Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven
Orchestra: Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique
Conductor: John Eliot Gardiner
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: SDG
Release: 2012
Size: 669 MB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: cover
Symphony No. 7 in A major, Op. 92
01. I. Poco sostenuto – Vivace
02. II. Allegretto
03. III. Presto, assai meno presto
04. IV. Allegro con brio
Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67
05. I. Allegro con brio
06. II. Andante con moto
07. III. Allegro
08. IV. Allegro
Nearly twenty years after their acclaimed Beethoven Symphonies recordings for Deutsche Grammophon, Sir John Eliot Gardiner and the Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique returned to this repertoire for the first time last year, in a tour that took them to London, Philadelphia, Washington and New York. The concert in Carnegie Hall was broadcast live by WQXR, who kindly agreed to make the recording available to us to release on our label.
Sir John Eliot’s Gardiner’s reading of these familiar pieces highlights their revolutionary origin.
Performing on period instruments, the ORR brings light, clarity and brisk energy, as well as a warm and genuinely thrilling sound.
The Seventh, famously described by Wagner as the “apotheosis of the dance”, stands out by its sheer physical energy expressed in its many obsessively repetitive passages. The Fifth, often considered to be a deeply personal piece, also reveals echoes of revolutionary songs.