# Take it slow! Your favorite slow recordings



## fbjim (Mar 8, 2021)

Inspired by a recent discussion on whether going too fast or too slow is preferable-

Going too slow seems to be unpopular - and yet when done well (like, say, the best Klemperer recordings) and with intelligence, there's something about slow recordings that can be magnificent. So - for this thread, post your favorite *unusually slow* performances - Not just "non-HIP" recordings, but ones which will be on or near the end of the bell curve as far as performance times go.

My favorite:







Specifically the Grosse Fuge Op. 133. This is among the slowest I've heard, especially due to a really, really languid Adagio section. It's really remarkable when a performance can get real emotion out of such an ugly piece, and it's not just the Adagio where this performance does it- I'm thinking of the reprisal of the adagio section, when themes seem to be piling up on each other before that gorgeous theme comes back. When the QI does it, there's something so satisfying and cathartic about that reprisal- it's like collapsing into bed after a hard day at work. Just a fantastic performance- and also, the slower tempos in the "fast" sections do allow them to really (almost physically) dig into the harsh texture of the work. It's a wonderful recording.


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## Andrew Kenneth (Feb 17, 2018)

Gustav Mahler - Symphony nr. 6
The Arnhem Philharmonic Orchestra - Martin Sieghart
2 SACD set

Clocking in at 90 mins 57 seconds this is the slowest Mahler sixth in my collection.
And it is my favourite "slow" symphonic recording.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Kirsten Flagstad's 1951 interpretation of "When I am laid in earth" from Purcell's _Dido and Aeneas_ is the slowest I've ever heard. I wouldn't expect anyone to be able to sustain such a tempo, and anything slower would be absurd, but this performance, which predates the HIP movement and is none the worse for it, is masterly and overwhelmingly poignant.


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## Coach G (Apr 22, 2020)

Bernstein's infamous DG recording of Tchaikovsky's 6th; also Sibelius' 2nd; both very intense.

Sergiu Celibidache/Bruckner with the Munich Philharmonic/EMI goes without saying.























Glenn Gould's super-slow version of Beethoven's 6th transcription by Liszt; he takes the "By the Brook" movement twice as long at about 20 minutes:


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## Allegro Con Brio (Jan 3, 2020)

Böhm’s late recording of Beethoven 9 is the slowest on record, and has received a lot of flak in some quarters. I absolutely love it; the first movement comes at you in great accumulating ocean waves, the Adagio is suspended in blissful stasis, and the finale takes its sweet time to reach the joyful apotheosis, helped by an almost unbeatable vocal quartet. Similarly, the Norman/Masur Four Last Songs - a hypnotic experience.


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## DaveM (Jun 29, 2015)

Allegro Con Brio said:


> Böhm's late recording of Beethoven 9 is the slowest on record, and has received a lot of flak in some quarters. I absolutely love it; the first movement comes at you in great accumulating ocean waves, the Adagio is suspended in blissful stasis, and the finale takes its sweet time to reach the joyful apotheosis, helped by an almost unbeatable vocal quartet. Similarly, the Norman/Masur Four Last Songs - a hypnotic experience.


What a magnificent adagio! It comes in at a little more than 18 minutes, longer than most though Guilini's is right up there also.


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## Aries (Nov 29, 2012)

Celibidache savours the beauty of Beethovens 3rd:
Celibidache, MPO: Beethoven Symphony No. 3: 




Everyone else takes this one too fast unfortunatly:
Rozhdestvensky: Bruckner Symphony No. 00: 




Celibidache, MPO: Bruckner Symphony No. 7: 




Now something really slow. Probably too slow, but some aspects benefit from it, so it has a value.
Celibidache, MPO: Bruckner Symphony No. 8: 




Here again everyone else takes the Finale too fast (or not at all) unfortunately:
Eichhorn, BOL: Bruckner Symphony No. 9: 




Another rather slow performance that I find the best:
Rozhdestvensky, Orchestra of the USSR Ministry of Culture: Shostakovich Symphony No. 3:


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## SONNET CLV (May 31, 2014)

I'm pleased to see Celibidache mentioned here. I have several box sets of his music, which tends to be taken at slower than usual tempos. Yet, the music is never dull. Rather, Celibidache has a way of spotlighting each and every note of a work, creating his own grand cosmos of each piece. It's like hearing the work anew while in a state of spiritual trance. I can't think of another composer who has such a distinct vision without allowing the work to be distorted. Celibidache doesn't distort as much as he highlights; but he highlights everything, which is amazing.

Take your time and listen to some Celibidache. You'll likely not regret the time spent.


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## ORigel (May 7, 2020)

Boehm's Beethoven Symphony no. 9
Furtwangler's Beethoven Symphony no. 9 (1954)
Klemperer's St. Matthew Passion
Celibidache's Bruckner Symphony no. 9
Klemperer's Beethoven Eroica


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## joen_cph (Jan 17, 2010)

Celibidache in Debussy's Nocturnes, 33 minutes:





In the field of piano solo recordings, some are

- De Leeuw's Satie generally, though probably very far from Satie's own playing;





- Richter in Schubert's sonata D894 (there are several recordings, some above 50 mins) 




- Arrau in Chopin's Nocturnes (philips)


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## Animal the Drummer (Nov 14, 2015)

Klemperer's "Pastoral" Symphony. Not by any means the last word on the music, but fascinating and enjoyable (IMHO of course) on its own terms.


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## Fabulin (Jun 10, 2019)

_The Planets Suite _ - Bernard Herrmann & Philharmonia Orchestra 1970 (Decca Phase 4)


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## mbhaub (Dec 2, 2016)

Fabulin said:


> _The Planets Suite _ - Bernard Herrmann & Philharmonia Orchestra 1970 (Decca Phase 4)


I had completely forgotten that recording! I was a huge admirer of Herrmann and bought a lot of his recordings back in those days, including this Planets, which I immediately unloaded to someone else. The new Bernstein came out and that was so much better.


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## wkasimer (Jun 5, 2017)

James Levine's DG recording of Strauss' Metamorphosen.
Reginald Goodall's recording of Siegfried.


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