Beethoven-Harnoncourt: 9 Symphonies
When it was first released in 1991, this set created a furor. Nikolaus  Harnoncourt is famous as one of the pioneers of the "authentic  instrument" movement, but he is also a musician of deep insight and strong,  sometimes willful, interpretive gifts. He opts here for modern instruments  played in period style for strings and winds, but mixes them with antique brass  and percussion. The result is a truly fresh look at Beethoven that has worn well  over time. Harnoncourt naturally excels in the early works--the ones closest to  his 18th-century period of specialization. But he succeeds equally in the Big  Conductor Test pieces, like the Fifth and Seventh. The performances of the Sixth  and Ninth are more controversial, one being extremely relaxed (it is thePastoralsymphony after all), the other a bit lightweight. The sum total,  however, remains a major statement by one of the most provocative and important  conductors of our time.--David Hurwitz