Search - Ludwig van Beethoven, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Wolfgang Sawallisch :: Beethoven: Symphonies 4, 5, 6 "Pastoral" & 7 / Sawallisch

Great recordings of the 5th & 6th, outstanding orchestra...

Santa Fe Listener | 09/18/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"These traditional performances of Beethoven's symphonies show what gorgeous sound can come from a top notch orchestra like the Concertgebow, well captured by the EMI engineers. The fifth, compared with Kleiber's, doesn't have as much mercurial energy, but the rubato is more delicious and the wide range of dynamics is extremely impressive. The Kleiber recording was done with Deutche Grammophone's bass shy analogue technology, but here in this set the beautiful low sounds of the Concertgebow are captured with realistic presence with great digital sound. The Sixth is truly moving and was really praised by Grammophone. Unfortunately, the Seventh doesn't come alive because Sawallisch decided to not take some of the repeats, and the whole symphony sounds too short. The themes don't have enough time to develop. Although David Zinman's recordings have breathed a new life into these symphonies and shown what magic can result with lively tempos and a chamber sized orchestra where details can shine through, the range of sound in Zinman's recordings is somewhat constrained due to average engineering by Arte Nova, and doesn't capture the range of the actual orchestra. You may want to buy that set and this one to hear the dynamic range of the Concertgebow's gorgeous sounds."

Very Good Beethoven From Sawallisch and Royal Concertgebouw

John Kwok | New York, NY USA | 12/04/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Admittedly this two-CD set will not be a primary recommendation of Beethoven's 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th symphonies for those familiar with Karajan's best recordings, Kleiber's electrifying accounts of the 5th and 7th symphonies, Harnoncourt's, Zinman's or Abbado's latest with the Berlin Philharmonic. However, I doubt I have heard the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra play these Beethoven symphonies with such brilliance and warmth, than I have on these recordings, even better than their classic 1970's recordings with Bernard Haitink. The two best performances are those of the 4th and 6th symphonies, with the 6th among the best I have heard for traditional versions, ranking close to the likes of Bohm, Dohnanyi and Karajan, among others. The sound quality for these early 1990's digital recordings is superb."

Why buy ho-hum versions of a masterpiece?

Santa Fe Listener | Santa Fe, NM USA | 05/21/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I feel as if I am dogging Sawallishc's trail here, but this second installment in his Beethoven cycle with the gorgeous-sounding Concertgebouw is so tepid that it almost insults Beethoven's memory. I say 'almost' because Sawallisch is at least sincere and respectful. But whoever enthuses over these wishy-washy readings needs to eat more Wheaties.



Despite preferences stated below for one reading over another, the whole thing is of a piece: slack rhythms, underplayed dynamics, and a stifling sense of gentility prevail. I guess the gentlest work, the Pastorale, comes off best under Sawallisch's less-than-urgent baton, but who cares? There are dozens of better performances in the bargain range."