Beethoven's 5th

For most of the German/Austrian 19th and 20th century war horses (Beethoven, Schubert, Brahms, Bruckner, Mahler) I prefer the really old guard (Furtwangler, Walter, Klemperer, Mengelberg). While initially the sound can be be a distraction I usually get swept up in the interpretation and my mind can fill in/override some of the sonic faults. Maybe not a first choice but don't let the age of the recordings keep you from listening to some of these guys. For Baroque (Bach, Handel) and Classical (Haydn,Mozart) I generally prefer the HIP groups. Funny - I started diving into classical back when I was in College (Mid 1980's) and most of what I purchased was Karajan, Solti and Bernstein (the guys with the biggest marketing engines behind them). You would think I would have imprinted on their performances but I rarely if ever reach for one of their versions now.

 

My current favourite rendition is by Klemperer from 1960.

The Kleiber rendition is good but Klemperer really contrasted the mood swings well which add the bombast and drama that make the 5th such an involving listen.

 

My favorite. Price on this rare cd has dropped. When I first bought it, it cost almost $40.00.

If you don't know who Benjamin Zander is, make sure you check out his TED talks.

 

Welcome back. I am going to look for this record. The 5th is something that changes your perception of music. I want to hear it live...

 

I had a theory: Beethoven and Mozart wrote most of the melodies everyone knows in the back of their heads, Lennon and Mccartney wrote the rest. Beethoven and Mozart are still holding up strong. L&M might have slipped a little.

What gets me about that Fifth is that it actually starts getting interesting after the introductory phrase that everybody knows.

 

Do not forget Chuck Berry. He set the blue print for Rock & Roll as we know it. Rock & Roll became Pop and well the rest is history.

Elvis stole the show but the sped up electric guitar riffs and melodic intros and hooks as we know them: early R&B and early Country. Chuck Berry did his thing and it went viral before the word "viral" even existed.

 

I'll also throw out the recent recording by the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen conducted by Paavo Jarvi.


(Amazon link)

They recorded the full symphony cycle about 10 years ago and released on CD/SACD by RCA Red Seal. Smaller chamber orchestra and quicker tempos, so a more nimble, expressive take, likely closer to the original metronome markings. The cycle is well-reviewed by David Hurwitz, and it has impeccable sound quality. I checked today, and it's possible to order the complete symphony cycle on CD (not SACD) from amazon.co.uk for about 22GBP (~$28) shipped to the United States. Totally worth it.

The Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen also played the entire symphony cycle at the Beethovenfest in Bohm a while ago and recorded a documentary about the experience. They called it the Beethoven Project, and someone put it on YouTube in four parts:



Edit: clip re: view of the 5th starts at 12:25 below:



Those performances are also released on DVD (and available on YouTube), but I think the SACD recordings are different.

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For another modern recording with excellent sound quality, check out the cycle by the Minnesota Orchestra conducted by Osmo Vänskä:

• Amazon link
• Classics Today link // 5th review

 

Just got these and I really am enjoying the performances a lot. Thanks for the recommendation!

Sound quality is decent indeed, very little noise, but very mid-centric like a lot of classical recordings these days.

 

Glad you're enjoying them! I picked up the Zander recording you mentioned above and hope to listen soon. Living in Boston, I've been to a couple BPO performances, Beethoven's 9th and Mahler's 2nd (which Zander also recorded with the Philharmonia pretty recently), and heard Zander's pre-concert talks for both. He's a very nice man and greeted my wife and me (strangers) when randomly passing us in the hall before the talk.

I have owned Zander's older recording of the 9th with the BPO for a few years, but it looks like it's out of print now: http://benjaminzander.com/recordings/boston-philharmonic.

 

I've been listening to the recordings of Beethoven's symphonies by the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Mariss Jansons in 2013. It's a high quality recording and the musicianship/sound quality seems great to me.



I'm always on the lookout for quality modern recordings of classic symphonic works and this one seems to fit the bill pretty well. I don't like the recording quality of mid 20th century stuff, but that's me.

 

I'm jelly you got to see Zander live.

I also own his recording of the 9th. It's fantastic. Shame it's OOP as it's one of the very best.