This is a truly great Beethoven cycle, containing fantastic performances of Symphonies 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, and 9, and pretty fine versions of all the others. The Dresden Staatskapelle is the finest orchestra in Germany, a fact that was concealed for many years by its isolation behind the Iron Curtain, and by the marketing hype promulgated by Herbert von Karajan and Deutsche Grammophon in favor of the ...