Title : Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphonies Nos. 3 & 9/Overtures
Author : Beethoven, Ludwig van
Release Date : 19950411
Binding : Audio CD
Regular Price : $17.98
Amazon.com Price : $14.98
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Editorial Reviews : This is one of the greatest recordings of the famous Ninth Symphony. It has long been overshadowed by Karajan's three recordings for the same label, as well as Bernstein's version with the same orchestra. But put them all on your CD player and compare, and this is the one you'll be coming back to. Böhm was the least glamorous of conductors, but he approaches the Ninth with messianic zeal and a fanatical gleam in his eye. The opening movement is a cataclysm, the sublime slow movement never loses its contemplative flow, and everyone involved simply sings and plays the pants off of the finale. If the final minute or two doesn't pull you right out of your seat, nothing will. Grab it while you can at this 'twofer' price. It's a steal.
Buyer Reviews : I don't know why everyone is fussing about this performance of the Third. It's the equal of most I've heard, and a darn sight better than many.
The Ninth, however, seems to be the performance everyone is buying this 2-CD set for, and there is no doubt it's a special one. The singing does seem a bit too forwardly balanced in the finale, but that's just nitpicking. It is a highly emotional reading without any artificial 'whipping up' of sentiment. This music was food, drink, and air to Bohm, and it's in the orchestra's very blood. And my god, what an orchestra!
While listening to Gardiner and his hell-bent-for-leather 'authentic' kinsmen is like a shove into a bracingly cold pool, Bohm is like taking a measured stroll through a spectacular cathedral. Both approaches are enjoyable to me, and having heard both, I wouldn't want one without the other. Beethoven's music is too big to insist on any one 'right' way to perform it.
Buy this CD for not just one, but TWO outstanding performances --and at budget price.
