Customer Reviews

Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 / Solti

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This version of Beethoven's Ninth is outstanding in its choral work and the quartet of soloists. We often have a situation where the tenor is weak, or the bass is weak, or the soprano is weak, or the alto is weak. not so here. Talvela will take the breath out of you with his bass entry - rock solid and ringing out gloriously "Oh friends, not these sounds anymore". Burrows was an underrated tenor. Here his tenor line soars searingly and thrillingly above the chorus at the end of the march. Compare Karajan's 1977 version where the chorus had to be made to almost disappear so that the tenor could be heard. Minton is as strong as any other alto in any other recording. Lorengar, although not in the scharwkopf class (1951 Bayreuth Furtwangler) still gives an outstanding performance that outshines most other recordings. The other star is of course the Chicago Symphony Chorus. How many times has the chorus in the "Choral Symphony" been a disappointment? Not so here. I haven't heard a better chorus to be honest - not Klemperer's Philharmonia, not Karajan's 1963 or 1977 recording, not Furtwangler, not Gardiner's Monteverdi Choir..... Yes, the choral work here is nothing short of superb.
Get this. One of the most magnificent Choral Symphony ever comitted to disc. Believe me, I collect Beethoven's Ninth. It doesn't get much better than this.

Right from the opening, you know this one is going to be special. Solti definitely has listened to a lot of Furtwangler in preparation to confront Beethoven and his 9th Symphony. The tempos are broad in the opening movement and especially spacious in the adagio. Solti is not a questing, spiritual conductor like Wilhelm Furtwangler was and that's most readily felt in the adagio where Solti's communicate powers are not in the same league as that of the great German maestro. Be that as it may, I personally think that this Solti performance is one of the most powerful and hypnotizing since the days of Furtwangler. I think in many ways Solti simply modeled his concept of the 9th on the famous Furtwangler Bayreuth performance from 1951. Solti is certainly not basing his ideas on the searing, cataclysmic passions of Furtwangler's wartime 9th. Nor is Solti as full of drama and adrenaline as the great Karajan version from 1962 for instance. Solti does his own thing and does it rather well, this is a well breathed, spacious, dignified account that is not lacking in drama. Some listeners who are used to more modern day accounts might find the tempos of the 1st and 3rd movements a bit tedious but the scherzo and especially the great finale are well worth the purchase of this CD.

The first movement is immense, the whole thing is mesmerizing in it's thunderous procession. Decca provides outstanding analogue sound with plenty of bass so the lower instruments and the percussion have great impact. The development section and recapitulation are very dramatic and the whole movement elicits outstanding playing from the Chicago orchestra, although it's far slower than Karajan for instance but about on par with Furtwangler in Bayreuth.

The scherzo does not let up any in it's fierce attack but the lyricism of the contrasting trio section is played exceptionally. Solti takes one too many repeats in the scherzo, I typically fast forward that extra repeat which most conductors skip over. Solti himself skipped it in his later digital recording from 1986.

The adagio is very beautiful indeed and played at this spacious tempo you can truly revel in it's gorgeous delights even though the profundity of Furtwangler eludes Solti. For the most part I think Solti is a rapturous success here regardless of the fact that he can't compare with that master.

The final movement has some of the best choral work ever recorded. Margaret Hillis is the famed director of the Chicago Symphony Chorus and they sound amazing in this recording. The soloists make one hell of a team with Martti Talvela truly standing out in his declamatiion, " O Freunde, nicht diese Tone!" What a voice on this guy!

This is a special recording of Beethoven's 9th Symphony along with several other classic accounts like Furtwangler's wartime 1942 performance, the famous Bayreuth account from 1951 as well as Karajan's recordings from 1962 and 1977 plus Gunter Wand's digital rendition on RCA. I wouldn't hesitate to add this Solti performance to the league of the great ones! Although it lacks the great dramatic urgency of Karajan or the fervent spirituality of Furtwangler, Solti's performance still works in it's own way.

P.S. Solti recorded this symphony again in 1986 ( slower tempos and less vibrant sound ), and it wasn't nearly as successful as this earlier version.

P.P.S. You can also find this classic 1972 Solti Ninth available in the Penguin Classics series, it is the exact same thing as this CD.

This recording was made in the seventies when Solti was at his peak. Solti re-recorded this when he was much older. The sound quality of the later recording lacks the briskness and vitality of this recording, even though the digital recording of the later version is...well...cleaner. However, if you're looking for a great performance, the soloists here will make the hair on the back of your neck stand up. Highly recommend.

The Ninth Symphony was a pivotal work in the classical repertoire. In the first two movements, Beethoven, the storm-tossed genius, wrestles with the musical gods to fold the passion of 19th century music into the classical structures handed to him by Haydn and Mozart. In the last two movements, Beethoven transcends these musical structures to write music that paved the way for composers of the 19th Century.

When most listeners think of this masterwork, they focus on the last movement. What sets this recording apart from other great performances are the first three movements. Solti's specialty was the German Romantic orchestral literature, which shows in his interpretation of the Ninth. Solti's Ninth is a very romantic but powerful and masculine symphony. At his disposal was the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the best American orchestra of its era (1970s). Solti combines perfect tempi, strong contrasts in dynamics, and an emphasis on the rhythms to highlight the tensions and drama in the first two movements. In Solti's hands the second movement is the definitive Scherzo.

In the third movement, Solti uses his feeling for Wagner to play this movement, essentially the transcript of a string quartet Adagio, as a Wagnerian idyll. Again, Solti captures a pivotal moment in music history as Beethoven is showing his fellow composers the way forward. No interpretation captures the contrast of the dramatic tension of the first two movements with the serenity of the third movement better than this recording does.

I highly recommend this recording to both expert and casual listeners of classical music.

I recently bought this via Amazon.com because the CD is now unavailable in the UK. I was not disappointed. The performance is quite simply excellent, and the recording has transferred very well indeed to CD. The quartet of soloists is very strong, with special praise deserved by the bass, Martti Talvela. Other reviews have singled out Solti's treatment of the slow movement as controversial. I found his approach works very effectively and most importantly he gives the impression of seeing the symphony as a whole, rather than just a series of episodes. I already have recordings by Karl Bohm, Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt, and Leonard Bernstein, as well as having heard the work live on several occasions, most recently with Bernard Haitink conducting the London Symphony Orchestra. This Solti performance is worthy of comparison with the best - overall a most satisfying experience.

This recording, from the 1st cycle that Solti recorded with the Chicago, is a stellar performance. I purchased it because Decca, in the interest of saving a few bucks, split it up onto two discs in the boxed set (pretty stupid, huh?). I'm sure everyone would agree with me that they would be willing to pay a few extra bucks to not have this greatest of symphonies split up between two discs. Luckily, we have the option of picking up this recording and hearing the whole thing uninterrupted. A truly landmark recording.

This 1972 Beethoven Ninth from Solti is surprisingly expansive--it's strange to think of the Hungarian fire-breather conducting slower than Furtwangler. Although the Gramophone called Solti's 1986 remake 'extraordinarily tedious' and 'exciting if you are a nonagenarian German,' the slow tempos here mostly work. The Adagio definitely becomes tedious at Solti's crawl, not because of the slowness but because he finds so little inner life and tension in this movement.

But that's the only bad news. As other reviewers have said, the choral work in the finale, along with the solo quartet, is outstanding. Margaret Hillis's CSO Chorus was justly famous; here they are musical, clear, in tune, and well recorded. In addition, Solti gives the soloists and chorus permission to sing lyrically rather than shout--always a relief in the Ninth. Martti Talvela sings the bass recitative so fluidly that you wonder why other basses resort to barking.

The first movement is also fairly broad, and Solti is not the best at evoking mystery or a searching quality htat great Ninths invariably have, but the CSO plays so well and he conducts so respectfully that this movement holds one's attention. So does the Scherzo, which is middle-of-the-road despite one's expectation that Solti will let 'er rip with the timpani interjections. He doesn't, which is consistent with his middle-European approach to Beethoven in general.

In sum, a more than respectable Ninth that by comparison makes Abbado on Sony, Wand and Mehta on RCA, and even Giulini on EMi look to their mettle. Anyone interested in Solti's Beethoven could do worse than begin here. (Note: Listeners put off by Solti's broad tempos should know that his 1986 remake is less crisp and at times even slower.)

... version of the 9th Symphony by Beethoven, choose this one. Of course, this is silly advice, but I think you should buy books and CDs as if you can only offer 500 of each: that way, you will choose with discretion.

So why buy this one and not, say, von Karajan or Furtwangler? Because the 'cast' put together here were all at their very best at the time of recording, because Solti is a magnificent conductor who puts his talent at the disposition of the music and the performers, and not the other way around.

I am very tempted to say that even if you could buy only 500 CDs, you might still want 2 or 3 recordings of this symphony of symphonies. (By the way, you cannot really buy this work and not buy Bruckners 9th, preferably conducted by Haitink). But if you could choose only one.... get this one. Once at home, evacuate the neighbourhood and turn up the volume. You will be tranported to heaven.

The Ninth Symphony was a pivotal work in the classical repertoire. In the first two movements, Beethoven, the storm-tossed genius, wrestles with the musical gods to fold the passion of 19th century music into the classical structures handed to him by Haydn and Mozart. In the last two movements, Beethoven transcends these musical structures to write music that paved the way for composers of the 19th Century.

When most listeners think of this masterwork, they focus on the last movement. What sets this recording apart from other great performances are the first three movements. Solti's specialty was the German Romantic orchestral literature, which shows in his interpretation of the Ninth. Solti's Ninth is a very romantic but powerful and masculine symphony. At his disposal was the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the best American orchestra of its era (1970s). Solti combines perfect tempi, strong contrasts in dynamics, and an emphasis on the rhythms to highlight the tensions and drama in the first two movements. In Solti's hands the second movement is the definitive Scherzo.

In the third movement, Solti uses his feeling for Wagner to play this movement, essentially the transcript of a string quartet Adagio, as a Wagnerian idyll. Again, Solti captures a pivotal moment in music history as Beethoven is showing his fellow composers the way forward. No interpretation captures the contrast of the dramatic tension of the first two movements with the serenity of the third movement better than this recording does.

I highly recommend this recording to both expert and casual listeners of classical music.

A truly interesting rendition--and sometimes truly affecting. The speed of the first movement is slow and paints what I'd call a landscape of sound, rather than a drama of sound. The tempo also highlights the amazing players of the orchestra, as each has plenty of time to say their piece when the time comes, though there are spots where miking is not proper to fully hear the soloing instruments, one of which is just after 15:00. The timpani is outstanding. The overall power of the orchestra is felt very much. I get the feeling Solti wanted to showcase his people, but perhaps that's just a by-product of his rendition. I can imagine hearing this live would have a stirring effect, much more so than in a recording. It'd be easier to be drawn in to the "landscape", I think. However, there is a nice sense of anticipation throughout. One amazing thing is that the movement never plods or bogs down. And an interesting thing is that you can very clearly hear Beethoven's detail work. It's like seeing a slow motion replay.

The 2nd movement starts with power and a more spritely pace. I wouldn't exactly call it rocking and rolling but it does move along nicely.

You can hear Mahler in the first few minutes of the 3rd movement, but after that it's pure Beethoven. The leisurely pace is very very nice. It lets everything build in an unrushed way. And the crescendos of the movement unfold well. There were moments I was truly affected in this and the next movement.

I'd hardly call the pacing of the 4th movement Presto, but it's ok. Again, you get a kind of expanded view of the music. The first voice's entrance is thrilling. What a singer! The leadup to the little march has great volume and is really drawn out due to the slower rhythm, which makes the little march's entrance particular effective. The little march itself is masterfully done, by keeping the percussion and other instruments low-key and subtle. As the chorus and soloists get cranked up again, the soprano goes over the top, which doesn't ruin the effect, but makes things a bit unbalanced with the other soloists, who are a tad harder to hear. That unbalance could also be due to one mike being shared by the four. Anyhow, things get bigger and bigger towards the final run. Then, presto change-o, you get a Presto coda! It's a pretty heady ending; an excellent display of firework.

All in all, I've got to admit: good work. (It's pretty astounding the same conductor recorded the same symphony in 1986. Please see my review of that one.)

The analog recording is exceptionally clear and faithful.