Herbert von Karajan (1908-1989) recorded these two famous Beethoven Symphonies in 1982, as part of his final testament Beethoven Symphony cycle. It was his 4th cycle, the other 3 being for EMI (Philharmonia Orchestra, London - mono sound, from the mid 1950s); with the Berlin Philharmonic in 1961-62 and Berlin in 1975-77, both for DG. The latest cycle showed Karajan in less than perfect form: a painful spinal condition was taking a toll on him, and some critics believe his recordings of the 1980s to be less successful than the earlier ones.