|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Bernstein And Beethoven: The 1960s (Symphonies 1 & 3),
By
This review is from: Beethoven: Symphonies Nos. 1, & 3 - Eroica (Bernstein Royal Edition #3) (Audio CD)
Like all the great conductors of the world, Leonard Bernstein has his favorite composers--in his case, this would be Aaron Copland and Gustav Mahler. And as I've mentioned in my reviews of his recordings of the Haydn masses, he has done as much as, if not more than, anyone else to ensure that those late Mass settings of the great Papa Haydn cement their place in our choral repertoire.
But again like the great conductors, Lenny knew that it would be Beethoven that he would need to master to achieve greatness; and during his thirteen years as the music director of the New York Philharmonic, he proved that in committing to record his first go-around of the great Ludwig van's nine symphonies. On this particular recording, he and his New York Philharmonic essay the composer's First and Third symphonies. It is all too easy to neglect the First Symphony because it still shows the hallmarks of Haydn and Mozart in its proportions and orchestral forces. But what Beethoven did from the beginning was to put a more significant emphasis on the wind section, especially in the Haydnesque slow intro to the first movement; and the third movement, instead of being a traditional Minuet as before, is really the composer's first propulsive Scherzo, anticipating what was to come in the eight symphonies yet to come, and in the symphonies of Schubert. And of course, the Third, the celebrated "Eroica", was a work close to the composer, one that showed him overcoming, if not physically then mentally, the personal strain that his encroaching deafness had placed on him, and his dismay at Napoleon's shocking delusions of imperial grandeur. Both symphonies got the greatest of treatments here by Bernstein and his orchestra in these recordings originally made for CBS in January 1964. Similar in tempo and pacing to the later Herbert Blomstedt/San Francisco Symphony pairing of these same two symphonies (which I've also reviewed), these show Bernstein treating Beethoven as the Everyman composer with an extraordinary way of probing into the human soul--and utilizing an orchestra not much larger than what either Haydn or Mozart needed (only a third French horn is added into the mix in the Eroica). Bernstein's later Vienna Philharmonic recordings of the symphonies for Deutsche Grammophon would, of course, slow things down to the dismay of many, especially those within the period instrument/authentic performance movement who frowned on the supposed "excesses" of conductors like LB. But for the purposes of the turbulent 1960s, the performances on hand are still full of the kind of energy that Bernstein exuded in whatever he did. These are still vital and essential performances, and thus highly recommended.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A great Beethoven bargain at 75 min.,
By Santa Fe Listener (Santa Fe, NM USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER) (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)
This review is from: Beethoven: Symphonies Nos. 1, & 3 - Eroica (Bernstein Royal Edition #3) (Audio CD)
Sony has reissued Bernstein's famous 1964 Eroica in quite a few versions. This one from the 1990s Royal Edition (silly name!) gives you the most music for your money. It is out of print, however, and must be searched out at eBay or from used CD dealers.
The Firts Sym., as LB approaches it, is more slashing, bigger sounding, and just as heroic as the Eroica--it is fully Beethovenian. Obviously the conductor's instinct was to elevate an early symphony into the world of the later ones. Stylistic tastes have changed considerably since then, but even for its time this Bernstien recording was larger scaled than, say, Szell's or Walter's. It is even bigger than Karajan's in his 1962 cycle, though both conductors are on the same page. No Haydn here. Bernstein gives us the same moderately fast tempos as Karajan but is 2 min. slower in the andante. I have reviewed the Eroica under its most recent Bernstein Century release (another silly name)but as far as I know, the same remasteirng appears there and in this more generous coupling. In sum, the First and Third Sym. are outstanding examples of LB's way with Beethoven in the NY phase of his career.
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A grand First... an Ageless Third!,
By
This review is from: Beethoven: Symphonies Nos. 1, & 3 - Eroica (Bernstein Royal Edition #3) (Audio CD)
Just as he did with the genre of the quartet, Beethoven held off before finally writing his first symphony: that genre, as also with the string quartet, had been thoroughly explored by both Haydn and Mozart before him. The First has been called "Mozartian"-- though it is closer, really, to Haydn-- and rougher in texture than either. But that roughness was calculated, rather like the chiseled surfaces of a Rodin. It is appropriate that Bernstein and the NYPO here are NOT "period" style performances, as Beethoven himself was trying for something bigger, something different-- as anyone at the time hearing the diminshed seventh chord opening the symphony could have told. The First is a great opening to the master's symphonic career... combining the best of the past with innovative novelty, as indeed Beethoven was to do his whole life.
The Third is one of the great monuments of Western Art: a towering achievement, as central to artistic history as Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel work, Leonardo's Last Supper, or the works of Dante and Shakespeare. And after having heard easily dozens of other performances, live and on record, including others conducted by maestro Bernstein, THIS is the recording I go back to for pleasure, for the artistic experience, the exaltation which this deathless music produces. The first movement is perfectly paced, sinewy and sensitive at once, brimming with power and intellect. No one has ever bettered the rendition of the great Funeral March. The trio in the Scherzo and its famous syncopation are beautiful.And the warmth and nobility of the finale is magnificent. Who cares if the recording is nearly fifty years old? It throbs with life as much as if it were being recorded as you listen! And it is amazing to consider that Beethoven drew such sonorities from the same size orchestra as used by his predecessors. (The third horn was not unusual-- Mozart had FOUR in the "Little G Minor Symphony" no. 25. Beethoven didn't even have the 3rd horn in another of his amazing symphonies, the Seventh.) A recommendation, as in general with all classical orchestral music, Beethoven in particular: Listen to it LOUD... as loud as you can tolerate, short of bringing the cops knocking at your door-- and with no distractions. The music will carry you along with a literally visceral sweep... and you'll finally understand by Classical music is called CLASSICAL! This music is as contemporary and immediate as the day of its first performance! And as valid an expression of the human mind and soul as any, ever.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
|
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Passionate about music?
Learn more at SoundUnwound, the personal music encyclopedia, or challenge your friends with our music quizzes.
