…Y’know, a big, grandiose performance of Beethoven’s 9th, by a chorus or a choir, with orchestral accompaniment. The kind you’d hear in a trailer for “Die Hard.”
And preferably without an Organ…or at least, without an Organ that sounds like it was built for a cheesy 60s spy movie.
Any suggestions?
One good one, partly for historical reasons: Bernstein at the Berlin Wall
One I like a lot which some guidebooks recommend: An older Karajan/Berlin Phil recording
The version in this boxed set has long been considered on of the best, if I’m not mistaken. I had the LP long ago - Gundula Janowitz is amazing in it.
My favourite version is by the Berlin Philarmonic, conducted by Ferenc Fricsay. One of my heros, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau does a mighty fine job in the finale. Hard to beat, very hard.
I like that one also, and I like it even more when I think of the circumstances. But I’m quite a Lenny fan also.