Customer Reviews

Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 - Choral / Fidelio Overture

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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?

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.

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.

For some reason I've never encountered Bernstein's Beethoven Ninth from New York, but after the two-star reviewers were through punching it -- and kicking the victim after he was down -- I felt the urge to come to the rescue. That's not hard in the first two movements. If I were at a subscription concert and heard this sweeping opening movement and ebullient Scherzo, I'd have no complaints. By the standards of a great conductor, however, they aren't special. Why leaves me at a loss, since live performances of the Ninth under Bernstein were quite special events for three decades, not just at the fall of the Berlin Wall, where he scored an international publicity success (if not entirely a musical one).

The Adagio is taken at a very broad pace consistent with Furtwangler and any number of other traditionalists. The solo woodwind playing is affecting; I also hear none of the sonic deficits that the thumping gang claims to find. The Gramophone reviewer, who was satisfied with the first two movements, found the Adagio to be self-indulgent; to me it's the heart of Bernstein's reading, more committed and emotional than what came before. But then, my taste is also traditional -- I want this music to be as wide and deep as the sea.

Everyone agrees that the whole enterprise is let down by a struggling solo quartet and student chorus in the finale. The Presto that precedes the bass's entry is robust, freely expressed, and grand in scope -- so far, so good. Norman Scott's "O fruende" is sung in Berlitz German, and his tone overall is woolly, so the critics are not off base there. They are also right about the chorus, which sounds juvenile more than amateur, and the mismatched vocal quartet, which is marred by a weak, bawling tenor. So count this movement a miss; it should never have been released. A "Choral" Sym. that falls apart at the end can't be judged a success. However, what comes before is well worth hearing.

Things go just as they should until the end of the third movement: the appropriately weighty first movement, the felicitous scherzo and the adagio that flows smooth and nice. The final movement isn't bad, that is, not until you hear Norman Scott. His singing is way too operatic that it sounds totally out of place. Nicholas Di Virgillo is not much of help, either. His singing lacks power almost to the point that it sounds comical. The final nail in the coffin is the Julliard Chorus that sounds decidedly small. It really is the singers and the chorus that let the side down in this performance. Too bad when the rest of the symphony goes rather well. The performance itself isn't bad all on the whole but I do suggest that you go for his DG remake with Vienna Philharmonic as THAT truly is the 9th for the ages.

I expected a blaring, exciting performance on Beethoven's epic Ninth Symphony in this album, with Leonard Bernstein conducting the New York Philharmonic for CBS/Sony; it turned out to be the opposite.

All the other Beethoven symphonies he recorded for CBS/Sony are great, especially the Third, the Fifth (despite an intolerably sluggish first movement), and the Sixth. But the Ninth is a complete dissapointment.

Despite Bernstein's overt and fast conducting, the performance completely lacked the power Karajan had, and even the cleaniness and precision fellow conductors Szell and Ormandy had. The brass in particular wasn't as blaring as they did on the Third.

The tenor was simply awful. His timbre was one of the worst I've ever heard. As for the Julliard School chorus (and Julliard is supposed to be America's No. 1 music academy), no offense but the singers sounded immature, a far cry from the rich, clean, powerful voices professional choirs utlizes.

One word, TERRIBLE!

This was my first experience with the conducting of Bernstein and Beethoven's 9th and I've never regretted it. Some people will say that it lacks this, that, or the other thing, but I think it's a powerful and enjoyable performance. I've heard the Karajan cycle from DG and thought that it lacked the oomph that this performance gives. Bernstein provides a passionate reading of what is, arguably, Beethoven's greatest work. You can feel the anger, the joy, the sadness, and the elation throughout the entire piece. Give it a try and decide for yourself.

I love this Beethoven Symphony, and I love this recording of it! This is both Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic at their best!