On 22 discs, here is the essential music of Ludwig van Beethoven: the complete symphonies, complete concertos, complete string quartets, the "name" sonatas and more, in definitive performances from the stars of the Deutsche Grammophon catalog. The complete 1962/63 Symphony Cycle of Herbert von Karajan and the Berlin Philharmonic, Maurizio Pollini's complete piano concertos, the eminent violinists; David Oistrakh, Anne Sophie-Mutter, and Gidon Kremer, Wilhelm Kempff's piano sonatas, the Amadeus, Emerson, and LaSalle String Quartets... in all, a star studded set unparalleled for performance standards in a single package.

BONUS DISC: The legendary recording of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony with Carlos Kleiber conducting the Vienna Philharmonic!

ON THE SYMPHONIES
"This Berlin Philharmonic [Symphony] cycle is one of the greatest Beethoven series ever committed to disc, both as orchestral performance and conductor's interpretation, and also as recording... This was the first set of the Nine to be planned, recorded and sold as an integral cycle. It was initially released as an eight-LP subscription set, handsomely boxed and annotated... That the cycle would be something remarkable, had been flagged in advance by the live concert cycles Karajan and the Berliners had given in Berlin, Paris, London and New York. “Karajan presented the symphonies plus high fidelity”, Sir Neville Cardus wrote in one of his London reviews. Though he remained out of love with much that Karajan did and stood for, even he could not withhold a certain gasp of wonder for Beethoven \playing of such pith and intensity…" Gramophone

ON THE STRING QUARTETS
"Turning to the Amadeus’s celebrated 1961 set of the complete Op. 18 Quartets (taped in the Beethovensaal)... Many readers will happily recall the salient features of these fine performances: powerful sforzandos, ample phrasal flexibility, taut development sections, occasional use of portamento, expressive vibrato (wider with Norbert Brainin than with his fellow musicians) and an immaculate sense of timing." -- Gramophone

"The [Emerson String Quartet] performances are certainly of exceptional quality – destined, I’d guess, to be regarded as one of the famous Beethoven sets in years to come. For one thing, it’s a great pleasure to hear these demanding works played by such a perfectly balanced group – one is aware of all the fascinating textural details as though listening with Beethoven’s mind’s eye, as it were. Still on the technical level, the Emerson have an apparently effortless rhythmical poise and control that enables them to adopt some very daring speeds (usually those of the composer’s own metronome indications), creating an atmosphere of intense excitement and unstoppable energy... The Emerson’s brilliant technique is allied to a firm collective musical grasp... these are performances of tremendous integrity and expertise; we can all be delighted and enlightened by them." -- Gramophone

"The long-disbanded LaSalle Quartet are nowadays celebrated primarily for their compelling recorded interpretations of twentieth-century music and these performances are notably attentive to the forward-looking elements in ‘late’ Beethoven, the minute gradations in dynamics (often within a single bar), the daring gestures (particularly in the Grosse Fuge) and the barely repressed Angst that tears at the outer movements of Op. 132. Above all, the LaSalle refuse to pussyfoot around the music; theirs is an urgent, life-affirming approach... They were made in the Beethovensaal, Hanover, between 1972 and 1977 and witnessed a change of cellist (Lee Fiser replacing Jack Kirstein), although all six performances bear the hallmarks of a superb quartet totally at one with some of the repertoire’s greatest music." -- Gramophone

ON THE PIANO SONATAS
"Kempff’s insight remains unsurpassed... the magic of Kempff leaves me in wonder, his magnetism, his unfailing sense of spontaneity, his ability to clarify textures with astonishingly clean articulation and sharp dynamic contrasts, and not least his lyrical flow, with extreme speeds generally avoided." -- Gramophone

ON THE PIANO CONCERTOS
"In Pollini's first Beethoven concerto... The beautifully structured opening tutti makes for compulsive listening. Jochum uses just the right amount of 'give' for the liquid second subject. Pollini contributes a compendium of his finest attributes throughout the performance: a staggering technique, great intellect and, in the second movement, real communion with the players of the Vienna Philharmonic (the clarinet solos are meltingly beautiful). Pollini's sound is positively glacial, enabling the most intricate detail to come through. He opts for the long third cadenza in the first movement, bringing an (uncharacteristic?) wit to its end. If the Rondo is not entirely 'scherzando', it remains entirely consistent with Pollini's vision." -- MusicWeb International

"Pollini's 1976 recording of the G major Concerto with Bohm is masterly, one of the finest in the catalogue." -- Gramophone

ON THE PIANO TRIOS
"Central here are the performances by the Kempff-Szeryng-Fournier Trio, recorded in 1969-70 and sounding warm and clear in these transfers. As interpretations they are consistently remarkably natural, whether searching the depths in slow movements or delighting in the wit of Beethoven’s scherzos... it’s hard to think of a better all-round recommendation." -- Gramophone