Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven
Orchestra: Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra
Conductor: Gustavo DudamelDudamel
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Deutsche Grammophon
Catalogue: 4776228
Release: 2006
Size: 279 MB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: cover
Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67
01. 1. Allegro con brio
02. 2. Andante con moto
03. 3. Allegro
04. 4. Allegro
Symphony No. 7 in A major, Op. 92
05. 1. Poco sostenuto – Vivace
06. 2. Allegretto
07. 3. Presto – Assai meno presto
08. 4. Allegro con brio
On the evidence of these performances – a vibrant, glowing Seventh and a poorly thought-out, run-of-the-mill Fifth – Dudamel is a born conductor but an unpractised interpreter. His style suggests a longing to return to the glory days of an era which ended with the deaths of Bernstein, Karajan and Solti. The sound is full-bodied and carefully groomed; there is no antiphonal division of the violins; repeats are in short supply. Yet who can entirely object when the playing is as glorious as much of this? The Fifth is bedevilled by a lack of a through pulse in the first movement development and coda, and otiose broadenings of the motto at the end. …the Seventh… brings out the best in Dudamel’s conducting; it’s visceral energy, its generosity of spirit (and phrasing), its heart-warming nurturing of a belief that every note matters. The orchestra responds nobly to his demands. The finale is a dead ringer for Karajan’s 1983 Berlin version, which is saying something. For these young musicians to come within hailing distance of so fabled an ensemble is an earnest of just how special they are.