Rating: 
Summary: Video quality substandard
Review: This performance of the 9th symphony by von Karajan is certainly not his best (I refer to the 1963 recording). But more disturbing is the low picture quality and the highly sterile and colorless images of the concert. The absence of an audience is well noted. In general there is a lack of good classical music dvd.
Rating: 
Summary: Top music, top DVD, Camerawork could improve
Review: This was my first music DVD, and it really shows the power of the medium. Beethoven's 9th is a top, maybe the top musical piece in the world. When seeing the orchestra actually perform this, in only rises in greatness.To say one thing that can be improved: I found the camera perspective too narrow. Only closeups of Karajan and the then current lead instrument. On TV I saw another 9th of Beethoven, recorded in Leipzig, and here you also had full overviews of the Orchestra and Choir. I found that visually more pleasing than just these closeups.
Rating: 
Summary: A Milestone
Review: This was one of my first classical DVDs, because too few are available. - Manufacturers, wake up! - I have all of Karajan's published (and some unpublished) recordings of Beethoven's 9th. Although this is not his best effort, it still outclasses any performance or recording you would be likely to hear today: good by Karajan's standards is excellent for anyone else! And this is a good performance in excellent sound. The remix to 5.1 Dolby is fantastic and provides real depth to the famous BPO sound under Karajan. The orchestra will amaze you; their precision is literally unmatched. The chorus is also in wonderful form. For me, the biggest drawback was the singing of Franz Grundheber (bass soloist), whose voice has never really impressed me. (You can also hear him as Wozzeck in Abbado's recording for DGG.) He is imprecise and lacks projection. (Too bad that Jose van Dam was not on hand; he had sung to much better effect in this symphony in Karajan's two previous recordings.) The rest of the soloists are fine. In particular, I always enjoy Vinson Cole, a wonderful tenor from Kansas City, whom Karajan more or less discovered. Karajan's ideas about the presentation of symphonic music in video format were evolving even at the time of his death. He had come to realize that the orchestra had to be shown to some extent, but he still maintained that the focus should be on the conductor. The various instrumentalists are shown somewhat idealized, and obviously many close-ups were taken separately from the actual performance. The overall emphasis is on Karajan, not the orchestra or chorus. When you do see them, they are generally not presented as individual musicians but either as part of a section or as people holding an instrument or singing the words. Some may be bothered by this and understandably so, but there are many wonderful shots of Karajan in action. And the overall style is very tasteful and artistic once you grow accustomed to it. Make no mistakes though: This is not a concert film! It is a recording, just as most of Karajan's official releases had always been and therefore is obviously produced and the product of a studio performance (albeit in the Philharmonie). Yet what we see on this DVD is exactly what Karajan intended for us to see and hear. As he was certainly one of the greatest conductor's of all time, I feel that it is a privilege to be able to do so. What better way could there be to see and hear this performance than on DVD with its fantastic picture and sound? [In case anyone wonders: I am an avid collector of CDs and have almost everything Karajan ever recorded. I teach music history at the college level.]
Rating: 
Summary: THIS GUY THINKS HE'S BIGGER THAN BEETHOVEN!!!!! Not!
Review: This was one of THE worst productions of Beethoven's 9th symphony.
I can't believe how egotistical Karajan was.
The camera focuses on Karajan the majority of time as you see and hear his robotic cold and detached conducting which results in a total lack of inspiration from this awesome ensemble.
What gets me is that this guy has no down beat and there are moments in the symphony where the orchestra falls apart and plays out of sync due to his vague direction.
There are moments when you can see an audience behind Karajan's head but they are blurred out so that we only see the megalomaniac in all his glory.
We never see a full view of the entire orchestra and we only see part of a section when the whole section is playing.
What is this????
When it's time for the choir to sing we again only see part of the choir instead of the entire group which would make it a more grand and exciting event from a visual standpoint.
The symphony ends but there's no applause and no bows....it just ends.
THIS IS A FIASCO.
Don't waste your money on this total disater like i did.
Hopefully we can find a conductor who will better serve Beethoven rather than his own overinflated ego.
Oscar F. P.S. Suggestions for authentic master conductors of Beethoven:George Szell, The great german maestro Wilhelm Furtwangler, Erich Kleiber.
Rating:
Summary: Good but not Great
Review: You won't get the good sound effect on this DVD. Buy it if you care about seeing Karajan conducting. Don't if you expect multi angles and surround sound quality you may expect from movie DVDs. A CD will give you the same sound quality at a lower cost.
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