Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven
Performer: Regine Hangler, Wiebke Lehmkuhl, Christian Elsner, Andreas Bauer Kanabas, NDR Chor
Orchestra: WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln
Conductor: Marek Janowski
Number of Discs: 5
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Pentatone
Catalogue: PTC5186860
Release: 2020
Size: 3.22 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. Minuet. Allegro molto e vivace – Trio
04. IV. Adagio – Allegro molto e vivace
Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 36
05. I. Adagio molto – Allegro con brio
06. II. Larghetto
07. III. Scherzo. Allegro
08. IV. Allegro molto
CD 02
Symphony No. 3 in E flat major, Op. 55 ‘Eroica’
01. I. Allegro con brio
02. II. Marcia funebre. Adagio assai
03. III. Scherzo. Allegro vivace
04. IV. Allegro molto
Symphony No. 4 in B flat major, Op. 60
05. I. Adagio – Allegro vivace
06. II. Adagio
07. III. Allegro vivace
08. IV. Allegro ma non troppo
CD 03
Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67
01. I. Allegro con brio
02. II. Andante con moto
03. III. Scherzo. Allegro
04. IV. Allegro
Symphony No. 6 in F major, Op. 68 ‘Pastoral’
05. I. Erwachen heiterer Empfindungen bei der Ankunft auf dem Lande
06. II. Scene am Bach
07. III. Lustiges Zusammensein der Landleute
08. IV. Gewitter. Sturm
09. V. Hirtengesang. Frohe und dankbare Gefühle nach dem Sturm
CD 04
Symphony No. 7 in A major, Op. 92
01. I. Poco sostenuto – Vivace
02. II. Allegretto
03. III. Presto
04. IV. Allegro con brio
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 05
Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125 ‘Choral’
01. I. Allegro ma non troppo, un poco maestoso
02. II. Molto vivace
03. III. Adagio molto e cantabile
04. IV. Finale
Maestro Marek Janowski and the WDR Symphony Orchestra present a new recording of Beethoven’s complete symphonies, the ultimate symphonic oeuvre in all thinkable respects. Bold as they still sound to modern ears, one easily imagines how Beethoven’s contemporaries were completely swept away by the scope, sheer force and adventurous nature of his symphonies.
With this integral recording, Janowski and the orchestra finish a project that started with an acclaimed rendition of the 5th and 6th symphonies, released in 2019. The boxset design is inspired by the idea of organic form, an ideal that Beethoven’s contemporaries frequently associated with his symphonies, and which presupposes a resemblance between the structure of his symphonies and the growth of plants and trees. This idea has been visually translated by using close-up photographs from Karl Blossfeldt’s Art Forms in the Plant World (1928). These early twentieth-century images emphasize the timeless modernity of Beethoven’s symphonies, celebrating an extraordinary oeuvre that prospers until this very day.