Search - Various :: Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 "Choral"; Fidelio Overture

Search no more for a perfect Ninth...

Christian Ellithorpe | Streamwood, IL United States | 12/06/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"After buying & sampling many discs looking for a "perfect Ninth", & realizing there may not actually be one, I may have come as close on this earth with this gem. And consider the price! (But don't let the bargain price fool you - because this recording it is a real World-Class contender)



Perhaps comparing a few of the most highly regarded versions is a good place to start...



Solti's 9th from 1972 is just about perfect. It is fabulously remastered & the CSO sounds magnificent. However, at times the pacing sounds more like a Wagner/Mahler performance & he seems to do what so many conductors do - drag out tempos for a dramatic/Romantic effect. Solti's 4th movement may be the finest ever recorded, but very slooowwwww pacing flaws the 3rd movement badly, in my opinion. Karl Bohm's masterful readings, especially the 1960s version with the Vienna Symphony is like a polished diamond, purely "Classical" in approach, but when it comes to the 4th movement, it ALSO becomes painfully slow, without the tension & drama you'd expect when the soloists begin. Karajan's acclaimed 9th (from about the same time as this one by Szell) is marvelous, but it does suffer from some recording weaknesses. For example, there it has poorly "miked" timpani that seem almost tinny and artificially sounding. Bernstein's w/Vienna from the late eighties is powerful, well-recorded & passionate, with fairly good vocalists, but at times I want to just slap that CD player to speed him up. Enjoy original-instruments? Roger Norrington takes well-reasoned, approach, with quick tempos & gorgeous playing. However, not all listeners will be able to catch their breath during his leading of the fourth movement. (There isn't even a millisecond pause when the hymn/fugue begins after the timpani on that version)



In contrast, this gem of a CD by Szell & Cleveland would be as perfect a 9th that a first-time buyer could get. To put it more simply, "IF IT WAS YOUR ONLY 9th", you could be very satisfied for years. This is one of the few recordings that seems to be balanced enough to hear woodwinds & string bass in the first movement, and with realistic timpani that do NOT dominate, nor do they drop too far into the background. The scherzo is quick, as many feel Beethoven indicated on the original score, and it is tense & exciting, just like the 1st movement. The 3rd movement is incredibly poignant & moving, and it never drags. And though I wonder if any performance of the 4th movement will ever reach the pinnacle that Solti & Margaret Hillis achieved, Szell (with Robert Shaw leading chorus here), Solti & the CSO deliver a truly World-Class masterpiece here. The only way this one could get any better, is if somehow there had been today's digital technology available then, as the signal-to-noise ratio can never get as high as some of today's offerings. Still, this remains an outstanding performance, and Sony's respectable job of Remastering does seem well-done."

Breathtaking

Ryan Richards | Midland, MI United States | 01/29/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I don't think I can add anything to this discussion that the other reviewers haven't already captured. All I know is, I've heard at least three high-profile recordings of the Ninth (von Karajan's 1963 recording, Dohnányi's with the Cleveland Orchestra and Lenny's Berlin Wall performance), and each of them gave me different reasons to nod when they were over and say, "Yeah, that was really good." When I finished with this recording, on the other hand, I slumped back in my chair, wide-eyed, and breathed "Holy s---." After all the conductors who figured bigger orchestra and bigger musical gestures meant better Beethoven, the effect created by this performance's straight-ahead, driving momentum is electrifying. Szell's exact rhythms and complete control over his orchestra drive you propulsively through the first two movements, slow down for some tender repose in the third, and just blast the final movement out of your speakers to the far wall. There are so many special touches on this recording, particularly the precise balance between all the instrumental groups (listen to the punctuation from the brass!) as well as between the orchestra and the choir. Yeah, I've heard better individual soloists on other recordings; yeah, the choir's enunciation suffers a little at points (particularly in the fiery race to the end of the symphony), and yeah, the recording quality, while good, still isn't up to the sonic capability of today. But the power! The intensity! There may be no such thing as a "perfect Ninth," and maybe there never can be, but that doesn't change the fact that I don't feel the need to buy another Ninth for a long, long time, if ever. When I consider the fact that this marvelous performance is offered at a budget price, all I can say is what Schiller (and Beethoven) already told us: "Brüder, über'm Sternenzelt/Muß ein lieber Vater wohnen.""

A Masterpiece

Ruinaen | Washington State, USA | 08/07/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is an underestimated version of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9. This recording, made in Severance Hall in 1961, has some audible tape hiss in the background at a high volume, but it is not enough to detract from the orchestra playing. This particular Beethoven's Ninth, recorded only two years before the famous 1963 recording with Karajan conducting the Berlin Philharmonic, has everything that you could want. The chorus and soloists are all superb in the finale and the Cleveland Orchestra, of course, plays with virtuosi percision. This was my first Symphony No. 9 recording, so I may be partial to it, but it does have some elements that other recordings do not. For example, in the second movement, the Molto Vivace, this recording has the best timpani you will hear anywhere. The main downfall of the otherwise flawless performance that Karajan gave was that the timpani was miked horribly and came out empty-sounding. Szell really brought out the all-important timpani in this movement with a deep, rich sound. The tempo could stand to be a bit faster, but I'd prefer to have a slower recording with excellent timpani than a faster performance with dull thudding in the background. Some might find it to be too fast as it is at 11'23, but I found the energy to be even higher in Karajan's performance at a very fast 11 minutes even.In further comparison of these two recordings, the overall playing times of the tracks are mere seconds apart in most cases, but not the third movement. This is the one place that Szell really took the tempo too quickly, clocking at 15'20, whereas Karajan came in at a preferable 16'25. The opening sounds especially jarring, though it smoothes out after you get used to the too-brisk pace. Quick tempi seem to be a trademark of this conductor, but that's not a good thing in this case. Otherwise, this is a very good performance. The finale is excellently played like the rest of the symphony, though it lacks the warmth of other performances, not unlike many of Szell's other recordings. Still, the sound is clear and the orchestra and chorus play and sing their hearts out. Robert Shaw was the director of the Cleveland Orchestra Chorus at this point, so it explains why they have the really top-notch sound.The Fidelio Overture is just as vibrant as the Ninth Symphony and works wonderfully as a final track to this CD. This is definitely one of the great recordings to have of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 and should not be passed up. It may not be the absolute best, but it is certainly one that should be added to anyone's collection, as your first recording of this symphony or to be added to an already hefty pile. This was my first, and I've purchased three more since (including the newer cycle of the Beethoven symphonies with this orchestra under Dohnanyi), but it is still one of my favorites. Szell has recorded something that will live on in the decades to come."