Customer Reviews

Beethoven: Symphony No. 7 / Dorati

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

 

 

This is the most exciting Seventh I know of (and, yes, I am familiar with the refined Kleiber reading which is also wonderful). Here, there is so much of the drama and punch that I feel is necessary with Beethoven. The engineering and remastering teams must also receive full marks. Since this is an older recording there is some tape hiss present, but the orchestral sound is so vivid that the recording could have been made yesterday.

Antal Dorati was largely underrated because he was overshadowed by such eminent, brand-name composers as Karajan, Bernstein, Mehta and Solti. But Dorati's legacy lives on through copious record albums that have been digitally remastered, taken from their original LP's which date as far back as the 50's. Dorati was no stranger to Classical, Romantic and 20th century repertoire as his records attest. He once recorded all of Franz Joseph Haydn's symphonies. On print and commerciallt available are Beethoven's 5th and 6th symphonies. And then there's one.

Beethoven's 7th sounds fresh, powerful, vibrant and beautiful. It is Beethoven's most danceable symphony, almost an extended ballet. The rich, lilting melodies caress our ears and the allegro and adagio of the fist movements are treated with sensitivity and grandeur by the London Symphony Orchestra, which Dorati guest conducted. The finale allegro con brio is extremely lively and miraculously performed in a balanced pace. Karajan's rendition of this finale sounds too fast. Only Solti is possibly the best. Dorati captures the spirit of the work well. As a bonus, this CD features a Leonore Overture, one of the many overtures written during the making of Beethoven's only opera Fidelio. A sign of his perfectionism, the Leonore Overtures attest to his revisionist attitude before finalizing a work. The Egmont Overture is grand and romantic and sounds terrific on here. The Consecration of the House is also great on here. This music was written for the opening of a theater in Vienna that still stands today. Antal Dorati fans will want to get this recording along with the many other Dorati albums.

This is an excellent Seventh and the Mercury sound is captured marvellously. The most impressive thing is the sound of the strings, very vivid and alive. It sounds like you are in the concert hall. Also, I must point out the overtures in particular are outstanding on this disc, and the Leonore no. 3 stands out even more. This has to be one of the finest accounts on disc, and the huge chord that comes just a few bars before the end is earth shattering and will shake the room (if you play it at the volume required!). Nevertheless, I have one problem that keeps this from being a five star recommendation: where are the brass? Perhaps due to the three mic system employed by Mercury, the brass are not heard very well at all and it is important in my opinion to hear the brass clearly in these works. Other than that, fine accounts of these works.

After playing sections of this CD against the Steinberg Pittsburg CD of the same piece it is pretty clear that, 1. Steinberg is probably a better Beethoven conductor than Dorati, and, 2. The Pittsburg CD taken from magnetic tape is a different but equally valid and effective way to record an orchestra. Which latter is saying a lot, given the quality of the Mercury engineers' work. Finally I think Steinberg elicts a more stylish sound from his musicians, with the sections blending better - those who prefer their Beethoven a little rough will probably prefer the Doarti. So if you wish an excellent energetic version of this symphony you will be very happy with this performance by Dorati, but you might also consider the more stylish Steinberg perfomance with Pittsburg.

Extraordinaria versión de Antal Dorati, aunque usted tenga muchos otras grandes versiones de ésta amada Sinfonía, le recomiendo que se anime a adquirir la de Dorati, seguramente quedará plenamente satisfecho. Es una interpretación que tiene ese elemento "X", que hace de una gran version en algo épico.

CÓMPRELO YA!