The #BeethovenOdyssey #Symphony2 #Top20 Chart
1/ The deeply classical countdown of my 20 favourite recordings. Which version will be my #Beethoven2020 #1 choice for #Beethoven Symphony No. 2?
1/ The deeply classical countdown of my 20 favourite recordings. Which version will be my #Beethoven2020 #1 choice for #Beethoven Symphony No. 2?
2/ I'll give 5 special awards along the way:
* A mono-era #HistoricChoice
* A #ClassicChoice from the age of stereo LP
* An #80s/#90s #CDChoice
* A shiny new #21stCenturyChoice
* An original-instrument #PeriodChoice
All leading to my #TopChoice.
* A mono-era #HistoricChoice
* A #ClassicChoice from the age of stereo LP
* An #80s/#90s #CDChoice
* A shiny new #21stCenturyChoice
* An original-instrument #PeriodChoice
All leading to my #TopChoice.
3/ It's quite a challenge to satisfy all the symphony's demands. Let's remind ourselves of its special qualities. What makes a great performance?
4/ A great performance needs Mozartian warmth and Haydnesque wit to acknowledge Beethoven's heritage. It's not the Eroica, but its dynamic drama and constant contrasts are a giant leap forward from Symphony No. 1. A performance that's inflated or too polite is dead in the water.
5/ It needs operatic drama, comic timing, vocal phrasing and a singing line. It must bring out all the colour in Beethoven's unprecedented orchestral palette. It must evoke the strangeness and shock felt by the music's first performers and listeners. This is not easy listening.
6/ It must have exhilarating momentum, yet also leave space for all the score's extraordinary details, and I want those details to make musical sense in the small and in the large. Above all, a great performance sparks joy from beginning to end.
7/ Follow my @Spotify playlist as I count down my choices through the weekend. Two of my #Top20 aren't available to stream, so I've included the two recordings that it most hurt me to leave out, by René Leibowitz and Günter Wand (sorry @Ruralmaestro). open.spotify.com/playlist/0JVkd…
8/ That's enough talking the talk. It's time for me to walk the walk.
9/ #20 London Classical Players, Roger Norrington 1987
Old instruments, new music: the pounding timpani, braying horns, limpid winds and sinewy strings of this @GramophoneMag award winner changed the sound of Beethoven forever. Transparent, vivid, immediate. @WarnerClassics
Old instruments, new music: the pounding timpani, braying horns, limpid winds and sinewy strings of this @GramophoneMag award winner changed the sound of Beethoven forever. Transparent, vivid, immediate. @WarnerClassics
10/ Impish energy and surprising poise from Norrington. A few details mar my pleasure: trumpets overblow the close of I, and I've heard more moving larghettos. Horns, so revelatory in the #80s, can sound too forward now. It's still a remarkable blueprint for future Beethoven.
11/ #19 @londonsymphony, Felix Weingartner 1938
Half a century earlier another London recording set new standards. Weingartner knows No. 2 is something new and gives it more weight than #1 without inflation. Natural authority, integrity and warmth. @naxosrecords
Half a century earlier another London recording set new standards. Weingartner knows No. 2 is something new and gives it more weight than #1 without inflation. Natural authority, integrity and warmth. @naxosrecords
12/ Weingartner shows that good orchestral balance depends as much on musical sensitivity as on the instruments used or number of players. Touches of portamento provide period flavour. The scherzo's rhythmic bounce is a joy. Only the finale's unmarked slowings tempered my joy.
13/ #18 @liverpoolphil, Sir Charles Mackerras 1998 @WarnerClassics
Mackerras delivers Norrington's impact, transparency and bold brass attack on an orchestra that Weingartner would have recognized. The Mozartian sweetness, charm and irrepressible zest are all his own.
Mackerras delivers Norrington's impact, transparency and bold brass attack on an orchestra that Weingartner would have recognized. The Mozartian sweetness, charm and irrepressible zest are all his own.
14/ Armed with @Baerenreiter's critical edition, Mackerras and his responsive wind players unearth details once thoughtlessly buried, and speeds close to Beethoven's metronome marks sound easy. All is sweetness and light; are Beethoven's few moments of darkness underplayed?
15/ #17 @mn_orchestra @OsmoVanska 2008 #BISRecords
All Mackerras's transparency and impact, plus an old-school heft rarely heard in the last 40 years. In demonstration sound, Vänskä illuminates details spurned by even Mackerras; try the infamous bar 7 (00:34-7) for a shock.
All Mackerras's transparency and impact, plus an old-school heft rarely heard in the last 40 years. In demonstration sound, Vänskä illuminates details spurned by even Mackerras; try the infamous bar 7 (00:34-7) for a shock.
16/ Steady speeds are still exhilarating thanks to a rock-solid rhythmic foundation. There's space for hoardes of detail, some of which (like that notorious bar 7) can sound didactic. The mood is rather serious too; the surface shines but there could be more twinkle in the eye.
17/ #16 @ConcertgbOrkest, Rafael Kubelik 1974 @DGclassics
Even more spacious and full-bodied than Vänskä, the lush sustained sonority gives the symphony a special Romantic glow. Singing tone and supple phrasing impart remarkable human warmth to the Larghetto's tender lyricism.
Even more spacious and full-bodied than Vänskä, the lush sustained sonority gives the symphony a special Romantic glow. Singing tone and supple phrasing impart remarkable human warmth to the Larghetto's tender lyricism.
18/ This Beethoven wraps you in a comforting embrace. Warm winds and burnished brass make a more seductive sonority than any other account in my survey, but its strength is also its Achilles Heel when I'm in search of a performance to get my adrenaline pumping.
19/ #15 Danish Chamber Orchestra, Ádám Fischer 2019 @naxosrecords
Are there still new things to say about this symphony? You'd better believe it! Fischer invests bar after bar with witty surprise and theatrical flair, and what can be more authentically Beethovenian than that?
Are there still new things to say about this symphony? You'd better believe it! Fischer invests bar after bar with witty surprise and theatrical flair, and what can be more authentically Beethovenian than that?
20/ Fischer teases tempi with playful glee; each marked pause (and quite a few that aren't) becomes a joke delivered with impeccable comic timing. I could pine for Kubelik's depth of tone, but Fischer's free-flowing effervescence lifts my spirits so high I often forget to care.
21/ #14 Saarbrücken RSO, Stanislaw Skrowaczewski 2006 @OehmsClassics
Horns stab dabs of primary colour across the introduction's canvas. String runs fudged by other sections are crystal-clear here. Firm bass delivers plenty of body as fast music drives demonically forward.
Horns stab dabs of primary colour across the introduction's canvas. String runs fudged by other sections are crystal-clear here. Firm bass delivers plenty of body as fast music drives demonically forward.
22/ Wonderfully played and thrillingly paced, this was @robccowan's choice on @BBCRadio3 #RecordReview. Yet the relentless drive feels slightly rigid to me, and odd details stand out, like an ugly unmarked crescendo in the trio (1:54). The recording recesses the winds a bit too.
23/ #13 @Orchestra18c, Frans Brüggen 2011
Period performance, but which period? Horns and bassoons snarl and gurgle like prehistoric beasts rising hungry from their swamp. Brüggen paces and weights the music as if possessed by the restless spirits of Klemperer or Furtwängler.
Period performance, but which period? Horns and bassoons snarl and gurgle like prehistoric beasts rising hungry from their swamp. Brüggen paces and weights the music as if possessed by the restless spirits of Klemperer or Furtwängler.
24/ It achieves its effect not by nimble speed, but by mass and momentum. The contrast with other period performances couldn't be starker: where they are light and mercurial, this has the weight, gait and bite of a Tyrannosaurus Rex rampaging through primeval forest.
25/ #12 @StaatskapelleDD, Herbert Blomstedt 1976 @Brilliantclas6
Kubelik's lyrical warmth plus an epic tread making even Brüggen sound impatient. Limitless string tone bathes the Larghetto in a luminous glow, while basses summon an extra bottom octave denied to mere mortals.
Kubelik's lyrical warmth plus an epic tread making even Brüggen sound impatient. Limitless string tone bathes the Larghetto in a luminous glow, while basses summon an extra bottom octave denied to mere mortals.
26/ Touches of deft timing (finale, 6:15-20) leaven Blomstedt's lofty style. Elegantly phrased melodic lines float on a cushion of air so stately speeds never drag. The huge string sound never obscures the glowing winds, burnished horns or timpani that cut through with ease.
27/ #11 @DKAMbremen, @paavo_jarvi 2009 (RCA/@sony_classical)
A sweet-toned modern chamber orchestra that captures the transparency and bold colour pioneered by period performance. Like a flyweight boxing champion it's supple and athletic, yet surprisingly hard-hitting.
A sweet-toned modern chamber orchestra that captures the transparency and bold colour pioneered by period performance. Like a flyweight boxing champion it's supple and athletic, yet surprisingly hard-hitting.
28/ Vibrant, nuanced, scrupulously balanced in superb sound: no one sees further into Beethoven's orchestration. Players phrase with the individual freedom of great soloists, yet it's all so unanimous. If this were a lightweight instead of a flyweight, it would be in my #Top10.
29/ 10 exceptional recordings down; 10 that I find even more satisfying still to come: it's the #BeethovenOdyssey #Beethoven #Symphony2 #Top10.
30/ #10 @philharmonia Otto Klemperer 1960
I've found 5 accounts of No. 2 by the King of Big Beethoven. This is marginally my favourite. Brüggen, Blomstedt and Kubelik are broad; Brüggen's world sounds almost prehistoric; but Klemperer's timescales feel like geological epochs.
I've found 5 accounts of No. 2 by the King of Big Beethoven. This is marginally my favourite. Brüggen, Blomstedt and Kubelik are broad; Brüggen's world sounds almost prehistoric; but Klemperer's timescales feel like geological epochs.
31/ Subterranean timpani pound like Thor's hammer to carve out orchestral textures so craggy they seem to have been hewn from rock. There's a cosmic grandeur to the flow, like a galaxy forming under the inevitable force of gravity. This is Beethoven you just can't argue with.
32/ #9 @ChambOrchEurope, Nikolaus Harnoncourt 1991
"Music is not there to soothe people's nerves" says Nik. He's true to his word: slashing brass and earth-trembling timpani give the listener "a good shaking" throughout an introduction matching Klemperer for cosmic grandeur.
"Music is not there to soothe people's nerves" says Nik. He's true to his word: slashing brass and earth-trembling timpani give the listener "a good shaking" throughout an introduction matching Klemperer for cosmic grandeur.
33/ The pugnacious first movement is almost intimidating, chamber forces punching well above their weight; yet the moonlit Larghetto could hardly be more serene. The (too?) serious mood evaporates in a finale whose payload of musical jokes is deployed with devastating force.
34/ #8 NBC Symphony Orchestra, Arturo Toscanini 1939
Devastating force brings me naturally to Toscanini. Pile-driving bass lines, sharply-etched articulation and scything accents generate a white-hot intensity so brilliant you want to shield your eyes in case you go blind.
Devastating force brings me naturally to Toscanini. Pile-driving bass lines, sharply-etched articulation and scything accents generate a white-hot intensity so brilliant you want to shield your eyes in case you go blind.
35/ Unflagging tension extends to the Larghetto, defiant rather than delicate. Half a century before period performance made super-fast speeds the norm, Toscanini's scherzo set a land speed record that still stands today, and the finale hits home like stabs from a stiletto.
36/ #7 Heidelberg Symphony Orchestra, Thomas Fey 2000 @HaensslerMusic
As highly-strung as Arturo, but way more Beetho-FUN! Fey makes mentor Harnoncourt sound positively mellow: strident brass, bone-dry timps and astringent strings make sforzandi explode like gunshots.
As highly-strung as Arturo, but way more Beetho-FUN! Fey makes mentor Harnoncourt sound positively mellow: strident brass, bone-dry timps and astringent strings make sforzandi explode like gunshots.
37/ The fiery sound isn't for the faint-hearted, but the gleeful twinkle in their eyes as Fey and his merry band tear into allegros like excited puppies is irresistible. Then the Larghetto is surprisingly delicate, with sombre shadows brooding in the minor-key sections.
38/ #6 @Vienna_Phil Christian Thielemann 2012 @sony_classical
A far grander comedy. This big band revels in the depth and velvety richness at their command, but the going is always easy: the springy first movement shows Harnoncourt and Toscanini a clean pair of heels.
A far grander comedy. This big band revels in the depth and velvety richness at their command, but the going is always easy: the springy first movement shows Harnoncourt and Toscanini a clean pair of heels.
39/ The spanking scherzo springs like a jack-in-the-box. Thielemann never loses details in his exquisite blend. He moulds the lush larghetto lovingly but it's never indulgent, and his finale's pauses are one step short of outrageous.
Old-school? Yes. Old-hat? Certainly not.
Old-school? Yes. Old-hat? Certainly not.
40/ Only 5 recordings remain: my #HistoricChoice, #ClassicChoice, #CDChoice, #21stCenturyChoice, #PeriodChoice and #TopChoice.
6 categories in my Top 5 records? How's that gonna work?
6 categories in my Top 5 records? How's that gonna work?
41/ #ClassicChoice
#5 NDR Symphony Orchestra, Pierre Monteux 1960 @WarnerClassics
This great French conductor waves his wand before his fine German orchestra and, as if by magic, Ludwig becomes Louis full of grace, charm and bonhomie. Has everyone else been playing it wrong?
#5 NDR Symphony Orchestra, Pierre Monteux 1960 @WarnerClassics
This great French conductor waves his wand before his fine German orchestra and, as if by magic, Ludwig becomes Louis full of grace, charm and bonhomie. Has everyone else been playing it wrong?
42/ This symphony's joy and wit fit Monteux like an Yves Saint Laurent suit. The crispness and clear woodwind balance foretell the sound of Beethoven to come; melodies are phrased like a great chanteuse; and the supreme ballet conductor makes it all dance on air. Bravo Pierre.
43/ #CDChoice
#4 SWR-Sinfonieorchester Baden-Baden & Freiburg, Michael Gielen 1998
@HaensslerMusic
Forget labels like 'traditional' or 'radical': Gielen has no musicological axe to grind. His lucid, radiant, joyful Beethoven faithfully serves only one master: the music.
#4 SWR-Sinfonieorchester Baden-Baden & Freiburg, Michael Gielen 1998
@HaensslerMusic
Forget labels like 'traditional' or 'radical': Gielen has no musicological axe to grind. His lucid, radiant, joyful Beethoven faithfully serves only one master: the music.
44/ Gielen has clearly weighed every detail of the score with scrupulous care: his solution to the 'bar 7 problem' (0:30-5) is unusual, yet sounds totally natural. In such supremely assured interpretative hands, I'm content to stop thinking about the music, and simply enjoy it.
45/ #HistoricChoice
#3 @rpoonline, Hermann Scherchen 1954 @DGclassics
I love this perfectly-balanced performance more than I can say. Scherchen tempers Toscanini's fire with Beecham's effervescent sparkle, delivered with exhilarating virtuosity in astonishingly vivid sound.
#3 @rpoonline, Hermann Scherchen 1954 @DGclassics
I love this perfectly-balanced performance more than I can say. Scherchen tempers Toscanini's fire with Beecham's effervescent sparkle, delivered with exhilarating virtuosity in astonishingly vivid sound.
46/ #FridayFeeling Scherchen's brilliance and brio is never fierce or forced. The lighter-than-air Larghetto is a miracle of lyrical, luminous poise. Fasten your seatbelt as he touches the accelerator for an extra adrenaline rush to close both outer movements in triumph.
47/ #21stCenturyChoice
#2 Copenhagen Philharmonic, Lan Shui 2009 @OrchidClassics
Spirited sound delivers the letter of the score with unrivalled crispness and clarity. Period brass flash like fire and liquid winds sing strong and sweet over slim but firmly focused strings.
#2 Copenhagen Philharmonic, Lan Shui 2009 @OrchidClassics
Spirited sound delivers the letter of the score with unrivalled crispness and clarity. Period brass flash like fire and liquid winds sing strong and sweet over slim but firmly focused strings.
48/ The opening fizzes with happy anticipation like the curtain rising on opening night. Fast music all hits Beethoven's metronome marks with ease (thank you @Baerenreiter!) but Shui is never dogmatic: more conventionally paced, the limpid Larghetto cools heart and mind alike.
49/ 19 down. Only my #BeethovenOdyssey #Beethoven #Symphony2 #TopChoice still to come.
And the winner is ...
Oh look, @BBCRadio3 is repeating #Symphony1 on #RecordReview #BuildingALibrary. Time to turn on @andrewCDmcg!
And the winner is ...
Oh look, @BBCRadio3 is repeating #Symphony1 on #RecordReview #BuildingALibrary. Time to turn on @andrewCDmcg!
50/ #TopChoice #PeriodChoice
#1 @mco_london, Sir John Eliot Gardiner 2013 @sdgrecordings
20 years after memorable studio recordings comes a live performance with fire in its belly, joy in its heart, colour more vivid than a Dulux catalogue, all at Beethoven's spanking speeds.
#1 @mco_london, Sir John Eliot Gardiner 2013 @sdgrecordings
20 years after memorable studio recordings comes a live performance with fire in its belly, joy in its heart, colour more vivid than a Dulux catalogue, all at Beethoven's spanking speeds.
51/ I don't know what shocked me most: the weight of sound these crack period performers put down at such pace, or the expressive freedom they deliver along with the demonic drive. I just had to join in as the @cadoganhall audience explode into rapturous applause at the end.
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