Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven
Orchestra: Symphonie Orchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks
Conductor: Rafael Kubelik
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Audite
Release: 2003
Size: 316 MB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: cover
Symphony No. 4 In B-flat Major
01. I. Adagio – Allegro vivace
02. II. Adagio
03. III. Menuetto: Allegro vivace – Trio: Un poco meno allegro
04. IV. Allegro ma non troppo
Symphoonie No.5 In C Minor
05. I. Allegro con brio
06. II. Andante con moto
07. III. Allegro
08. IV. Allegro
You always can count on Rafael Kubelik to deliver performances that are intelligently musical, warmly alive, and stylistically sound, and these two are no exception. The Fifth, though, fares better than the Fourth. Without being in any particular way startling or capricious, Kubelik builds the symphony in a steady curve, from a measured but never slack opening movement to the appropriately cathartic finale. In the Fourth he holds the reins rather more loosely, and the first movement hangs fire compared to, say, Böhm/Vienna (on DG), or Blomstedt with the incomparable Staatskapelle Dresden. But he manages an excellently paced finale, and if his overall sense of the music comes across as somewhat old-fashioned, there’s nothing really wrong with that.
Unfortunately, though, it’s impossible to escape the feeling of blandness in these performances. The two slow movements, for example, come off as a touch heavy, and the scherzo of the Fourth needs more bite to its rhythms. Certainly there’s no denying that in spite of excellent live sound these readings lack some of the fire that characterizes the best of the competition, nor are they quite as solid technically as Kubelik’s own studio efforts. In a market as tight as today’s, this issue will find most favor with Kubelik completists, and while they won’t find anything to disappoint, neither will they find that this ranks among his best or most interesting efforts.