Beethoven: Symphonies Nos 6 & 2 [download]

Gramophone Magazine’s Editor's Choice

Classic FM’s CD of the Week
'A fantastic performance - pure music-making by a great conductor and an orchestra that responds magnificently to his every request.'

'It is hard to imagine more profoundly satisfying accounts than these... The playing of the LSO is quite magnificent.'
BBC Music Magazine

'The fruitful influence of the historically minded period instrument movement on mainstream interpretation is vividly exemplified on this spanking disc by the LSO under a rejuvenated Bernard Haitink. The Second Symphony springs out at us with a freshness and intense physicality... but also with a most sensitive attention to detail... the Pastoral is a delight, recapturing the composer's excitement as he arrives in his beloved countryside.'
Sunday Times

'Outstandingly well played... There is a oneness of conception here which is superb - quite remarkable and ultimately wholly convincing. I'll let you into a secret: I have many recordings of the Beethoven symphonies in my collection but if anyone were to ask me which version of the Pastoral I would recommend, I would first of all direct them to this one.'
International Record Review

'Bernard Haitink elicits ravishing sounds from London Symphony... an undeniably great performance... Among the hundreds of recordings of this favorite work, you really can't do better.'
Dallas Morning News

'Utter composure and authority drawn from a lifetime of musical exploration inform Bernard Haitink's latest Beethoven release with the LSO. The attention to detail is breath-taking.'
The Scotsman