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29 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Search no more for a perfect Ninth..., December 6, 2002
This review is from: Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 "Choral"; Fidelio Overture (Audio CD)
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.
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
forceful, lyrical performances, May 26, 2003
This review is from: Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 "Choral"; Fidelio Overture (Audio CD)
the beethoven cycle recorded by george szell and the cleveland orchestra in the early 1960's is a miraculous and distinctive account of the symphonies and major orchestral overtures. it manages at the same time to be true to the spirit of beethoven yet immediately fresh and new when compared with almost any other performance available on disc. szell raised the ensemble and technical control of the cleveland orchestra to an astonishing level, which allowed him many hair raising plunges through the music, for example in the last movements of the 5th and 7th symphonies. the orchestra could render the full dynamic range, and the strings -- for example in the first chords of the egmont overture -- were capable of the powerful, rich sonority we expect from a brass choir. the real beauty in szell's interpretations is the orchestra's almost balletic sensitivity to rhythm and musical accent. these musicians don't just play the music as a dance, they express dancing as they play. it's a treat to be surprised by this irresistible, springing dance energy in movements that are so often played as academic forms -- the disc of the 1st and 6th symphonies provides many happy moments, as does the scherzo of the 9th. one regrets that there's no szell recording of beethoven's "creatures of prometheus" available. i love these recordings. at a time when our culture relies on noise, speed, excess, vulgarity and lack of control to get our attention, it's a treat to hear beethoven that is sonorous, sprightly, forceful, lyrical and eloquent. and at a bargain price!
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Breathtaking, January 29, 2005
This review is from: Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 "Choral"; Fidelio Overture (Audio CD)
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."
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