Ludwig Van Beethoven Münchner Philharmoniker The Nine Symphonies

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827) - Symphonies & Ouvertures
Anima Eterna / Jos van Immerseel
EAC+LOG+CUE | FLAC: 1,67 GB | Full Artwork | 5% Recovery Info
Label/Cat#: Zig Zag Territoires # ZZT080402.6 | Country/Year: France 2008
Genre: Classical | Style: Symphony

…As for the orchestral playing, it leaves nothing to be desired; intonation is true and ensemble is razor sharp. Anima Eterna captures the music’s raw energy and succeeds in coupling it with eloquence and warmth, resulting in a wonderful blend of soul and virtuosity. In the end, these are sterling performances, certainly capable of going toe-to-toe with the period-instrument competition and well worth the time and effort to open your wallet.

The Cologne-based historical-performance group Compagnia di Punto has mostly specialized in Baroque and Classical-period music, but here, perhaps due to the fact that the ill-fated year of 2020 marks Beethoven's 250th birthday, they offer arrangements of Beethoven's first three symphonies for a small orchestra. The group includes 13 players: four violinists, one each of viola, cello, and bass, two flutes, bassoon, and three horns. By now, most listeners realize that 19th century listeners, unable to just download the latest Beethoven symphony, relied on arrangements of this kind to hear new music, but the idea needs repetition and new recordings like this one.

Beethoven composed his Fifth and Sixth Symphonies more or less simultaneously during the years 1804-8, and they were both first performed in a memorable all-Beethoven concert in December 1808 that also featured the Fourth Piano Concerto (with Beethoven performing at the piano for the last time in public), the Choral Fantasy, and some other works. Despite being composed together, the Fifth and Sixth inhabit very different musical worlds. The fifth is a marvel of terse, dramatic writing, whereas the Sixth is more leisurely, frankly programmatic, and celebrates the glories of nature and the countryside.

Innerhalb kurzer Zeit entschied sich Claudio Abbado zweimal, zusammen mit seinen Berlinern die gesamten Beethoven Sinfonien aufzunehmen. Die vorliegende zweite Aufnahme muss sich also zurecht der Frage stellen: War das wirklich nötig? Die Antwort ist simpel: Es war nötig, denn Abbado nahm zahlreiche Schönheitskorrekturen vor, wodurch ein Zyklus entstand, der mit Abstand das Beste ist, was in den letzten Jahren auf diesem Gebiet vorgestellt wurde, allerdings mit einigen kleinen Schönheitsfehlern.

This is the second of Herbert von Karajan's three versions of this symphony for Deutsche Grammophon, and it's a very nice one. Karajan always did well by the orchestral portions of this symphony, playing them sort of like proto-Bruckner. In the finale, as in his 1963 recording, he seems to prefer a very light, backward-balanced choral sound that will not appeal to those who believe that Beethoven meant the words to be heard. That reservation aside, this performance can be recommended as typical of Karajan and the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra in top form.

Beethoven's Seventh Symphony was first performed in December 1812, in Vienna, and was an immediate hit. The second movement "allegretto" was applauded so loudly that it had to be repeated on the spot. The symphony was later dubbed "Apotheosis of the Dance" by Richard Wagner, in recognition of the strong rhythmic character of all four movements. The allegretto itself is one of Beethoven's, and music's, most inspired moments and has an otherworldly quality that has rarely been equaled before or since. The other three movements are noted for their liveliness and driving force.

Nikolaus Harnoncourt and his period orchestra, Concentus Musicus Wien, never recorded a complete cycle of the symphonies of Ludwig van Beethoven, and this 2016 Sony release is their only recording of the Symphony No. 4 in B flat major and the Symphony No. 5 in C minor, made almost ten months before the conductor's death. Harnoncourt planned for this to be his last recording before his retirement, so it inevitably has the feeling of a valedictory performance, and one can also hear it as the orchestra's warm tribute to its leader and his sterling musicianship. But beyond the well-deserved accolades, this is a truly fine live recording of one of the most famous symphonies of all time and its somewhat less loved sibling, so the musical value of this singular Beethoven disc is quite high. Because the Symphony No. 4 is often overlooked, it's gratifying that it opens the album, and listeners are well advised to try it first.

If not at the beginning of the opera, then surely with the well-known prisoner chorus “O welche Wonne!” everybody will recognise the outstanding quality of this Fidelio. Leonore’s “Töt erst sein Weib!”, sung by the soprano Anja Silja, is only one out of many deep emotional moments of this studio production of the Hamburg State Opera, recorded in 1968 under the artistic direction by Rolf Liebermann. This very natural set and unostentatious production goes without any wrong pathos and lives through its simple beauty, strong emotions and great musical moments. A reunion with great opera stars: Anja Silja as Leonore, Lucia Popp as Marzelline, Richard Cassilly as Florestan, Hans Sotin as Don Fernando und Theo Adam as Don Pizarro.

Ludwig van Beethoven - Symphonie Nr. 9 "Ode an die Freude"
Leonard Bernstein / Wiener Philharmoniker, Wiener Staatsopernchor / René Kollo
SACD ISO (MCH only): 3,79 GB | Full Artwork | 5% Recovery Info
Label/Cat#: Deutsche Grammophon "Eloquence" # 476 7368 | Country/Year: Germany 2005, 1980
Genre: Classical | Style: Viennese School

"…If you want this performance on SACD, you can't really go wrong since it at least sounds as good as the RBCD, and it's cheaper anyway than the RBCD-only version. I'm torn because I love this performance, but I can not rightfully give it high marks for sound. At least it's not as awful as the SACD job that was done on Karajan's second recording of the 9th." ~sa-cd.net

Ludwig van Beethoven - Symphonie Nr. 9 "Ode an die Freude"
Leonard Bernstein / Wiener Philharmoniker, Wiener Staatsopernchor / René Kollo
EAC+LOG+CUE | FLAC: 302 MB | Full Artwork: 26 MB | 5% Recovery Info
Label/Cat#: Deutsche Grammophon "Eloquence" # 476 7368 | Country/Year: Germany 2005, 1980
Genre: Classical | Style: Viennese School

"…If you want this performance on SACD, you can't really go wrong since it at least sounds as good as the RBCD, and it's cheaper anyway than the RBCD-only version. I'm torn because I love this performance, but I can not rightfully give it high marks for sound. At least it's not as awful as the SACD job that was done on Karajan's second recording of the 9th." ~sa-cd.net