for Beethoven year. Yet nothing in this set sounds like the 1950s: neither Hermann Scherchen’s compelling, almost contemporary approach to Beethoven nor the sound quality (in most cases) suggests a purely historical reissue. As Scherchen’s producer at Westminster, Kurt List, put it: ‘With Scherchen, the result is never boring and never leaves you indifferent.’ Scherchen’s interpretation remains breathtaking and reflects his personal principle: ‘Music need not be understood. It must be heard.’

Available as a digital album and as an 8-CD set.

A VERY QUICK GUIDE TO BEETHOVEN

In just under 75 minutes, we explore the musical legacy he left us. Discover everything you need to know about Beethoven across six digital albums spanning a range of genres, and listen to the essence of his music in excerpts that take you straight to the heart of his best-known works. Ready? Let’s go!

Beethoven: The Piano Sonatas in under 15 minutes

Sonatas

The Piano Sonatas in under 15 minutes
Beethoven: The Piano Concertos in under 10 minutes

Concertos

The Piano Concertos in under 10 minutes

DANIEL BARENBOIM - THE VISUAL CONCERTO ALBUMS

Daniel Barenboim conducts all five of Beethoven’s piano concertos from the piano, leading his orchestra, the Staatskapelle Berlin, with whom he has worked for almost two decades. As part of the digitisation of the Deutsche Grammophon archive, and in collaboration with EuroArts, we are delighted to present these performances as Visual Albums. Daniel Barenboim is one of the most prolific and distinguished artists on the international stage today.

WILLIAM STEINBERG - THE SYMPHONIES

William Steinberg’s understated, self-effacing approach to Beethoven was warmly received by critics, who praised the conductor for letting the works speak for themselves. High Fidelity, then the leading classical music magazine in the United States, wrote: ‘Steinberg does not romanticise the music, but he knows how to turn a good phrase and draw out a singing line.’ We are presenting the symphonies together on CD for the first time in a 5-CD set, as well as digitally as individual symphony albums.

CLAUDIO ABBADO - THE VISUAL SYMPHONY COLLECTION

Claudio Abbado and the Berlin Philharmonic received an enthusiastic response to their Beethoven cycle, performed in February 2001 at the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome. Every performance was met with standing ovations, and critics described them as landmark moments in music history. Claudio Abbado’s symphony cycle is available as individual Visual Albums.

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