Customer Reviews

Beethoven: Symphony No. 9

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This superb performance is the first major orchestral recording with the new Jonathan Del Mar-edited score, without relying too much on excessively fast tempi. The sound quality wrought by Sony's engineers is quite good, though not nearly as crisp as Teldec's and Deutsche Grammophone's for their Barenboim and new Abbado Beethoven symphony cycles, respectively. Yet despite this major shortcoming, Abbado and the Berlin Philharmonic offer a stellar version of the 9th Symphony that is as electrifying as the Karajan/Berlin Philharmonic 1977 version, which many regard as the definitive recording of this symphony.

The singers in the last movement are excellent. The overal sound is very good. Abbado take's fairly fast but not Hogwood speed demon tempos. The Berlin Philharmonic is on top form with the woodwinds and horns beautifully caught. The venue in Salzburg is not often used, but Sony seems to have done a good job on the recording. Abbado has quicker tempos then on his VPO recording from the 80's. However it works and this recording may be the best we have had for some years.

This is a splendid version of Beethoven's 9th, recorded live at the Salzburg Easter Festival in 1996. As Fanfare said in its review: "This performance can take its place beside the finest available editions." In my opinion, where Abbado and his Berlin Philharmonic excel is in the second movement, the "Molte vivace - presto." I have never heard it played with such incredible vivacity, the dance rhythms literally propelling me to my feet! The critics seem to agree that this performance is much better than the one from a few years later by Abbado and the BPO which is included in the Beethoven Symphonien 1-9 box set.

The first version I heard of the 9th was Karajan and his BPO, and it left me cold (other than being struck by the famous melody for the chorus of the 4th movement, which I first knew as a church hymn long ago). Admittedly it might have partly been due to my lack of receptivity, but I think if there had been some special spark in it, I would have responded. Now I've discovered both this Abbado recording and the historic recording of Furtwangler at Bayreuth in 1951 (see my review) and I cannot stop listening to one of the all-time great works.

Though this 1997 version has been deleted, the version that I recently bought is an updated "Masterworks Expanded Edition" from Sony (Sony Classical/Legacy SK 93011), released in 2004, so it is quite available, but apparently not yet through Amazon. It adds an excellent but short bonus track, the finale (Allegretto) from "The Creatures of Prometheus, Op. 43."

Although the 1999 Penguin guide likes this performance, I cannot agree entirely. It has its great moments and overall the playing and singing are very good. Ben Heppner stands out well among the soloists. But the interpretation doesn't really bring any new insights, and in a market of dozens of Ninths it is merely average. I was also somewhat disappointed with the sound which seemed a bit recessed and definitely not up to the standards I have come to expect from Berlin. I had trouble hearing some of the detail. If you are searching for a Ninth you may want to check out Charles Mackerras/Royal Liverpool Philharmonic on EMI, Gunter Wand on RCA, either of Bernstein's readings on DG, or Sinopoli's recent Dresden recording on DG.

Abbado can give very good and even great Beethoven performances live. This isn't one. Despite the excellent vocal quartet for the last movement, there is no sense of occasion here, just a good reading without risks or depth of feeling. I kept listening for mystery and dramatic intensity in the first movement but couldn't find it. The scherzo went well enough, but the slow movement never rose to express the composer's noble intentions. The choral finale was accomplished from orchestra, chorus, and soloists, but it struck no deep chords. The recorded sound was nothing special the first time around, so I bought this DSD "enhanced" remastering, but it still falls shosrt in dramatic impact, clarity and detail.

All told, Abbado's later performance on DG as part of his complete cycle is more exciting and personal.

I will personally consider this recording of Beethoven's 9th Symphony as the very pinnacle in the very distinguished career of maestro Clauddio Abbado.
I have never heard a recording in which I could hear every single member of an orchestra play at their most spectacular best, and somehow Abbado managed to achieve such a thing while under the baton of the Berlin Philharmonic.
I will also give credit to the soloists Eaglen, Meier, Heppner, and Terfel along with the Ericson Choir and Swedish Radio Choir for helping with their outstanding singing.
I so strongly recommend this recording if you have a passion for music in general.

This version of the 9th is astonishingly good, eliciting the very best performances from both orchestra and singers. Music of this sublime inspiration and energy -- like many other works of Beethoven -- requires no ornamentation. And yet, too often Beethoven falls prey to conductors who overplay his music, marring and misrepresenting it with excess -- in tempo, intensity and overall interpretation. This recording is a decidedly welcome change, refreshingly clean and crisp. And, the singing is magnificent --Heppner and Terfel in particular. There is simply no better version of this work.

I have looked everywhere for a satisfactory recording of Beethoven's 9th Symphony, and this is the only one that has met my expectations for this very special composition. Since I found this recording at a library out of my state, I have been looking everywhere for it or another that is as good. There is none. Now that I've found it on the internet, I will not wait any longer to buy it. It is more than worth any amount of money that they would charge for it. Buy it, listen to it, enjoy it.

This recording was listed second as one of the four best of this work by critic Stephen Johnson in his feature "Building a Library" for the Feburary 2010 issue of THE BBC MUSIC MAGAZINE. His other choices were, first, Klemperer's 1957 recording on Testament, third, Furtwangler's 1951 take on Naxos and EMI, and Toscanini in 1952 on RCA.

Even though Abbado's tempos are a bit slower than a few years later on his DVD for EuroArts, part of his series of the Beethoven Symphonies on DVD, this recording projects true greatness. The first movement is perhaps the most successful here, the scherzo being a bit too slow to present the complete dynamism of the music, but the slow movement is given one of the greatest performances since the Furtwangler (or Bernstein in Vienna), and the finale will make you get up and dance, though the coda is perhaps too deliberate to get the true rapture of this great orgy of joy. The spirit of Furtwangler is strong in this performance (and Abbado counts his great predecessor as one of his major influences as a conductor), especially in the magnificient torrent of the first movement and the ethereal calm of the third. The vocal quartet is one of the finest, and sound is warm and detailed, as well, though the DVD I mentioned is even better in that department. It is this cd, however, which is certainly one of the best recordings ever made of the 9th ,though I'd like to add the Bernstein in Vienna.

I bought this CD simply as a fan of Heppner, and Eaglen. I love listening to the last movement, hearing the incredible singing of Heppner, and Eaglen, as well as Terfel, and Meier. Heppner's brillant sound and Eaglen's sultry soprano are well presented here, as well as the rest of the piece. Terfel is also a standout.