LvB: 9th or Missa Solemnis

[(poco) Sforzando]

In fairness he means "having heard his primitive OTHER Beethoven", right? So when he says one-dimensional he means that OTHER Beethoven. He did not assert that the Missa was primitive. Just unlikely to please him.
Is this really so unreasonable? I have heard only one bit of Wagner sung by Florence Foster Jenkins.  I don't want to hear her as Isolde.

I know what he meant. But Jenkins was a comedienne, and Toscanini a serious artist. There was a time when he was held in high esteem, and now it's fashionable to sneer at him. And what, after all, does this "one-dimensional" mean? Why should it "obviously" be HIP when Bernstein is "simply ridicoulus"?

[Ken B]

I know what he meant. But Jenkins was a comedienne, and Toscanini a serious artist. There was a time when he was held in high esteem, and now it's fashionable to sneer at him. And what, after all, does this "one-dimensional" mean? Why should it "obviously" be HIP when Bernstein is "simply ridicoulus"?

I'm not defending his criticism. But you slammed him for allegedly saying something about a performance he had not heard, and I pointed out that he did not.

[71 dB]

I'm a bit late with this poll.

Missa Solemnis was a revelation to me when I heard it the first time. I believe it's one of the best works Beethoven wrote.