|
|
|
|
|
|
HomeMusicClassicalFeatured Composers, A-ZBeethoven Symphonies Nos. 1 & 6 [Hybrid SACD] |
|
|  | | | Customer Reviews: | | | Average Customer Review:
Write an online review and share your thoughts with other customers.
 Get this for the First Symphony Nov 09, 2008
I've been listening to the Vanska Beethoven Symphony cycle as it's been released in installments by Bis. While most of them have been good-but-not-extraordinary performances, the recording of the 1st Symphony here shoots to the top of the charts -- especially if you like your Beethoven "lean and taut," as I do. I've been long hoping for a modern recording of the 1st Symphony that packs in the power and incisive playing of Toscanini from the early 1950s (RCA), or Paul Paray from the early days of stereo (Mercury). This one accomplishes that. The inspiration and the quality of music-making are truly outstanding. The 6th Symphony is sympathetically done, but isn't a chart-buster -- and of course, there are many great performances of that symphony in the catalog. But the 1st Symphony is very special.
[BTW, for those who are wondering whatever became of the Paray/DSO 1st Symphony recording that was never released by Mercury on CD, you can order this spectacular performance from the ReDiscoveries web site. That site also contains numerous other notable recordings that have never been commercially re-released on CD, such as an Antal Dorati/Minneapolis Symphony recording of Beethoven's "Eroica" Symphony that is an absolute stunner.]
16 of 16 found the following review helpful:
 Very Good Indeed Jan 30, 2008
I've been collecting Vanska's Beethoven cycle as it has been released by BIS. The past installments have impressed me as interesting, but not adding anything essential to the discography. With this release, I think I may have to re-evaluate the earlier installments. Frankly, this is some of the most interesting Beethoven I've heard in a long time.
I enjoyed the first movement of Symphony No. 1 and was enchanted by the second. The interpretation is both courtly and cheeky at once. Listen, for example, to the commentary of the horns as the string motives trip along. Those qualities carry over to the scherzo and finale.
The Pastoral maintains the high standards of the First. The first movement is cheerful, as it should be, with wonderful woodwind detail. The cello lines are nicely prominent, too. The Scene by the Brook moves along nicely without sounding perfunctory - a good thing in a movement that (for me at least) can sometimes overstay its welcome. The third movement peasants make merry with some punchy accents and a very bumptious quality to the dances. The storm makes a nice racket (great tympani whacks) and the finale is simply and beautifully played.
For what is worth, Vanska uses the recent Norman del Mar urtext editions - which probably doesn't make much difference unless you're listening with the scores. He also brings out a wealth of inner detail without allowing a mass of finicky detail to overwhelm the structure. I've also been collecting Haitink's London Symphony cycle (also on SACD) and definitely prefer Vanska's cycle both in interpretation and sound. BIS has given us a very lifelike representation of Orchestra Hall, Minneapolis. String tone, so often the downfall of digital recording, is very fine.
I've never cared much for Karajan's cycle from the 1960s (which I own in redbook CD, not the refurbished SACDs). I find it over-refined and calculated. Vanska is emerging as my pick for SACD. With works as extensively recorded as these symphonies, the listener is faced with a bewildering array of choices. I suspect I'll be listening to and learning from these recordings for a long time to come.
|
| | |
|
|
|
|
|
![Beethoven Symphonies Nos. 1 & 6 [Hybrid SACD]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51+B3RTqNeL._SL160_.jpg "Beethoven Symphonies Nos. 1 & 6 [Hybrid SACD]")
