Michael_Beek Beethoven: The Symphonies

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No composer changed the symphony more radically than Beethoven. Whilst his First (1801) pays its respects to the 18th-century classical tradition of Haydn and Mozart, each of the eight successive symphonies follows a unique trajectory heralding a new era: composers were no longer subservient to their court patrons and could assert their right to individual expression.

So it’s little wonder that Beethoven’s colossal symphonic legacy both inspired and intimidated later 19th-century composers. From the moment these works entered the repertory, conductors viewed the performance of a Beethoven cycle as a litmus test of their achievements.

Battle lines as to the ‘ideal’ interpretation of the symphonies were established at an early stage between Mendelssohn, whose performances were mercurial and precise, and Wagner’s more fluid and nuanced approaches. This dichotomy is mirrored in current approaches with opposed views of the music emanating from Riccardo Chailly on one hand and Christian Thielemann on the other. 

 

Essential recordings…

 

SYMPHONY NO. 1

Following in the footsteps of Toscanini, Riccardo Chailly delivers a characteristically high-voltage account of the First Symphony, perfectly capturing its moments of brusque humour with superbly incisive sforzando accents from his Leipzig players, yet allowing sufficient space for the graceful aspects of the second movement to come to the fore. 

Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra/Riccardo Chailly 
Decca 478 3493

 

SYMPHONY NO. 2

Skrowaczewski and his Saarbrucken players bring a rare fire and fury to the first movement. And few can match their bonhomie in the following two movements – as the music bounces from orchestral section to section, masterfully paced by the conductor, one gets the impression of players thoroughly enjoying each others’, and Beethoven’s, company.

Saarbrucken Radio Symphony Orchestra/Stanislaw Skrowaczewski
OEHMS OC522

 

SYMPHONY NO. 3

When Rudolf Kempe made his Beethoven symphony cycle with the unfashionable Munich Philharmonic in the early 1970s, it was overshadowed by other, more glamorous interpretations, Herbert von Karajan’s in particular. But Kempe’s is a glorious Eroica, powerful and majestic, yet buoyed with lyricism and elegance. It remains a definitive point of reference.

Münchner Philharmoniker/Rudolf Kempe 
EMI 636 5552

 

SYMPHONY NO. 4

An exhilaratingly alert performance responding to every nuance of the music, and with a spellbinding account of the long pianissimo passage heralding the first movement’s recapitulation. Violinist and conductor Joshua Bell and his co-players also convey all the warmth of the slow movement and the wit of the finale. 

Academy of St Martin in the Fields/Joshua Bell
Sony Classical 88765448812

 

SYMPHONY NO. 5

Voted in at No. 3 in BBC Music Magazine’s list of The 50 Greatest Recordings of All Time, this Carlos Kleiber performance has a compelling intensity and electric energy that is utterly suited to the emotional world of the Fifth Symphony. Kleiber didn’t often go into the recording studio, but when he did the results were entirely unforgettable, with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra on blistering form here.

Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra/Carlos Kleiber 
Deutsche Grammophon 447 4002

 

SYMPHONY NO. 6

Still as fresh as ever – a combination of original instruments and conductor Roger Norrington’s energy – this 1980s recording of the Sixth gets to the heart of Beethoven’s titanic creativity. Every note, every phrase penetratingly re-thought, it’s like hearing the music for the first time: the bird-calls sound startling, the ‘beginner’ bassoon in the scherzo wonderfully wittily, the storm elemental.  

London Classical Players/Roger Norrington
Virgin 083 4232 (part of 7-CD set) 

 

SYMPHONY NO. 7

Riccardo Chailly achieves the near-impossible, combining the classicising insights of period-style performers with the tonal richness and expressive gravity of old-school master interpreters such as Otto Klemperer or Carlos Kleiber. The rhythms are crisp and vital, the colours gorgeous, the expression intense and broad-ranging, and all is captured in superb recorded sound.

Gewandhausorchester Leipzig/Riccardo Chailly
Decca 478 3496

 

SYMPHONY NO. 8

Distinguished recordings of the Eighth are not rare, but to seize it in all its aspects turns out to be reserved for peculiar temperaments. An Eloquence recording from 1970 under Claudio Abbado, paired with a noble account of Bruckner’s First Symphony, is a highly recommended modern-ish recording; but if you can tolerate decent mono sound, then Sir Thomas Beecham (Sony Classical) and Hans Knappertsbusch (Orfeo) are truly Jove-like.

Vienna Philharmonic/Claudio Abbado
Australian Eloquence ELQ4805952

 

SYMPHONY NO. 9

Benefiting (as many recent recordings do) from Jonathan Del Mar’s edition of the score, one of the finest modern versions of the Ninth Symphony finds conductor Osmo Vänskä and his Minnesota Orchestra on their tautest
form in a 2006 account, notable for its keen focus on detail, its intelligent and sensitive handling of tempo relationships, and its overall organic integrity. 

Juntunen, Karnéus, Norman, Davies; Minnesota Chorale & Orchestra/Osmo Vänskä
BIS BIS-1616 

 

 

https://embed.music.apple.com/gb/playlist/beethoven-symphonies/pl.23211ef56ed04c45814fcffe694ff562?app=music

 

 

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Freya Parr Free Download: Josquin’s Miserere mei, Deus

'The monumental Miserere is a starkly penitential work'

This week's free download is Miserere mei, Deus by Josquin des Pres, performed by Cappella Amsterdam under Daniel Reuss and recorded on the Harmonia Mundi label. The recording was awarded four stars for performance and five for recording in the February issue of BBC Music Magazine. 

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Freya Parr A guide to Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3 ‘Eroica’

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Premiere:
Theater an der Wien, Vienna, 7 April 1805

Like many artists of his generation, Beethoven drew powerful inspiration from the French Revolution, revelling in the collapse of an oppressive monarchy and in the new freedoms which the march of popular democracy appeared to promise. For Beethoven, himself a cussed individualist, the figure of Napoleon Bonaparte epitomised the new spirit of liberty and self-determination sweeping Europe.

The Third Symphony was conceived as a tribute to the French military commander – until, that is, Napoleon declared himself Emperor of his country, prompting an enraged Beethoven to tear the title page of the finished manuscript, on which he had written ‘Bonaparte’, in two pieces. A new title was eventually adopted, less specific in its references: ‘Heroic Symphony, composed to celebrate the memory of a great man’.

 

• Beethoven: what did the 19th century think?
• Five essential works by Beethoven

 

Such is the backstory of the Eroica Symphony. How important is it to the actual music? Fascinating as the Napoleon connection is, posterity has gradually shied away from viewing the work as a glorified piece of musical hero-worship. ‘Some say it is Napoleon, some Hitler, some Mussolini,’ as the conductor Toscanini tetchily put it. ‘For me it is simply Allegro con brio.’

And while it’s true that vestiges of the Napoleonic element can easily be traced in the Eroica – the confident demeanour of the opening movement, the overtones of militaristic ceremonial in the Marcia funebre – they can easily obscure the extraordinary innovations in the piece, which one commentator calls ‘the greatest single step made by an individual in the history
of the symphony and in the history of music in general’.     

 

  
Beethoven's Eroica Symphony, performed by the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra
under Daniel Barenboim

 

• How did Beethoven cope with going deaf?
• The best recordings of Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony

 

Scale:

What exactly makes the Eroica so revolutionary? For early listeners, size was certainly a major issue. ‘I’ll give another Kreutzer if the thing will only stop!,’ one irritated audience member shouted at the first public performance. He would not have been alone in wondering why exactly Beethoven’s newest symphony had to be twice as long as any that preceded it.

The reason was simple: Beethoven was bursting with musical ideas, and needed the broadest canvas on which to paint them. The development section of the opening movement is unprecedentedly fertile, introducing a new theme unheard in the exposition. The Marcia funebre has not one, but two interpolated episodes, one ringingly triumphant, the other gravely fugal. The finale’s variations become a major statement in themselves, not just a mood-lightening way to drop the curtain on a major-key symphony.

Everywhere is plenitude, dynamism and surging energy, and a determination to use symphonic form to give these indomitable human qualities full expression. The Heiligenstadt crisis, barely over, had laid Beethoven low, but certainly not defeated him. In the Eroica Symphony he is resurgent; the composer himself is the ultimate hero of this extraordinary masterpiece.

 

• Six of the best: Beethoven's overlooked works
• The best recordings of Beethoven's Symphonies

 

Recommended recording:

When Rudolf Kempe made his Beethoven symphony cycle with the unfashionable Munich Philharmonic in the early 1970s, it was overshadowed by other, more glamorous interpretations, Herbert von Karajan’s in particular. But Kempe’s is a glorious Eroica, powerful and majestic, yet buoyed with lyricism and elegance. It remains a definitive point of reference.

Münchner Philharmoniker/Rudolf Kempe
EMI 636 5552

 

https://open.spotify.com/embed/album/1MBkzMllPGe0b3IRSLoN8p

 

Words by Terry Blain. This article first appeared in the December 2015 issue of BBC Music Magazine.

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FabulousFlipSides Fabulous Flip Sides – John Bartle Interview

Following the March Madness tournament in Iowa, we look back at a pair of Iowa bands with guitarist John Bartle, of the Sioux City quartet DVC and The Jan Park Band, celebrating the 40th anniversary of their debut album, recorded … ►

The post Fabulous Flip Sides – John Bartle Interview appeared first on Goldmine Magazine.

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spencer@jazzwise.com (Spencer Grady)

Ousted from its Colston Hall home by the builders, the seventh Bristol International Jazz & Blues Festival relocated to the welcoming bars and venues of the Bristol University Students Union, as well as St George’s Hall. Thankfully fine spring weather meant wandering between was largely pleasant and, buoyed by some great crowd-pleasing performances, the general verdict was positive.

This year’s jazz trends would seem to be bass clarinets, vibraphones and suites, with vibraphonist Jonny Mansfield’s Elftet scoring on all three in their reprise of his ‘Armitage’ suite, setting five pieces by popular Yorkshire poet Simon. The composition fully exploited the diversity of an 11-piece line-up with adroit shifts in texture and style and George Millard’s bass clarinet and Ella Hohnen Ford’s remarkable vocals especially striking. They were preceded by Huw Warren’s ‘Do Not Go Gentle’ celebration of Dylan Thomas, a performance of extraordinary beauty in the suitably restrained atmosphere of St George’s. Warren’s elegant and emotional compositions ranged from the intensity of the title-piece to the jaunty calypso of ‘Organ Morgan’, with Iain Ballamy’s tenor a fine second voice to actor/singer Mark Williams.

Prior to that Kate Westbrook (above) had opened a special programme organised by Jazz South with her Dartmoor-themed ‘Granite’ suite, scored by Mike Westbrook for jazz-rock sextet. Kate’s vocal trademarks were there – growling and howling one moment, stately declamations the next, while the jazz-rock music battled with sound issues to jump through Hendrix-flavoured metal to Weillian cabaret and free-jazz blowing. It was a blast from the past, as was Soft Machine’s much anticipated appearance, which clearly did not disappoint a largely veteran audience happily reliving the days of ponderous prog riffs, thunderous drum fills and bedazzling guitar fretwork.

Arguably the contemporary blending of modern dance music technology with jazz has parallels with that 1970s urge to fusion and the current style was exemplified by Bristol-based project Phantom Ensemble. Wrapping threads of electronic beats and samples in layers of acoustic flute, sax and vibraphone the quartet created ear-catching looping ambient jazz. Elements of a similar approach ran through ‘Redefining Element 78’, an electro-acoustic suite commissioned by the festival from pianist Rebecca Nash and performed by her group Atlas. This ambitious project relied on a balance between carefully written passages and inspired solo contributions, including those of guest saxophonist John O’Gallagher and Rebecca herself, elaborating the themes and variations that gave the piece its impressive unity.

But the doyen of contemporary fusion jazz has to be Soweto Kinch (above top), whose alto sax stormed through a set of laptop-enhanced tunes on hip-hop inspired beats from Nick Jurd on bass and Will Glaser’s drums. Despite the torrential approach there was a clear melodic logic to his playing, which was as imaginative as it was flamboyant, and the audience quickly bought into his subsequent call-and-response rapping thanks to the man’s amiable persuasion. His was an upbeat finale to a satisfying weekend, but the abiding memory would prove to be that of Julian Siegel’s quartet with Liam Noble’s piano, Oli Hayhurst on bass and Gene Calderazzo drumming. In their tenth year this is a collective of equals and from full-tilt opener ‘The Opener’ to the percussive snap of closing favourite ‘Room 518’ they played their individual socks off without ever getting in each others’ way. The bandleader, however, was exactly that and his authoritative tenor glided definitively through each number with, sadly, only one excursion for his bass clarinet: a treat that deserved second helpings.

– Tony Benjamin

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John Curley Gary Clark Jr. delivers dynamite show at NYC’s Beacon Theatre

Gary Clark Jr. and his band performed a fantastic show at the third of three consecutive sold-out concerts at NYC’s Beacon Theatre on Saturday, March 23rd. ►

The post Gary Clark Jr. delivers dynamite show at NYC’s Beacon Theatre appeared first on Goldmine Magazine.

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John Curley Gary Clark Jr. delivers dynamite show at NYC’s Beacon Theatre

Gary Clark Jr. and his band performed a fantastic show at the third of three consecutive sold-out concerts at NYC’s Beacon Theatre on Saturday, March 23rd. ►

The post Gary Clark Jr. delivers dynamite show at NYC’s Beacon Theatre appeared first on Goldmine Magazine.

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