Barnes & Noble

This celebrated set, recorded in 1961-62, is generally considered the best of Herbert von Karajan's four Beethoven symphony cycles. (His cycles from the 1950s, 1970s, and 1980s are also available.) Karajan had trained the Berlin Philharmonic to produce an ultra-smooth sound -- the conductor's trademark -- yet their playing crackles with energy. The recorded sound has held up amazingly well, especially in this latest remastering. At budget price, this is a real bargain.

Gramophone

The real gem of the 1962 Karajan cycle was the Fourth Symphony...a miraculously poetic and fleet-footed reading that was sui generis. Karajan never played it like that again on record.

Washington Post

Karajan's recording with the Berlin Philharmonic on Deutsche Grammophon, which dates from the early 1960s, still sounds spectacular.... It is, if you like, a set of interpretations that sticks fairly close to the proverbial 50-yard line; there are no eccentricities and few surprises in Karajan's performances. But the recordings wear well -- and Beethoven himself offers enough surprises to keep us interested, time after time. Tim Page

Penguin Guide to Compact Discs

Of Karajan's four recorded cycles, the 1961-2 set is the most compelling, combining high polish with a biting sense of urgency and spontaneity.... Incandescent performances, superbly played.