Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven
Performer: Berlin Radio Choir, Renate Behle, Yvonne Naef, Glenn Winslade, Hanno Müller-Brachmann
Orchestra: SWR Sinfonieorchester des Südwestrundfunks
Conductor: Michael Gielen
Number of Discs: 5
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Hänssler
Catalogue: HAEN93285
Release: 2012
Size: 1.49 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
CD 01
Symphony No. 1 in C major, Op. 21
01. I. Adagio molto – Allegro con brio
02. II. Andante cantabile con moto
03. III. Menuetto – Allegro molto e vivace
04. IV. Finale: Adagio – Allegro molto
Symphony No. 3 in E flat major, Op. 55 ‘Eroica’
05. I. Allegro con brio
06. II. Marcia funebre: Adagio assai
07. III. Scherzo: Allegro vivace
08. IV. Finale: Allegro molto
CD 02
Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 36
01. I. Adagio molto – Allegro molto
02. II. Larghetto
03. III. Scherzo
04. IV. Allegro molto
Symphony No. 7 in A major, Op. 92
05. I. Poco sostenuto – Vivace
06. II. Allegretto
07. III. Presto
08. IV. Allegro con brio
CD 03
Symphony No. 4 in B flat major, Op. 60
01. I. Adagio – Allegro vivace
02. II. Adagio
03. III. Menuetto: Allegro vivace
04. IV. Allegro ma non troppo
Symphony No. 8 in F major, Op. 93
05. I. Allegro vivace e con brio
06. II. Allegretto scherzando
07. III. Tempo di menuetto
08. IV. Allegro vivace
CD 04
Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67
01. I. Allegro con brio
02. II. Andante con moto
03. III. Allegro
04. IV. Allegro
Symphony No. 6 in F major, Op. 68 ‘Pastoral’
05. I. Erwachen heiterer Empfindungen bei der Ankunft auf dem Lande | (Awakening of joyful feelings upon arriving in the countryside): Allegro ma non troppo
06. II. Szene am Bach (Scene by the brook): Andante molto mosso
07. III. Lustiges Zusammensein der Landleute (Cheerful gathering of country folk): Allegro
08. IV. Gewitter, Sturm (Thunderstorm): Allegro
09. V. Hirtengesang: Frohe und dankbare Gefuhle nach dem Sturm (Shepherd’s song: Happy and thankful feelings after the storm): Allegretto
CD 05
Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125 ‘Choral’
01. I. Allegro ma non troppo, un poco maestoso
02. II. Scherzo: Molto vivace – Presto
03. III. Adagio molto e cantabile
04. IV. Schlusschor aus Schillers Ode, “An die Freude” (Final chorus from Schiller’s, “Ode to Joy”) – Finale: Presto – Allegro assai – Presto – Recitative: O Freunde, nicht diese Tone
Michael Gielen celebrates his 85th birthday in July of this year and the sum of his artistry is reected in this Beethoven cycle. This special commemorative collection features the maestro’s most recent Beethoven recordings from 1997-2000.
Michael Gielen is well-known as a specialist in 20th century avant-garde music, though his repertoire has increasingly extended further into the past, reaching beyond the Second Viennese School of Schoenberg, Berg, and Webern, and the post-Romantic symphonies of Gustav Mahler, to even earlier music of the 19th century. This complete set of Ludwig van Beethoven’s symphonies are from recordings made between 1997 and 2000 and demonstrates Gielen’s balanced approach between modern and period interpretive styles. On the one hand, the SWR Sinfonieorchester Baden-Baden und Freiburg is a conventional orchestra that is fully staffed and equipped with modern instruments, so there’s no attempt to make it resemble a pared-down Classical era orchestra.
On the other, there’s a briskness and efficiency to the playing that is quite suggestive of period style, and if the performances fall outside the strictures of historically informed practices, it’s not by much. The brisk tempos, the transparent textures, the clear dynamics, the vibrant timbres, and the high energy of the performances keep the symphonies from sounding heavy or homogenized, yet there is no fetishizing of authenticity for its own sake to get in the way of visceral excitement or full-throated lyricism. Because Gielen walks a fine line between traditionalist and revisionist camps, there is a danger that he might offend purists of both sides. Yet these are compelling performances that will find an audience, and the liveliness of the orchestra’s playing makes the occasional rough edges forgivable.