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![Beethoven: 'Choral' Symphony (No. 9); 'Choral Fantasy' / Margaret Price (Soprano); Marilyn Horne (Mezzo-Soprano); Jon Vickers (Tenor); Matti Salminen (Bass); Emanuel Ax (Piano); Zubin Mehta, Conductor; New York Philharmonic [2 VINYL LP SET] [STEREO]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51ylippHj-L._SX300_SY300_QL70_ML2_.jpg)
They are two works that are linked by more than just who composed them: the Choral Fantasy for piano, orchestra, and chorus, composed and first performed in 1808; and the Ninth Symphony, composed between 1817 and 1823, and premiered in May 1824. The Choral Fantasy begins as a fantastic display of piano virtuosity in the portentous key of C Minor, develops into an elaborate mini piano concerto whose principal melody is vaguely familiar, and then utilizes that orchestral melody for the choral setting of a poem by Christoph Kuffner in the triumphant key of C Major.
And of course, not much more need be said of the Ninth Symphony, which for all intents and purposes is probably the most forward-looking of any symphony in the concert repertoire, from its portentous opening measures to its thunderously triumphant finale and the Ode To Joy.
Two interconnected works by Beethoven. But when, and how often, have audiences been able to hear both works side-by-side in the same concert?
Fortunately, that managed not only to happen, but the end result was actually recorded, at Avery Fisher Hall on the night of February 2, 1983, when the New York Philharmonic, under their then music director Zubin Mehta, programmed both works, and got some heavy hitters to support. This 2-record set of the concert (given that the Choral Fantasy usually takes twenty minutes; while the Ninth Symphony is close to 70 minutes in length) features Emanuel Ax, then ascending to becoming one of the great American pianists of modern times, handling Beethoven's challenging keyboard passages in the Fantasy, while Dame Margaret Price, the legendary Marilyn Horne, Jon Vickers and Matti Salminen are the vocal soloists in the Ninth's famous "Ode To Joy". In both works, the New York Choral Artists are featured, under the direction of Joseph Flumemrfelt (who also was known for leading the Westminster Choir). And one can't forget Mehta's and the New York Philharmonic's considerable contributions.
RCA, which originally released the set back in 1983 (it is now run by Sony), would be well advised to re-release this pairing on a 2-CD set. All the same, however, the combination is well recorded in this classic vinyl set, and it can be considered a desired recording because of the relative infrequency of hearing both works in the same concert.
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