Search - Ludwig van Beethoven, Georg Solti, Yvonne Minton :: Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 / Solti

Solti Delivers A Furtwangler-esque Conception with Great Sou

dv_forever | Michigan, USA | 11/07/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Right from the opening, you know this one is going to be special. Solti definitely has listened to a lot of Furtwangler in preparation to confront Beethoven and his 9th Symphony. The tempos are broad in the opening movement and especially spacious in the adagio. Solti is not a questing, spiritual conductor like Wilhelm Furtwangler was and that's most readily felt in the adagio where Solti's communicate powers are not in the same league as that of the great German maestro. Be that as it may, I personally think that this Solti performance is one of the most powerful and hypnotizing since the days of Furtwangler. I think in many ways Solti simply modeled his concept of the 9th on the famous Furtwangler Bayreuth performance from 1951. Solti is certainly not basing his ideas on the searing, cataclysmic passions of Furtwangler's wartime 9th. Nor is Solti as full of drama and adrenaline as the great Karajan version from 1962 for instance. Solti does his own thing and does it rather well, this is a well breathed, spacious, dignified account that is not lacking in drama. Some listeners who are used to more modern day accounts might find the tempos of the 1st and 3rd movements a bit tedious but the scherzo and especially the great finale are well worth the purchase of this CD.



The first movement is immense, the whole thing is mesmerizing in it's thunderous procession. Decca provides outstanding analogue sound with plenty of bass so the lower instruments and the percussion have great impact. The development section and recapitulation are very dramatic and the whole movement elicits outstanding playing from the Chicago orchestra, although it's far slower than Karajan for instance but about on par with Furtwangler in Bayreuth.



The scherzo does not let up any in it's fierce attack but the lyricism of the contrasting trio section is played exceptionally. Solti takes one too many repeats in the scherzo, I typically fast forward that extra repeat which most conductors skip over. Solti himself skipped it in his later digital recording from 1986.



The adagio is very beautiful indeed and played at this spacious tempo you can truly revel in it's gorgeous delights even though the profundity of Furtwangler eludes Solti. For the most part I think Solti is a rapturous success here regardless of the fact that he can't compare with that master.



The final movement has some of the best choral work ever recorded. Margaret Hillis is the famed director of the Chicago Symphony Chorus and they sound amazing in this recording. The soloists make one hell of a team with Martti Talvela truly standing out in his declamatiion, " O Freunde, nicht diese Tone!" What a voice on this guy!



This is a special recording of Beethoven's 9th Symphony along with several other classic accounts like Furtwangler's wartime 1942 performance, the famous Bayreuth account from 1951 as well as Karajan's recordings from 1962 and 1977 plus Gunter Wand's digital rendition on RCA. I wouldn't hesitate to add this Solti performance to the league of the great ones! Although it lacks the great dramatic urgency of Karajan or the fervent spirituality of Furtwangler, Solti's performance still works in it's own way.



P.S. Solti recorded this symphony again in 1986 ( slower tempos and less vibrant sound ), and it wasn't nearly as successful as this earlier version.



P.P.S. You can also find this classic 1972 Solti Ninth available in the Penguin Classics series, it is the exact same thing as this CD."

The Definitive Performance of the Ninth

Eric S. Schubert | Austin, Texas | 09/15/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The Ninth Symphony was a pivotal work in the classical repertoire. In the first two movements, Beethoven, the storm-tossed genius, wrestles with the musical gods to fold the passion of 19th century music into the classical structures handed to him by Haydn and Mozart. In the last two movements, Beethoven transcends these musical structures to write music that paved the way for composers of the 19th Century. When most listeners think of this masterwork, they focus on the last movement. What sets this recording apart from other great performances are the first three movements. Solti's specialty was the German Romantic orchestral literature, which shows in his interpretation of the Ninth. Solti's Ninth is a very romantic but powerful and masculine symphony. At his disposal was the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the best American orchestra of its era (1970s). Solti combines perfect tempi, strong contrasts in dynamics, and an emphasis on the rhythms to highlight the tensions and drama in the first two movements. In Solti's hands the second movement is the definitive Scherzo. In the third movement, Solti uses his feeling for Wagner to play this movement, essentially the transcript of a string quartet Adagio, as a Wagnerian idyll. Again, Solti captures a pivotal moment in music history as Beethoven is showing his fellow composers the way forward. No interpretation captures the contrast of the dramatic tension of the first two movements with the serenity of the third movement better than this recording does.I highly recommend this recording to both expert and casual listeners of classical music."