“I own both Seiji Ozawa's performances of this work. They are the best, in my opinion, in a crowded field. There are two contradictory aspects to Carmina Burana. The lyrics is secular, sensuous, and worldly. On the other hand, Orff thought of these poems and his music as "most spiritual." While the lyrics can hardly lend itself to a spiritual interpretation, the music can. Hence, an interpreter of the work will have to make a choice: either convey the spiritual dimension of the music or the sensuous dimension. Most performances of this work lack a clear orientation; the work ends up lacking character. The reason I think that Ozawa's performances are the best is because his performance with the Boston Symphony Orchestra (RCA label) captures the spiritual dimension of this work better than any other performance, and his later performance with the Berlin Philharmonic (Philips label) captures the sensuous dimension most splendidly. You have to listen to these performances back to back to appreciate their opposing character and dimension. No other performances come closer to capturing these opposing aspects of the work than Ozawa's. The Boston performance is slower in tempo, more subdued, and more restrained; the singing is a little hushed, very sweet, and angelical. The Berlin performance is fast in tempo, loud, and very pronounced; the singing is very bright, overpowering, less sweet but lustful. Both performances are majestic, technically precise, and nearly perfect. If you want to own the best performances of Carmina Burana, you should buy these two CDs. You will have the best two possible worlds.”--a customer