Herbert von Karajan established himself as one of the 20th century’s greatest conductors, both in live performances and on recordings. Taken from the first of Karajan’s four Beethoven symphony cycles, made in the splendid acoustic of London’s Kingsway Hall, these are beautifully polished readings that traverse the decades with ease. The Karajan trademarks of ‘perfection of balance and blend’ can be heard, for example, in the beautifully pointed woodwind chording and weight of the pizzicatos at the opening of Symphony No. 1. No less telling is the opening of Symphony No. 3, which begins at a scorching pace, accents strong yet considered, followed by a broadly-based account of the Marcia funebre second movement which, while retaining Karajan’s exacting approach, does not smooth out dissonance.