Beethoven performing seemingly rather trivial tasks for publishers offers a lesser known perspective on the mastermind: the businessman. Like with Joseph Haydn, there exist a multitude of folk song arrangements by Beethoven from many different language areas, besides the here portrayed Scottish, Irish and Welsh songs also Spanish, Hungarian or Swedish ones. Scottish musicians Lorna Anderson, soprano and Jamie MacDougall, tenor and the Austrian TrioVanBeethoven (Verena Stourzh, Clemens Zeilinger, Franz Ortner) take on an exploration to the treasures of Celtic melodies. Beethoven's personal touch in these songs is not only perceivable in the pre- and postludes, but is present in all of the instrumentation - a fact that motivated the initiator George Thomson several times to request even more simple instrumental parts as accompaniment, which Beethoven rejected in his very own way: "Unfortunately, I am not able to fulfill your request. I am not accustomed to retouching my compositions."

Classical Music

Classical Music

The workmanlike quality I've inferred from many of Gerhard Oppitz's recordings hardly prepared me for the sheer inspiration and commitment the pianist displays throughout his first installment of a projected Beethoven sonata cycle. Indeed, if Oppitz has made a finer disc, I have not heard it. The Op. 10 No. 1 sonata comes alive with brutal resilience and quivering nuance, capped by a finale whose true Prestissimo pulse never lets up in intensity. Some listeners may prefer a lighter touch in the Op. 10 No. 2 sonata's outer movements, yet you can't take issue with Oppitz's rhythmic equilibrium and sure sense of where the lines are going. Interestingly, Oppitz takes a less iconoclastic, more conventional route through Op. 10 No. 3's four movements (more comfortable basic tempos and symmetrical phrasing). Strokes of individuality--such as his surging scales and roulades in the outer movements--lift Oppitz's solidly played "Pathétique" out of the sonata's "regulation model" box. Perhaps the slow movement is a bit foursquare and downbeat oriented, but not ploddingly so. Keep tabs on this Beethoven cycle, and savor its impressive first fruits, despite a recording that's thinner and more constricted than Hänssler's best efforts.

--Jed Distler, ClassicsToday.com

Classical Music

Columbia Symphony Orchestra/Bruno Walter. Sony Classical SMK 64460 [Symphonies Nos. 1 and 2, with Coriolan Overture]; 64461 [Nos. 3 (Eroica) and 8]; 64462 [Nos. 4 and 6 (Pastorale)]; 64463 [Nos. 5 and 7]; and 64464 [No. 9]

Walter recorded the Beethoven symphonies in stereo for Columbia in 1958-59, taping No. 9 in New York and Nos. 1-8 in Los Angeles with orchestras of freelance and studio musicians who rose magnificently to the occasion. Walter was in his eighties, but that didn’t stop him from grabbing these works by the throat; there is no mincing around, no effusive lingering over phrases, no ponderous trudging either. The even-numbered symphonies are sunny and outgoing, full of the warmth the conductor exuded during his Indian-summer years in the studio. Yet the drama of the odd-numbered works is not slighted. Walter’s account of the Fifth, for example, is an intensely expressive one in which lyricism and thrust are in perfect balance, an evocation of stormy Romanticism at its best. The recordings have held up extremely well; the sound on these 20-bit CDs is spacious yet detailed, with amazing presence and solidity. – Ted Libbey, author of The NPR Guide to Building a Classical CD Collection, reviewing Bruno Walter's recordings of Beethoven's Symphonies Nos. 1 and 2, with Coriolan Overture]; 64461 [Nos. 3 (Eroica) and 8]; 64462 [Nos. 4 and 6 (Pastorale)]; 64463 [Nos. 5 - reissued as Sony 93012, and 7]; and 64464 [No. 9].

This recording also includes a lecture by Leonard Bernstein on the first movement of Beethoven's 5th Symphony, entitled "How a Great Symphony Was Written". Leonard Bernstein recorded the lecture in four different languages including English. To listen to a desired language, the stereo balance has to be turned to favor one of the audio speakers. On some players a mono button can be pressed to make the selected channel signal balance in both speakers.

As with the Stravinsky CD I reviewed recently, this issue contains music conducted by Leonard Bernstein followed by a talk discussing aspects of that music. This time it’s Beethoven, and the most celebrated of the symphonies, the fifth. In fact, the illustrated talk was recorded some five years before the symphony, at a time when Bernstein was giving full rein to his educational pursuits.

The talk is quite brief, and, a little frustratingly, discusses only the first movement of the symphony. It’s well worth hearing, though, for Bernstein gives a fascinating insight into the composer’s working processes. As a creative artist himself, he understood these processes well, and he drives home how the apparent inevitability of the way one idea follows another in the symphonic argument was in fact the outcome of a detailed and lengthy sifting and rejection of material and treatment. This applies even to details of the orchestration, and it is revealing to hear, for example, the famous opening with the addition, as Beethoven originally intended, of flutes to the strings. It sounds most peculiar, and one has to agree with Bernstein that the final version that we know today has far greater power of utterance.

I suppose that Beethoven is not a composer one immediately associates with Bernstein, as one does Mahler, Stravinsky or Copland for example. But his music meant an enormous amount to the American maestro, and one of his very last public musical acts was, famously, to conduct Beethoven’s 9th in Berlin soon after the destruction of the Wall. This 5th, though it will not be to everyone’s taste, is a performance of enormous character and commitment. For me, the first movement is the least convincing; it has a breadth and a seeming lack of urgency which is almost perverse. It is, as a performance, the diametric opposite to the Harnoncourt/Norrington school; nonetheless, on its own terms, it works, for the surge of energy which occurs in the coda has the sense of a dam bursting, of pent-up energy surging forth. There are some telling details, too, with, for example, the oboe emerging from the texture before its solo cadenza (track 1, around 5:10).

The Andante is beautifully done, at a serenely flowing tempo, and with flexible, expressive playing from wind and strings, despite a surprising split note from 2nd trumpet (track 2 around 3:12). The scherzo, interestingly, is on the quick side, and Bernstein emphasises the light and shade, giving the music a suitably furtive feel. And as you might expect from this most theatrical (in the best sense!) of conductors, the tense transition to the fourth movement is magnificently done, with the great crescendo held back to the very last moment carrying us into the triumphant blaze of the finale’s opening theme. And once more, Bernstein’s sheer commitment and energy keeps the momentum of this movement up to the very end, particularly impressive when – as the disc’s liner notes proudly announce – this is a performance with all the repeats in place. Well, that’s not rare these days, though it is surprising how many conductors still do omit the exposition repeat in the finale. All told, a highly successful performance, typical of the conductor in its expressive power and dynamism, but completely free of his less admirable mannerisms.

- Gwyn Parry-Jones, MusicWeb International

This is a DSD (Direct Stream Digital) recording

This is a DSD (Direct Stream Digital) recording

HARRIS GOLDSMITH PLAYS BEETHOV

“Weil and his [Tafelmusik] players convince us that Beethoven can sound as radical in the 21st century as he must have done in the 19th”- Gramophone Magazine. Tafelmusik is thrilled to present its recordings of the complete Beethoven symphonies, six CDs packaged in a striking box set. Recorded under the direction of conductor Bruno Weil over a twelve-year period, Tafelmusik’s cycle marks the first time a North American orchestra has recorded all nine Beethoven symphonies on period instruments. Recorded in Toronto at Koerner Hall and George Weston Recital Hall between 2004 and 2016, these performances chart Tafelmusik’s evolution as it expanded its repertoire to explore the music of classical and early romantic composers. The set contains recordings originally made for the Analekta label, including the JUNO Award-winning Symphonies Nos. 5 & 6, and the JUNO Award-nominated Symphonies Nos. 7 & 8. Symphonies Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4, and the JUNO Award-nominated Symphony No. 9 were recorded live in concert on the Tafelmusik Media label. Under the direction of Bruno Weil, Tafelmusik first performed a Beethoven symphony (No. 2) in Toronto in 1993. Maestro Weil also directed the orchestra in international performances of Beethoven symphonies at the Klang und Raum Festival in Irsee, Germany, during its 19-year tenure there as orchestra-in-residence. Much admired by the international music press, Tafelmusik’s Beethoven interpretations have been praised for their “transparency of articulation and balance … remarkable precision, vitality and tonal focus. Beethoven benefits mightily from the silken strings, woodsy winds, clarion brasses and pinpoint timpani” (Gramophone Magazine). “We approach the Beethoven concerts and recording as if they were the very first performances, as though the music had been composed yesterday. There’s no sense of routine with Tafelmusik musicians and everybody’s playing with a full heart and a full soul and spirit. That is the secret to a great performance,” - Bruno Weil. “Although the Beethoven symphonies are familiar to many music lovers, few have had the privilege to experience them as Tafelmusik and Bruno Weil have over the past many years. Our journey with Bruno exploring these great works has been a profound and intensely personal one.” - Jeanne Lamon, Music Director Emerita

A monumental set of 33 variations built from a simple waltz theme by Anton Diabelli. A stunning performance of a legendary masterwork by one of the great pianists of our time. Pianist Gabriel Chodos has been a revered New England Conservatory faculty member for a quarter-century.

Beethoven’s three most popular and most performed piano sonatas are featured on this new benchmark release, “Moonlight Sonata,” the “Appassionata,” and the “Pathetique.” Pianist Peter Rosel recorded the works on this album in the late 1970s. Here they are beautifully remastered for optimal sound quality and presented in collector’s edition packaging. “Without wanting to seem immodest, I can say that I was pretty satisfied with the result, and I still am today. The fact that the recording will now be made available on both CD and vinyl for today’s music lovers gives me immense pleasure.” (Peter Rosel)

Beethoven: Triple Concerto - Piano Concerto No. 3

BEETHOVEN:HIGHLIGHTS

When I reviewed Robert White's Angel collection of Beethoven and Weber folk-song arrangements {The Gallant Troubadour, Fanfare 9:4), I mentioned this RCA collection as another possible source of pleasure to those who enjoyed the Angel set. Here it is on compact disc sounding at least as good as ever with the tenor in his element supported by virtuoso playing (Beethoven's settings were supposed to be playable by amateurs but they'd better be good amateurs). Full texts are provided, but so clear is White's enunciation that you'll have little need for them; one of the songs, “The Soldier,“ is probably better known nowadays as “The Minstrel Boy.“ Unfortunately, RCA could think of nothing appropriate that would serve to fill the CD out, so it contains only 44:25 of music, including pauses between songs, but what's here is certainly choice.

-- James Miller, FANFARE [9/1987]

Ma and Ax bring their series of Beethoven's music for cello and piano to a close with this release. No recording date is given, but we must assume the performances were taped some time after the preceding four sonatas, not only because of the later release but because of the immeasurably improved sonics. Ma is now the aural equal of Ax, and no longer sounds as if he's playing some respectful obbligato from another room. Ma's elegance and propensity toward understatement are no match for the muscular and assertive Ax as it is, and the cellist needs all the help he can get to give his 50%. an equal hearing. Which is my basic problem with the Ma-Ax partnership: I don't find them particularly well-suited to each other, especially in these sonatas where equality is the key to the performance (as in the equal fire of Rostropovich and Richter in their be-all Philips set). But mine is a minor voice where this popular duo is concerned, and those who have followed the series with satisfaction and joy will find the familiar silken tones of the cellist and the rambunctiousness of the pianist much in evidence. Their C-major Sonata is unmistakably related to their D major, that is, both are played like early 19th-century works rather than the beginning of Beethoven's late period. Like the D major this new C major sings and jumps with an extrovertedness which is quite different from the pensive, mysterious performances we're apt to hear of these perplexing sonatas. If Rostropovich and Richter tell me a whole lot more of what I think I want to hear in these works, I nonetheless am quite taken with the spirit (and the sensational playing) of Ma and Ax, although as I've said, I'd rather hear them paired with others (Ma with Alfred Brendel sounds good, while Ax with Mischa Maisky would probably be hair-raising).

Ma lets his hair down (doesn't sound right, does it?) for the variation pieces, and he comes out slugging with his partner, with the results being some positively ebullient music-making. I've always loved the “Maccabaeus“ variations, and a quick comparison with Barenboim and du Pré (a particular favorite) clearly establishes the newer recording as the one to have for brio, virtuosity, and just plain ol' craziness. I loved it, and I was quite pleased with the sense of fun and beautiful tone (from Ma especially) in the Mozart variations. Even if the sonata is not to your liking, the variations are well worth the purchase of the disc and can easily be put at the top of the list of the not-very-many recordings of these charmers.

As mentioned above, CBS' engineers have the balance right this time, and one may enjoy this unusual partnership in warm and roomy sound. The surfaces on my copy (domestic for this issue) could have, should have, been better. The CD edition, due any day, should certainly be the medium to opt for.

Before winding up with a recommendation for fans of the Ma-Ax duo, I must mention the cover of the album which pictures these two wonderful-looking people—Ma cross-legged and Ax with his gams hanging over the keyboard—sitting atop the piano. The happiness on their faces gives me a really good feeling. If you like these boys in this repertory, or have been searching for a special recording of the three variation works, by all means snap this one up.

-- Vincent Alfano, FANFARE [9/1986]

Drawn from the worldwide catalog holdings of Sony Classical, which includes both the Columbia/CBS and RCA Victor label imprints, the SONY Classical Originals, SONY Classical Masters Singles and Box Sets, and SONY Opera House series offer an extensive selection of highly desirable and collectible EU (Germany) pressed import editions, smartly-designed and graphically-pleasing, featuring the most sought-after recordings by the world’s preeminent, legendary artists both past and present, with many titles newly re-mastered in 24bit High Resolution Audio.

Kurt Masur 85th Anniversary (Live)

Conceived on the basis of an original idea of Maestro Kent Nagano, CD 1, titled "The General" offers an entirely new interpretation of Beethoven's Egmont, itself based on a poem by Goethe. Offered as a tribute to Lieutenant-General Roméo Dallaire, the spoken text was written by author, critic and musicologist Paul Griffiths and is narrated by the noted actor Maximilian Schell with soprano Adrianne Pieczonka. The new narrative relates the events surrounding the Rwanda crisis in 1994. CD 2 includes Beethoven's 5th Symphony and excerpts from the incidental music to Egmont, performed by Orchestre symphonique de Montréal conducted by Kent Nagano.

IMMORTAL BELOVED

Beethoven: Mass In C / Elegiac Song / Calm Sea And Prosperou

SYMPHONY NO.9

Penelope Crawford presents a program of four of Beethoven's most important transitional sonatas, bridging the gap between his "middle" and "late" periods. Composed against the backdrop of Napoleonic Europe and Metternich's Congress of Vienna, these four works chart Beethoven's growth as a composer in a rapidly changing world. As with her first Beethoven sonata recording (opp. 109-11), Musica Omnia MO 0308), a splendid fortepiano by the great Viennese builder, Conrad Graf, is used here, similar to one of the last pianos owned by Beethoven, also by Conrad Graf.

Fritz Wunderlich is starring in this rare recording of Beethoven's Oratorio.

At the heart of Trio Origo's repertoire are the earliest trios composed for clarinet, cello and piano. The origins of the repertoire lie in the 'Gassenhauer' Trio composed by Beethoven in 1797 for a clarinetist, probably Joseph B�hr, who also suggested to the composer that he use a hit tune - known as a 'Gassenhauer' - from a recent opera by Joseph Weigl. Beethoven (uncharacteristically, but with perhaps an eye on the work's future commercial success) duly obliged, and made Weigl's tune the basis for his theme-and-variations finale - but he also produced a version of the trio substituting the clarinet for the violin to ensure it's popularity. An adroit piece of reverse compositional engineering produced the Op.38 Trio from the Septet Op.20. The Septet was one of Beethoven's most popular early works, and resulted in a string of arrangements for smaller forces, most of them made by other hands, but the composer himself produced this arrangement for clarinet trio, which happily amplifies the solo instrument's prominence in the Septet. He never wrote a more joyous melody than the main subject of the first movement, and the work as a whole finds the composer at his most relaxed. While Beethoven's clarinet writing has never received the attention accorded to Mozart's, he wrote for it with no less warmth and affection, and this pair of trios displays a winning, sunny side of the composer that is often overshadowed by the cantankerous instrumental dramatist of popular myth and legend. The Finnish members of Trio Origo all pursue successful careers with chamber and period-instrument ensembles such as the Tapiola Sinfonietta, the Finnish Baroque Orchestra and the Helsinki Baroque Orchestra, but they have been performing Classical-era clarinet trios together since 2004, ranging beyond Beethoven to explore little-known gems by his contemporaries.

Beethoven's first Sonatas for violin and piano Op. 12/1-3, composed during the years 1797 and 1798, contain unmistakable elements of his later composition style, which challenged his contemporaries’ critical taste accordingly. The violin sonatas No. 4 Op. 23 and No. 5 Op. 24 and their composition correlate, according to findings of musicologists, closely with Beethoven’s own relationships. The former one seems to portray the darker side of love, its unfulfillment, whereas the later so-called ‘spring sonata’ – as a sort of characterization of a loving heart’s feeling of spring – references the sweet, beautiful aspects of love. The three sonatas Op. 30/1-3, composed in 1802, the year when he also wrote the ‘Heiligenstädter Testament’, reflect Beethoven’s emotional state and are characterized by heavy mood swings. Maybe the most famous work is the ‘Kreutzer’ sonata No. 9 in A major Op. 47, once termed unplayable by its dedicatee, the French violinist Rodolphe Kreutzer. By contrast, Beethoven’s final violin sonata No. 10 in G major Op. 96 seems more heartfelt in tone and was praised by critics as the ‘most poetic and musically most sensitively crafted’ of his sonatas. Thomas Albertus Irnberger and Michael Korstick furthermore present the variations ‘Se vuol ballare’ WoO 40 on a theme from the opera Le nozze di Figaro by W. A. Mozart. The Rondo in G major, WoO 41, and the Six German Dances, WoO 42, were written in 1794/96 and convey ease and almost juvenile cheerfulness – a trait also prevalent in the interpretation of Irnberger and Korstick.

Highly regarded as soloists as well as chamber musicians, Frank Peter Zimmermann and Martin Helmchen are also known for an unostentatious and selfless musicianship which never obscures the music they are performing. When they started their collaboration in 2018, it was with the aim of playing and recording Beethoven's 12 violin sonatas. A series of recitals at prestigious venues and festivals was followed by the first recording sessions, which took place in September 2019. Enjoy the results!

Frank Peter Zimmermann is widely regarded as one of the foremost violinists of his generation. Martin Helmchen has established himself as one of the most prominent pianists of the younger generation. 

REVIEWS:

How elegantly unforced these works come over today. Zimmermann’s sound is light, flexible, and finely shaded, with Martin Helmchen delivering effortless virtuosity. The opening of the First Sonata brings an unleashing of exuberant energy, while the opening of the Second is the epitome of mercurial high spirits. These recordings are conversations by a perfect instrumental pairing.

– BBC Music Magazine

They’re never afraid to express themselves poetically or to linger over an expressive moment. Yet there’s a briskness and momentum about all four performances. These performances wed classical verve to a profoundly Romantic spirit, and I suspect that Beethoven would have rather enjoyed the result.

– Gramophone

The monumental 'Archduke' Trio Op.97 represents Beethoven at the peak of his creativity in the genre. Sketches for all four movements of this 'symphony scored for a trio' are included in a sketchbook of 1810 containing also drafts for the Egmont music and the String Quartet in F minor Op.95. The manuscript score was written out between 3 and 26 March 1811. Three years elapsed before the work's public premiere, by Beethoven, Schuppanzigh and Linke, on 11 April 1814 as part of a charity concert in the hall of the 'Hotel zum R�mischen Kaiser' in Vienna. This concert sounded the death knell of Beethoven's public career as a pianist, owing to his profound deafness. The work's critical reception was understandably mixed, but the celebrated pianist Ignaz Moscheles. Praised it's originality while expressing reservations about the 'clarity and precision' of Beethoven's pianism. Significantly, a repeat performance of the work a few weeks later was Beethoven's final public appearance as a pianist. Inspired by the sinfonie concertante for two or more soloists and orchestra, Beethoven transports the piano trio into an orchestral context with his Triple Concerto in C major Op.56. His choice of this particular solo combination was unprecedented in the literature and, in his words, 'really something new'. The piece is performed with panache on this release by the Trio Shaham Erez Wallfisch.

Composed in 1803, while Beethoven was also writing the ‘Eroica’ Symphony, Christ on the Mount of Olives (Christus am Ölberge) is the composer’s only oratorio and combines the emotive force of his later Missa Solemnis with the theatre of a Bach Passion. With orchestra, chorus and soloists, it tells the story of Jesus’ prayer and arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane and also reflects the emotional pressure Beethoven was under at the time.

This recording by Sir Simon Rattle, with acclaimed singers Elsa Dreisig, Pavol Breslik and David Soar was made during the London Symphony Orchestra’s celebration of Beethoven’s 250th anniversary.

“When I came to the Mount of Olives, I immediately was simply puzzled. Why isn’t this piece played? Of course, it’s a mixed piece and there are weird flaws and edges but so there are in the Ninth Symphony, they’re part of the personality.

“It’s a fascinating moment in his life when he was starting really to deal with his hearing loss. He’d written the Heiligenstadt Testament, where he really confessed to his suicidal thoughts on losing the single-most important ability a musician could have. There is a kind of unearthly, underground sensation of some of it, there’s also a real feeling of naive belief in the possibility of things being better. I think it is completely heaven.” - Sir Simon Rattle

“What Rattle made clear is that the music is full of life. It is hard to imagine this performance being bettered.” - Financial Times ? “Backed by London Symphony Chorus, the soloists in this performance are well up to the challenge, bass David Soar providing the grounding over which tenor Pavol Breslik, as Jesus, sings out with noble plangency, while the sound of soprano Elsa Dreisig, as the Seraph, rings angelically through the hall.” - The Independent

“Christ on the Mount of Olives is full of things to appreciate: there’s an anticipation of the heroism in the face of darkness that would characterise Fidelio, but there are also passages that hark back to the best of Mozart” - Bachtrack