Top Complete Sets

Fourteen exceptional cycles

With so many complete cycles having been recorded and released, it is hardly surprising that some are truly outstanding. I have selected 14 exceptional cycles, presented here in alphabetical order:

Daniel BarenboimStaatskapelle Berlin · Teldec/Warner · 6 h 18 min
Herbert BlomstedtGewandhausorchester Leipzig · Accentus Music · 5 h 49 min
Frans BrüggenOrchestra of the 18th Century · Glossa · 5 h 58 min
André CluytensBerliner Philharmoniker · Erato/Warner · 5 h 57 min
Christoph von DohnányiCleveland Orchestra · Telarc · 5 h 37 min
Paavo JärviThe Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen · RCA · 5 h 29 min
Eugen JochumLondon Symphony Orchestra · EMI/Warner · 6 h 13 min
Herbert von KarajanBerliner Philharmoniker · Deutsche Grammophon · 5 h 25 min
Otto KlempererPhilharmonia Orchestra · EMI/Warner · 6 h 21 min
Paul KletzkiCzech Philharmonic Orchestra · Supraphon · 5 h 45 min
Sir Charles MackerrasRoyal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra · EMI/Warner et al. · 5 h 26 min
George SzellCleveland Orchestra · Sony · 5 h 41 min
Bruno WalterColumbia Symphony Orchestra · Sony · 5 h 50 min
Günter WandNDR Sinfonieorchester · RCA · 5 h 54 min

If pressed to choose, I would single out the cycles conducted by George Szell in Cleveland (Sony) and Günter Wand in Hamburg (RCA) as the finest of them all.