Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 - Choral / Fidelio Overture

Regina Sarfaty (Artist), Martina Arroyo (Artist), Nicholas Di Virgilio (Artist), Norman Scott (Artist), Ludwig van Beethoven (Composer), Leonard Bernstein (Conductor), Abraham Kaplan (Conductor), New York Philharmonic Orchestra (Orchestra) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Orchestra: New York Philharmonic Orchestra
• Conductor: Leonard Bernstein, Abraham Kaplan
• Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven
• Audio CD (March 31, 1998)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B0000062E4
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #163,251 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Mixed success..., May 6, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 - Choral / Fidelio Overture (Audio CD)

Bernstein meets with mixed success in this recording. He handles the orchestral parts of the symphony with great energy and emotion(great momentum too), but the finale doesn't sound too great here-if you're used to the beautiful voices of Jose van Dam or Placido Domingo singing Schiller's poem, you'll be quite disappointed at the mediocre solo in this recording and the way they scream their lungs out and mispronounce the German text... Audiophiles please stay away. Too bad Sony Classical didn't do a good job with the digital remastering, nor did the original performance seem to be well recorded either, with the choral parts sounding as if they were sung inside a cave. I have not yet had the pleasure of hearing Bernstein's other performances of this symphony, but people say they're a lot better than this one. Last but not least, the third movement is played too slow...gets kind of boring. Unless you're building a collection of Beethoven Ninths or Bernstein recordings, there's no reason to spend your money on this cd.

As for the Fidelio overture, this is one of the best performance of it which I have heard, but after Beethoven's Ninth, who feels like an overture?

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Bernstein is teeming with interest and humanity; the letdown is the choral finale, January 17, 2012

By 

Andrew R. Barnard (Leola, Pa United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 - Choral / Fidelio Overture (Audio CD)

I'm rarely satisfied by Beethoven interpretations, finding most performances of his music to be rather lacking in personality and drama. The authentic movement, while certainly not all bad, seems to have influenced conductors to conduct Beethoven with the end goal being elegance. But Beethoven is the greatest of symphonists; certainly a bit of ambition and vision wouldn't hurt. Thankfully, Bernstein cares nothing for pleasing the purists. In this recording of the 9th, Bernstein gives his all, allowing the music to come forth gloriously unhindered, full of insight and meaning. The only setback here is the finale, where, for some reason or another, Bernstein got a poor cast of singers and the second rate Julliard Choir.

In the past I've sometimes found Bernstein to overemphasize his music to the point where it becomes a bunch of exaggerated sentimentality. That's not desired in the Beethoven 9th, a piece the demands clarity amid all artistic adventures. Bernstein seems to realize this as he never allows the music to get out of hand; it's always filled with comprehensive purpose. His vision allows for thunderous orchestral playing, making every moment interesting. The New York strings, the basses in particular, play with the utmost of zeal and fire. But what makes this album extraordinary is Bernstein's ability to uncover the humanity of Beethoven. He paints the music as grand and glorious, to be sure, but it's very personal, almost intimate. This is music making that for all its excitement somehow manages to touch us in the depth of our souls. Above all, Bernstein conducts with love. The 3rd movement, which can easily become a dirge, is soaring with hope in Bernstein's hands, profoundly moving. For me, it's here where Bernstein is the most moving. In the vast choral finale, Bernstein gives much emphasis to brotherhood. This was Beethoven's intention, of course, but too many try to tame it. Bernstein doesn't, allowing beauty to wash over us, combined with a longing for unity. Of course the drawback is the singers. Other reviewers have done a fine job attacking their integrity, so there's little left for me to do. For myself, despite the low choral standards, Bernstein was still interesting, with insight of his own. It's impossible to be a thorough success in the light of second rate singing, but Bernstein keeps it from being a failure.

In closing, I'm delighted to have gotten a hold of a Beethoven Ninth that attempts to impart something special. The low quality cast of singers in the finale detracts some from the overall enjoyment but not enough to ruin the other movements.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Hit and miss - mainly the latter, September 20, 2010

By 

Ralph Moore "Ralph operaphile" (Bishop's Stortford, UK) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 - Choral / Fidelio Overture (Audio CD)

I like a great deal of Bernstein's Beethoven, but this Ninth is not one of his successes. First, the sound is tubby and bloated, lacking in definition and detail. Then, Lenny barrels through the first two movements without any of his customary conscious striving for effect and gives a general impression of a defect I never expect to find in him: boredom. Phrasing in the opening movement is choppy and perfunctory and the molto vivace sounds simply rushed, as if Bernstein needed to catch the last train home, and although I suppose it has a certain perky momentum, Beethovenian grandeur is in short supply. Conversely, the Adagio is slack and laboured - but worse is to come. The final movement is simply horrible - and not just because the soloists are so egregiously poor. Norman Scott sounds way beyond his yell-by date and the tenor is...well, don't take my word for it; you just have to hear him - but please don't part with any money to do so. It is not always the case that unknown names bring disappointment, but in the case of the tenor and mezzo the ungenerous verdict "justly neglected" comes to mind. Martina Arroyo - a singer I generally admire greatly - does her reputation no favours here; she simply gets through it in the same spirit as the New York Philharmonic, who must have known that this was not going to be their finest hour. The Juilliard School Chorus sounds like a bunch of amateur hacks, tenors bawling gamely, ragged entries all over the place, sopranos squawking incongruously - though matters do improve in the fugue.

OK, I admit it; I haven't the heart to comment on the "Fidelio" overture, as who cares whether it's good after so dispiriting a performance of the main work? I have no sympathy with the way Harold C Schonberg systematically trashed Bernstein in his New York Times reviews during Lenny's tenure in the 60's, but if he caught this performance it would have been grist to his mill. As a Bernstein devotee, I urge you to give this one a miss and go for a really great performance, such as the live Klemperer at the Royal Festival Hall in 1957 (see my review) or Fürtwängler at Lucerne in 1954 (his last - again, see my review) or one of the great Karajan studio recordings.