# Merl's Beethoven Symphony Cycle Reviews Pt4



## Merl

*C* Satisfactory cycle. Ok, but nothing to shout about
*B-* Good cycle but flawed (see decriptions in thread).
*B *Good standard. A decent library set or better.
*B+* Very good set. Some very impressive performances. Well worth investing in.
*A-* Excellent set just missing a little something to take it to the top of the pile but all performances very good or better.
*A** Wow! Currently the cream of the crop out there in LvB Cycleland. Buy, borrow or listen, now!

*Menuhin / Sinfonia Varsovia*







The Sinfonia Varsovia are a lively, agile and enthusiastic ensemble. They may not be the BPO but they produce some lovely sounds for Menuhin, who recorded this live cycle in the mid-90s. I have the individual discs for this but it was repackaged by Warner Apex and may still be available elsewhere at a budget price (the last time I looked it was around £10 on Amazon). If it is buy it! If you liked Menuhin's unfussy and lively way with Schubert (I did!) then this could be the set for you. Most readings are brisk (but nowhere near metronome), lively and thoroughly enjoyable, especially in the 2nd, 4th and 8h. My favourite account here, though, is the Pastoral, which is just a gorgeous account and one of my favourite 6ths (very similar to Asknenazy's). However, there's nothing poor here (although the 9th isn't up to the standard of the others, IMO) and the sheer joy of the music-making make this a great value set if you can pick it up cheap. One quibble. Because these are live performances there's unnecessary audience applause at the start of each disc which can be very annoying (why did they do it?). If you can live with it the readings are definitely worthwhile.

_Grade: B_

*Edlinger & Halasz / Zagreb Philharmonia & Czecho-Slovak RSO*







Normally I wouldn't have included this cycle but it's often available for under £5 (I got it for less than £2) on Ebay. If you want a basic starter set you really can't go wrong with this one. I just wish they'd used Edlinger and the Zagreb Philharmoia for the whole cycle as I don't like Halasz's way with symphonies 3&6. I fnd his Eroica flat and uninspring and the Pastoral a bit schmaltzy (although it is a serviceable performance, tbf). Of the rest they are ok performances, with a slightly recessed but acceptable sound. The quality of the Zagreb orchestra is 2nd tier (or maybe even 3rd) but they move at a quick tempo and produce lively, rugged performances that lack a bit of depth in string tone but have power elsewhere. Best of the cycle include a very engaging rustic HIP-like 5th and a very spirited and rewarding 9th which I like a lot. Hardly the bees knees but perfectly adequate and a bargain if you can get it for a few quid (just for that 9th).

_Grade: C_

*Morris / LSO*







This is a set that I'd heard but never owned until recently, when I picked it up on download for less than £1 online (massive bargain). If you haven't heard it think old, Teutonic Beethoven a la Furtwangler. However, this is a rather simplistic view and Morris is certainly quicker than Furtwangler in most symphonies but what I'm hinting at is these are 'traditional' Germanic performances - dark, hefty, big and chunky. Yet in the big, odd-numbered symphonies (apart from an excellent 1st) I find Morris and the LSO lacking in pulse, sometimes, and artificially trying to put too much drama and fire into the music-making. I'm much more impressed with his even-numbered performances which are far more relaxed and enjoyable. He doesn't push hard and his broader tempi suit the fluidity of the LSO's playing perfectly. Whatever this is a good set but Blomstedt and the Dresden Staatskapelle or Bohm and the VPO do it far, far better. If it's still avaivable for the 99 cents download then grab it. It's well worth 10x that.

_Grade: B-_

*Blomstedt / Leipzig Gewandhaus*







It's hard to talk about Blomstedt's 2nd cycle without mentioning either his first cycle in Dresden or Chailly's set with the Gewandhaus. Yet comparison of this cycle and his earlier one reveal that the latest one broadly adheres to Beethoven's metronome markings whereas the earlier one was mid-paced and traditional. However, Blomstedt isn't afraid to slow it down when he feels he needs to so his Pastoral, for example, is more relaxed in the first movement than Chailly's. I lived with this set for a few weeks, in the car, and although it is very well-played there is something about the recording and the acoustics that I'm not sure about. Where Chailly is brighter and better balanced the engineers produce a bassier, more bleneded sound for Blomstedt, with a lack of clout in percussion, and it doesn't work as well for me. It's a very good set with lots of very good performnces, especially the 4th, 7th and 8th, but give me Chailly for speed and Blomstedt's Dresden set for balance and power over it, anyday. I might come back to this in the future but for now it doesn't quite do it for me. What a shame.

_Grade: B_

*Jarvi / Bremen*







Jarvi's pared-down chamber orchestra rip through all 9 symphonies at a pace with HIP interepreations big on impulse and drive. The forward propulsion of these performances makes them all engaging, however some are a little more succesful than others. Of special joy to me are an invigourating 4th, a well-gauged Pastoral, a madcap 8th and a lithe and exceptional Eroica. All the other performances here are very good at least, bar from a slightly underpowered 9th (you know I like my 9ths big and bold) however, even here, he whips up a great deal of joy in the 2nd movement and the adagio is lovely. There's no doubting the band give it their all but there is still something lacking in the choir....the heft of the big-chorus best Ninths...Beethoven's big vision....whatever! I still like it a lot. It's right up there just behind Immerseel in the HIP stakes. The recorded sound is extremely striking on first listen but the acoustic is a tiny bit reverberant when played loud but this may be my audio equipment. Highly recommended.

_Grade: B+_


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## CnC Bartok

I have both Menuhin and Morris here. Both are very good!


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## realdealblues

I'd rate Morris slightly higher at a B and Jarvi slightly lower at B-. I actually burst out laughing when I first heard Jarvi's extremely underpowered 9th and that's not a something I feel the 9th Symphony should provoke.


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## Varick

The Jarvi I would also give a lower grade to as well. The playing of the orchestra is fine and keep the lightning speed tempo well without a hitch. But all the symphonies on this recording are thin, not in recording quality, but actual in instruments. One of the worst 9th's I've ever heard.

BTW, I am enjoying this set of LvB reviews. Many I am unfamiliar with. But not being a big HIP fan, don't know if I'll be buying any. But will definitely stream a number of them to listen.

V


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## Merl

Varick said:


> BTW, I am enjoying this set of LvB reviews. Many I am unfamiliar with. But not being a big HIP fan, don't know if I'll be buying any. But will definitely stream a number of them to listen.
> 
> V


HIP does not automatically mean 'thin' in performance. There are some excellent HIP LvB cycles out there. Even though I prefer big, bold, meaty 9ths there are some really good HIP 9ths out there too (Mackerras, Gardiner & Chailly spring to mind).


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## wkasimer

Merl said:


> There are some excellent HIP LvB cycles out there. Even though I prefer big, bold, meaty 9ths there are some really good HIP 9ths out there too (Mackerras, Gardiner & Chailly spring to mind).


Mackerras and Chailly can hardly be called "HIP", and I'd characterize Gardiner as "HIP for people who don't really want HIP".


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## Merl

wkasimer said:


> Mackerras and Chailly can hardly be called "HIP", and I'd characterize Gardiner as "HIP for people who don't really want HIP".


Chailly and Mackerras (RLPO) are not true HIP but rather 'HIP-sympathetic' relating to tempi. They use some HIP ideals with bigger forces.


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## Larkenfield

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## Larkenfield

Along with Bruno Walter's CSO cycle (except for the last two movements of the 9th), I consider Blomstedt with the_ Staatskapelle Dresden_ as one of the great cycles (also available as a download). These are live recordings, well recording, _noble, elevating and inspired_. I think even Beethoven would have loved them if he hadn't been stone deaf-and I often start with the 1st and go through them all in one day. None are walkthroughs, including the 5th. Ken Burns used Blomstedt's 9th with the Dresden in his excellent _Frank Lloyd Wright_ documentary and I can understand why-one of the best I've heard. (Wright loved the 'architecture' of Beethoven.) Blomstedt was a major conductor and I believe his first cycle is worth considering in greater detail. In any event, an _excellent survey_ by Merl.

Blomstedt/Dresden: https://www.amazon.com/Beethoven-Herbert-Blomstedt-Staatskapelle-Dresden/dp/B008VSNFQ4/ref=sr_1_2?crid=HC67EE98O8RE&keywords=herbert+blomstedt&qid=1550057044&s=dmusic&sprefix=Herbert+B%2Cpopular%2C214&sr=1-2; https://www.amazon.com/Beethoven-Complete-Symphonies-Ludwig-van/dp/B007NCP86E

(I also like Blomstedt's Schubert cycle with the Dresden.)


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## Merl

Larkenfield said:


> Along with Bruno Walter's CSO cycle (except for the last two movements of the 9th), I consider Blomstedt with the_ Staatskapelle Dresden_ as one of the great cycles (also available as a download). These are live recordings, well recording, _noble, elevating and inspired_. I think even Beethoven would have loved them if he hadn't been stone deaf-and I often start with the 1st and go through them all in one day. None are walkthroughs, including the 5th. Ken Burns used Blomstedt's 9th with the Dresden in his excellent _Frank Lloyd Wright_ documentary and I can understand why-one of the best I've heard. (Wright loved the 'architecture' of Beethoven.) Blomstedt was a major conductor and I believe his first cycle is worth mentioning. In any event, an _excellent survey_ by Merl.
> 
> Blomstedt/Dresden: https://www.amazon.com/Beethoven-Herbert-Blomstedt-Staatskapelle-Dresden/dp/B008VSNFQ4/ref=sr_1_2?crid=HC67EE98O8RE&keywords=herbert+blomstedt&qid=1550057044&s=dmusic&sprefix=Herbert+B%2Cpopular%2C214&sr=1-2; https://www.amazon.com/Beethoven-Complete-Symphonies-Ludwig-van/dp/B007NCP86E
> 
> (I also like Blomstedt's Schubert cycle with the Dresden.)


Totally agree about Blomstedt (but not Walter). Thats why i was a little disappointed sith the 2nd Leipzig cycle. It just doesnt have the heft or gravitas of the Dresden cycle. Dont get ,e wrong its good but that Dresden set is outstanding.


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## CDs

realdealblues said:


> I actually burst out laughing when I first heard Jarvi's extremely underpowered 9th and that's not a something I feel the 9th Symphony should provoke.


I agree. I have Jarvi's 9th on SACD and was very disappointed, to use your wording, at how underpowered it was. I also have Jarvi's 1st & 5th but I don't think I've ever listened to it due to my lack of enthusiasm for his version of the 9th.


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## wkasimer

CDs said:


> I agree. I have Jarvi's 9th on SACD and was very disappointed, to use your wording, at how underpowered it was. I also have Jarvi's 1st & 5th but I don't think I've ever listened to it due to my lack of enthusiasm for his version of the 9th.


That's a problem with a lot of Beethoven symphony cycles, particularly those that are HIP or HIP-influenced. Much as I like the rest of Jarvi's cycle, I don't think that I've bothered with his 9th since the first time I listened to it. More generally, I don't pay much attention to the 9th when evaluating sets, because I have plenty of great 9ths already, mostly ones that aren't part of integral sets - Giulini/DG, Klemperer/Testament, Fricsay, Furtwangler - and I only listen to the 9th now and then, when I've got enough time and the ability to devote my full attention to it.


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