Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)

[BachQ]

4 Recordings of Cleveland Orchestra doing LvB 9

Szell/Cleveland (1961)



Szell's recording (Sony Classical) is monumental. From the first movement's mysterious opening notes to the finale's jubilant conclusion, the account abounds in visceral drama, probing expressivity and orchestral splendor. Szell's steadfast rhythmic intensity drives the Beethoven engine while keeping the musical destinations in sight. Command of architecture and instrumental balance are Szell hallmarks that make his Ninth a tour de force. He takes some liberties with Beethoven's orchestration, adding winds and horns in spots to reinforce textures. But Szell attains remarkable clarity, and he animates the score through pinpoint articulation and subtle fluctuation of dynamics and nuances.

Maazel/Cleveland (1978)



Wherever he makes music, Maazel has a tendency to surprise with idiosyncratic effects, especially in Classical and Romantic repertoire. His Cleveland recording of the Ninth on CBS Records isn't free of quirks, but it's also a bold exploration.  Like Szell, Maazel demands crisp attack and precise ensemble. Some of Maazel's pacing is broad, and he instigates an odd pullback of tempo before one of the big choral outbursts in the finale. The ear adjusts. The slow movement unfolds sensitively, and Maazel allows the orchestra the freedom to play vividly within his controlled parameters.

Dohnanyi/Cleveland (1985)



Dohnanyi leads an urgent, lucid Ninth (Telarc) that is tonally warmer than his predecessors', if less sharp in attack. He joins Szell and Maazel in providing the slow movement with the requisite contrasts of mood and emphasizing the diverse string and wind sonorities that are so crucial to the music's affecting beauty.
The orchestra is in outstanding form under Dohnanyi, who stresses proportion and shapes Beethoven with an elastic hand. Lightness, simplicity and vigor place this performance proudly alongside his colleagues' Ninths.

Welser-MÖst CD of Beethoven's Ninth falls short of other Cleveland Orchestra versions 

Sunday, October 07, 2007
After discussing Szell/Cleveland (1961); Maazel/Cleveland (1978); and Christoph von Dohnanyi /Cleveland (1985), Don Rosenberg expresses an opinion on Franz Welser-MÖst/Cleveland (Oct. 2007).:



It is with the Ninth Symphony that Cleveland Orchestra music director Franz Welser-MÖst is making his debut on commercial recording with the ensemble, whose last compact disc Pierre Boulez led in 2000. Welser-MÖst's Ninth was captured during concerts in January at Severance Hall and released Tuesday on the Deutsche Grammophon label, which has an armful of distinguished Ninths in its catalog.

Considering the array of recordings on the market, the release of yet another Ninth would seem to demand that a conductor have distinctive ideas about the music. But it is difficult to discern how Welser-MÖst feels about the Ninth. His performance rarely rises above the workmanlike, despite the elegance, vibrancy and sheen the orchestra often brings to Beethoven.

Welser-MÖst conducts one of the fastest Ninths in recent recorded history, due mostly to his pell-mell pacing of the "Ode to Joy." ***  Welser-MÖst's general rashness minus adequate tension, especially in a finale that becomes a madcap dash to the finish line, heightens his Ninth's generic qualities. Many details are inaudible. Where is the opening violin motive, for example, that catapults the first movement's events?
Dynamics often are suppressed and articulations elongated as Welser-MÖst favors smoothness over definition, like sentences without punctuation. There is hardly any evidence of the cantabile (singing) marking in the slow movement.

Although ensemble matters sometimes sound wan under Welser-MÖst, the orchestra largely is the model of responsiveness and refinement it has been for decades. The same can be said for the Cleveland Orchestra Chorus, though Szell's recording with Robert Shaw's choral contingent remains the benchmark.

Of the four conductors, Szell has the most cultivated quartet of vocal soloists (Adele Addison, Jane Hobson, Richard Lewis, Donald Bell), who never sound taxed by Beethoven's strenuous writing. Maazel's group -- Lucia Popp, Elena Obraztsova, Jon Vickers, Martti Talvela -- is unashamedly operatic (and loud), while Dohnanyi fields the mellifluous combination of Carol Vaness, Janice Taylor, Siegfried Jerusalem and Robert Lloyd.

Welser-MÖst is so hyper in the finale that he doesn't give Measha Brueggergosman, Kelley O'Connor, Frank Lopardo and the magnificent, vehement Rene Pape the means to treat Beethoven with much nobility or finesse. What's the point of this music if it flies by with scant concern for phrasing, accent and breathing space?

The bigger question may be moot, but it's worth pondering. Why did Welser-MÖst and the orchestral powers-that-be -- and eventually Deutsche Grammophon -- choose the Ninth for the conductor's first compact disc in Cleveland?

The answer might be that Beethoven delivers, aesthetically and financially, no matter who is in charge. Still, as the previous Cleveland Ninth recordings proclaim, the score's electricity and poetry take us to the highest world when a conductor communicates a compelling vision to musicians and listeners alike.

Don Rosenberg is classical music critic of The Plain Dealer.

[Harry]

Fine review Dmitri!

[Bogey]

I have the first three of these and not only is the Dohnányi my favored of the three, it is my favorite Ninth, period.  Even more so than HvK's '63 or either of my Furtwängler's on the shelf.  Having sadi this, it is very nice to have them all for variety sake.

[uffeviking]

Bogey, then do you intend to be fair and give the Pletnev 9th a try? 

[Bogey]

Bogey, then do you intend to be fair and give the Pletnev 9th a try? 

Oh sure....always willing to try something new.  It is just difficult for me to purchase another 9th when I already have so many I enjoy on the shelf, while at the same time not have a single copy of so many other pieces.

[BachQ]

Oh sure....always willing to try something new. 

Live life on the wild side ....... and GO FOR IT! .......

[BachQ]

Released yesterday on YOUTUBE .......

Paul Badura-Skoda Beethoven Sonata no. 32

1/3

http://www.youtube.com/v/bBCiGp4w1ms&mode=related&search=

[Bogey]

Live life on the wild side ....... and GO FOR IT! .......

Looks to be available only in a $55+ box set....I will need to look into the secondary market.

[BachQ]

Looks to be available only in a $55+ box set....I will need to look into the secondary market.

........ I wonder if Hurwitz will unload his copy at a discount ........ 

[Dancing Divertimentian]

The bigger question may be moot, but it's worth pondering. Why did Welser-MÖst and the orchestral powers-that-be -- and eventually Deutsche Grammophon -- choose the Ninth for the conductor's first compact disc in Cleveland?

The answer might be that Beethoven delivers, aesthetically and financially, no matter who is in charge.

I couldn't agree more with the above. In fact, I wrote as much myself:

This strikes me as DG simply trying to make a big splash with their newest signee, Welser-Möst. Hogtie him to the biggest name in the classical biz in the biggest symphony in the classical biz. Guaranteed to rake in the $$.

I'm saddened DG couldn't have seen fit to record/release something new from Martinu, or Scriabin, or Enescu...

[BachQ]

"The bigger question may be moot, but it's worth pondering. Why did Welser-MÖst and the orchestral powers-that-be -- and eventually Deutsche Grammophon -- choose the Ninth for the conductor's first compact disc in Cleveland? The answer might be that Beethoven delivers, aesthetically and financially, no matter who is in charge."

I couldn't agree more with the above. In fact, I wrote as much myself:

"I'm saddened DG couldn't have seen fit to record/release something new from Martinu, or Scriabin, or Enescu"

Well, there are several points.

1. Yes, it's certainly true that we need more recordings of Martinu, Enescu et al.

2. Is there really a saturation point for the Ninth?  Can we have TOO MANY LvB Ninth's churned out?  If there is a saturation point, have we reached it yet?  (I say "no").

3. Is there really a tradeoff?  Are the performance/recording resources so scarce that we can't have BOTH Beethoven and Martinu?

4. While it's true that LvB 9 "delivers financially," doesn't it also "deliver" spiritually, musically, aesthetically, emotionally, intellectually, and artistically?  Moreso than virtually any other work?  To that extent, shouldn't the choice of LvB 9 be exalted rather than criticized?

5. There is always the possibility that a new performance of the Ninth will be groundbreaking, earthshattering, and all that ......... A 21st-Century version of Furtwängler (new and improved) could always emerge .........

6. [Reserved]

[dtwilbanks]

2. Is there really a saturation point for the Ninth?  Can we have TOO MANY LvB Ninth's churned out?  If there is a saturation point, have we reached it yet?  (I say "no").

I'm still waiting for the "perfect" one.  0:)

[BachQ]

BTW, according to the Cleveland Orchestra website, the Miami Herald described Welser-Möst's performance as "soaring, eloquent":

Of their interpretation of the Ninth, the Miami Herald wrote: "One would expect Welser-Möst and the Cleveland Orchestra to put on an impressive display in the music of Beethoven. But the soaring, eloquent performance heard Friday night was remarkable even by the Clevelanders' elevated reputation."

[Dancing Divertimentian]

2. Is there really a saturation point for the Ninth?  Can we have TOO MANY LvB Ninth's churned out?  If there is a saturation point, have we reached it yet?  (I say "no").

I would argue that. I think we've definitely reached a saturation point. Considering there are 217 recordings of the ninth listed on Arkiv I can't see it as any other way. And that's just what's currently in print. OOP editions could very well double that figure! 

3. Is there really a tradeoff?  Are the performance/recording resources so scarce that we can't have BOTH Beethoven and Martinu?

Are you talking about DG (Universal) specifically? If so, you'd think there would be enough in the budget to record both. It's a big corporation. The question then becomes why aren't they doing it?

Which is where the independent labels come in. If not for them who'd even know Enescu exists?

4. While it's true that LvB 9 "delivers financially," doesn't it also "deliver" spiritually, musically, aesthetically, emotionally, intellectually, and artistically?  Moreso than virtually any other work?  To that extent, shouldn't the choice of LvB 9 be exalted rather than criticized?

If it's your intent to say Beethoven's ninth is so good it should have a free pass to be recorded ad infinitum I disagree. At least to the extent lesser known repertoire is muscled out in the process.

Sure, record the ninth if one must...but the problem I have is that DG's just released a brand new ninth: Pletnev's (in his cycle). That's two releases of the same work by the same company. Concurrently! I hate to think of the budgetary dollars that were dried up in deciding this.

5. There is always the possibility that a new performance of the Ninth will be groundbreaking, earthshattering, and all that ......... A 21st-Century version of Furtwängler (new and improved) could always emerge .........

One would hope that's the case with any new release! But, of course, too many chiefs can spoil the lot. If everyone's a Furtwängler or a Beethoven...

So how about letting some of the workers have their say on occasion? Might discover there's a voice worth hearing...

6. [Reserved]

Hmm...whatcha got up your sleeve?

[BachQ]

Considering there are 217 recordings of the ninth listed on Arkiv

  Way to go Beethoven!

217 versions of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony in d minor

1 version of Havergal Brian's Gothic Symphony in d minor


Yeah, there is indeed a whopping disparity.  But as long as DG makes ten times the profit from selling LvB 9, I don't see that changing!

[dtwilbanks]

217 versions of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony in d minor

Which one's the perfect one?

[BachQ]

Which one's the perfect one?

[Sergeant Rock]

I have the first three of these and not only is the Dohnányi my favored of the three, it is my favorite Ninth, period..

Mine too (I own 15 other versions of the Ninth).

Sarge

[Sergeant Rock]

4 Recordings of Cleveland Orchestra doing LvB 9...

Thanks for posting this, D.

Sarge

[BachQ]

Grimaud / Tempest in d minor

http://www.youtube.com/v/yTbXfbvfLi4

Beethoven Piano Sonata No.17 "Tempest" 3rd.Mov

Added Oct. 8