Search - Ludwig van Beethoven, Leonard Bernstein, New York Philharmonic :: Beethoven: Symphonies Nos. 6 "Pastoral" & 8; King Stephen Overture

Just listen to it

J. Buxton | Waltham, MA United States | 05/01/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is an inspired and inspiring performance. I think this is one of the best of "The Bernstein Century" reissues, and the Sixth is one of the best versions of this symphony ever recorded in my opinion, and one of the better symphonies in Bernstein's earlier Beethoven cycle with the NYPO. The first movement takes a more jaunty pace than traditional, but it seems to work and the whole thing cascades into a wonderful crescendo at about 10 minutes into the movement. The sound is excellent, much better than most other Bernstein recordings from Avery Fisher Hall in the 60's. You can hear wonderful orchestral detail and the NYPO are really spot on in this performance. The programmatic nature of the piece is emphasized and you can really feel the storm and then the calm afterwards. This version is marginally better than Bernstein's later Sixth with the VPO even though the timings are almost identical (although the advantage with his later DG version is you can buy it in a boxed set with the whole cycle). This one compares favorably with Ashkenazy's Philharmonia version on Decca, Bohm's version from the 1970's with the VPO, and Guilini's version with the La Scala Philharmonic on Sony. All are quite good. The Eighth is equally impressive with incisive rhythyms and good, if not excellent, sound."

One of the best albums from the Beethoven-Sony Bernstein cyc

Shota Hanai | Torrance, CA | 04/16/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This CD, featuring the Sixth ("Pastoral") and Eighth Symphonies, is one of the best albums from the Beethoven-Sony Bernstein cycle. The only other superb album will have to be the one featuring the Third "Eroica" and his discussion on "How a Great Symphony is Written."



In the "Pastoral" Symphony, Bernstein makes the work about 45 minues, which is relatively average. He takes the first movement rather boldly and quickly, more energetic than most other recordings. Plus, he repeats the exposition (something I prefer in first movements for all symphonies, except the Ninth). In the second and third movements, however, the tempo is slightly sluggish. Not exactly fitting to my taste, but it's still brilliantly played. Lenny maintains the Beethovenian power and charm in the last two movements.



In the Eighth, which I am less critical of, Bernstein and his orchestra play beautifully, without any sign of blandness or excessive outpour of emotions."