"Presto favourites - Recommended recording: Karajan recorded the Complete Symphonies of Beethoven no fewer than 4 times for DG, but this first 1963 recording was financially the most daring, artistically the most radical, and commercially the most successful ... I'm sure it's possible to fill several pages simply discussing the relative merits of Herbert von Karajan's various recordings of the complete symphonies with the Berlin Philharmonic, but in the end I've plumped for the set first released in 1963. There's an intensity to the Funeral March of the Eroica, a warmth to the Pastoral and a grandeur to the Ninth that amazes me every time, with none of the heaviness that arguably crept into some of his later accounts with the same orchestra ... Presentation is a unique deluxe package full of nostalgic touches and rare Karajan photos ... Exemplary in every respect"