Re Sound Beethoven

It's increasingly common to hear the symphonies of Ludwig van Beethoven played on original instruments and according to authentic period practices, which have become de rigueur for many contemporary conductors and orchestras. But Martin Haselböck and the Vienna Academy Orchestra go one step further by playing them in their original Viennese venues, thus creating something close to the sound and impact of the first performances. For this first installment of the Re-Sound Beethoven series, the Symphony No. 1 in C major was recorded in the Imperial and Royal National Court Theatre, where it was premiered in 1800, while the Symphony No. 2 in D major was recorded in the Theater an der Wien, the site of its debut in 1803.

Theatre Music - the dialogue in the service of great poetry - is the focus of this recording. We have already been able to perform Egmont with several renowned actors. That the part of the narrator is here taken by Herbert Föttinger, currently the director of the theatre for which Beethoven himself wrote music, is beautifully fitting. Christopher Hampton has modeled the combined texts of Goethe and Grillparzer into his poetic English translation. It fills us with great joy and gratitude that John Malkovich - with whom we have already had the pleasure of collaborating for several years - has taken on the part of the narrator in the English version.

The Orchester Wiener Akademie and its conductor Martin Haselböck continue their Resound Beethoven series. The aim of this series is to record the complete Beethoven symphonies on period instruments in the venues where they were first performed, scrupulously respecting the layout of the orchestra used 200 years ago. Volume 4 is devoted to the Symphony No. 3, “Eroica” and the Septet op.20. The recording took place in May 2016 in the Eroica Saal at the Palais Lobkowitz, where each symphony was premiered in 1804 and 1807, in private performances.

It was shortly before his forty-third birthday that Beethoven hit the jackpot. On the podium of the Great Hall of Vienna University, he conducted a spectacular charity event with a star-studded cast from the very top drawer. On that date, 8 December 1813, the success was so great that the concert had to be repeated four days later. For this event, Beethoven had taken an entertainment specialist on board: Johann Nepomuk Mälzel, ‘k. k. Hofmechanicus’ (Mechanic to the Imperial and Royal Court) by trade, an inventor as talented as he was crafty. From late summer to autumn 1813, assisted by Mälzel, Beethoven was engaged in the composition of Wellingtons Sieg (Wellington’s Victory).

It's increasingly common to hear the symphonies of Ludwig van Beethoven played on original instruments and according to authentic period practices, which have become de rigueur for many contemporary conductors and orchestras. But Martin Haselböck and the Vienna Academy Orchestra go one step further by playing them in their original Viennese venues, thus creating something close to the sound and impact of the first performances.

This live Appassionata, from a Moscow recital of 1959, is one of the most thrilling piano performances ever recorded. Sviatoslav Richter fills every moment of the first movement with intense drama, creates the illusion of total repose in the central variations, and then takes off in the finale with an exhibition of musical virtuosity and ever-increasing tension that becomes almost unbearably intense (and unbelievably fast and accurate). The studio Pathétique is quite fine, and the Fantasy (sung in Russian!) well performed by all but still rather quaint in its effect. But don't miss that Appassionata!

Recorded between 1964 and 1968, Paul Kletzki's respected cycle of Ludwig van Beethoven's symphonies on Supraphon rightly should be classified as a historical item for specialists, rather than as a recommended option for anyone seeking a great (and great sounding) modern set. Kletzki was an admired and popular conductor, noted for working with both European and American orchestras, and his interpretations of Beethoven are intelligent and insightful, regarded by some reviewers as among the finest of their time; the performances are still valuable for their musicality and significance among mid-20th century offerings.