Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 ~ Previn

Beethoven (Composer), Previn (Conductor), Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (Orchestra), Ambrosian Singers (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Ambrosian Singers
• Orchestra: Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
• Conductor: Previn
• Composer: Beethoven
• Audio CD (January 10, 1995)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: RCA
• ASIN: B000003EZG
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 2.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #532,486 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good, but not among the best, January 25, 2000

By 

J. Buxton "cantabile" (Waltham, MA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 ~ Previn (Audio CD)

Don't get me wrong, I love Andre Previn and overall I enjoy this disc. However, he is not helped by inferior sound. I found it a bit cloudy and difficult to hear at times. The playing of the RPO is surely fine and the soloists(particularly the two male soloists) do an excellent job. For better recorded sound you might try Gunter Wand on RCA, or Giuseppe Sinopoli with the Staatskapelle Dresden on Deutsche Grammophon. Bernstein's second recording of the Ninth with the Vienna Philharmonic also has outstanding sound coupled with a great performance.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Everybody deserves at least one try, May 21, 2006

By 

Santa Fe Listener (Santa Fe, NM USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 ~ Previn (Audio CD)

Every big-name conductor gets a try at the Beethoven Ninth, and some, like Charles Munch, Solti, and Andre Previn on this CD, come up very, very short. Previn is bland to the point of incredulity in the first movement, whose slackness couldn't be greater. The same holds true for the sublime Adagio, which here comes off as a limp series of phrases with no conneciton. The Scherzo proceeds proficienlty enough, and the vocal quartet, recruited from the Met despite the London locale of the recording, are fine. but the conducting remains sluggish to the end. The sonics from 1988 are resonant but otherwise natural. Anyway, why bother with details when the conductor is at such a loss?

2.0 out of 5 stars More of Previn's weak Beethoven, March 24, 2011

By 

J. K. Davis MD (Cleveland, Ohio) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 ~ Previn (Audio CD)

This is a pretty listless performance. I've now heard all of Previn's Beethoven recordings. Not much life except in the 5th and some of the overtures. As far as the 9th, this probably doesn't rank in the top 50 available recordings. Look elsewhere.