# Beethoven - Op. 92 - Symphony No. 7 in A major



## HansZimmer (11 mo ago)

How do you rate this piece?


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## Monsalvat (11 mo ago)

Correction: The Sixth is the Pastoral, not the Seventh.

This is an excellent work. The Kleiber recording is a classic, but it's been recorded so often that everyone can probably find something that suits their tastes. Szell, Klemperer, Karajan, Bernstein, Abbado, Harnoncourt, Walter ... all sorts of different interpretations. Christian Thielemann recorded it with the Philharmonia Orchestra in 1996, along with the Fifth, which is a recording I've enjoyed, with a darker, Romantic sound. It's a kinetic work, always in motion; even the slow movement is marked Allegretto. I would have a difficult time ranking this work below Excellent.

Here's a video of Kleiber conducting the Concertgebouw Orchestra live in concert:


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## Scherzi Cat (8 mo ago)

Oh man! HansZimmer you are about to get thrashed. I love both the 7th and the 6th “Pastoral”. So excellent is my vote on either one.


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## Animal the Drummer (Nov 14, 2015)

Yes, excellent from me too. There are times when I think this might be my favourite Beethoven symphony. Kleiber's good of course but IMHO he's not at his absolute best in the 7th, unlike his stellar 5th or his equally impressive Schubert "Unfinished". My favourite account is one which probably isn't easily available now, James Loughran and the Halle.


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## bagpipers (Jun 29, 2013)

I love the 7th ,so hard to find a good symphony in a # key


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## Brahmsianhorn (Feb 17, 2017)

After Furtwängler, whose pacing and musicianship in his fairly well-recorded live 1953 BPO are unmatched IMO, my favorites are Bohm/VPO, Bernstein/VPO, Colin Davis/LSO, Reiner, and Beecham. I have always found Kleiber a little stale, not quite communicating the joy and buoyancy, but still very good. His live recording on Orfeo is more exciting than the DG. There is also a wonderful live Klemperer from the 50s on Testament.


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## Xisten267 (Sep 2, 2018)

Beethoven's seventh is one of my favorite symphonies, easily an "excellent" to me. That frenzy of a finale that includes that coda with an effect that sounds like an acoustic resonance must be one of the most original movements of a symphony ever, at least in my view. My rate: a 9.0/10 in terms of how much I enjoy it.


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## RobertJTh (Sep 19, 2021)

Monsalvat said:


> This is an excellent work. The Kleiber recording is a classic, but it's been recorded so often that everyone can probably find something that suits their tastes. Szell, Klemperer, Karajan, Bernstein, Abbado, Harnoncourt, Walter ... all sorts of different interpretations. Christian Thielemann recorded it with the Philharmonia Orchestra in 1996, along with the Fifth, which is a recording I've enjoyed, with a darker, Romantic sound. It's a kinetic work, always in motion; even the slow movement is marked Allegretto. I would have a difficult time ranking this work below Excellent.
> Here's a video of Kleiber conducting the Concertgebouw Orchestra live in concert:


Fantastic performance, more spontaneous and vivid than his VPO studio recording. Thanks for sharing!
I wonder about these Kleiber live videos, have they ever been released on CD? He did so little studio work that every live registration is a treasure. And I remember that beautiful VPO Brahms 2 that was realesed on DVD but never as audio only, as far as I can tell.


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## haziz (Sep 15, 2017)

Excellent! Both the 6th symphony 'Pastoral' and 7th symphony are superb masterpieces.

My favorite recording of the 7th is the classic one with Carlos Kleiber with the Vienna Philharmonic. Other fine recordings include Karajan/BPO (1963), Immerseel/Anima Eterna, and Krivine/La Chambre Philharmonique.


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## pianozach (May 21, 2018)

Both the 7th Symphony and the Pastoral Symphony are excellent.

The 6th seems to have always been well regarded, but it seems that more and more folks are loving the 7th.


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## Merl (Jul 28, 2016)

My favourite Beethoven symphony. Always has been and probably always will be. I have more recordings of it than any other (200+). Honeck slays it in sound to die for on Reference. For an HIP alternative Krivine smashes it too but there are so many really impressive ones (not surprised with so many recordings around). Almost impossible to totally mess it up unless you're Celi or Cobra (shudder).


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## HansZimmer (11 mo ago)

Monsalvat said:


> Correction: The Sixth is the Pastoral, not the Seventh.





Scherzi Cat said:


> Oh man! HansZimmer you are about to get thrashed. I love both the 7th and the 6th “Pastoral”. So excellent is my vote on either one.


Yes, sorry! I was confusing the two symphonies because I am posting them in the chronological order and I didn't remember if I had to post the sixth or the seventh (did I already posted the sixth?).

I was thinking about both symphonies and so when writing the title I mixed the two titles. Now the title is correct.

However, I think that the 7th is better than the 6th. My vote here is "excellent".


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## HansZimmer (11 mo ago)

Xisten267 said:


> Beethoven's seventh is one of my favorite symphonies, easily an "excellent" to me. That frenzy of a finale that includes that recapitulation with an effect that sounds like an acoustic resonance must be one of the most original movements of a symphony ever, at least in my view. My rate: a 9.0/10 in terms of how much I enjoy it.


Given the fact that your "excellent" is never a 10/10, can I ask if there are works to which you give 10/10?


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## Xisten267 (Sep 2, 2018)

HansZimmer said:


> Given the fact that your "excellent" is never a 10/10, can I ask if there are works to which you give 10/10?


10 out of 10 to me is creme de la creme, top of the top, hors concours in terms of how much I enjoy them. I put only very few works in this category, including Beethoven's Ninth, Bach's Mass in B minor and Wagner's Tristan und Isolde. But then again, these ratings have to do only with my personal taste - I'm not rating quality or greatness.

My ratings of the Beethoven symphonies would be:

#1: 7.5/10
#2: 8.0/10
#3: 9.5/10
#4: 8.5/10
#5: 9.5/10
#6: 9.0/10
#7: 9.0/10
#8: 8.5/10
#9: 10/10

Mathematically (giving 1 point to a work of score 7.0, 2 to one of score 7.5, 4 to one of score 8.0, 8 to one of score 8.5 etc. and calculating the total score), he is my favorite symphonist at the moment.


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## Scherzi Cat (8 mo ago)

This one is WOW!


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## mbhaub (Dec 2, 2016)

One of the greatest symphonies ever written by anyone, anywhere, anytime. A towering masterpiece. And it's a heck of a lot of fun to play, at least the first bassoon part is. The problem is in the scoring and it takes a real dedicated conducter who knows how to get the rhythms to speak clearly, keep the tempo moving and the balances clear. It doesn't need Maher's retouchings, although a few of Weingartner's suggestions are well worth heeding. Some conductors, Mackerras was one, add a contrabassoon to the second movement. It's subtle and the effect is wonderful and apparently was done in Beethoven's time. Doubling the horns helps a lot, too. Dudamel does it. The finale is what either makes or breaks a performance. It cannot be perfunctory and routine, but going too fast isn't the solution either. The most thrilling one I know is an old Furtwangler: he starts at a tempo that would be expected of Bruno Walter or Klemperer. But there's a steady increase in the pulse and by the end it's really flying - the effect is amazing. Cantelli followed a similar plan and his mono recording with the Philharmonia is just thrilling.


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

I voted 'good' (or 'important' in the terms of the Artrockometer), in the same tier as the third and fourth. Only the fifth (very good) and the sixth (excellent, a score I reserve for about 100 works overall) score higher for me.


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## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

Voted Excellent, lonely at the top Carlos Kleiber 
Karajan ( first on DG) and Haitink ( Philips ) will also do


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## Heck148 (Oct 27, 2016)

Great piece...one of my favorites, both ro hear and to play...
Many good ones - ottomh - Solti, Dorati, Szell, Reiner (the '54 video one), Walter..
Great live ones I've heard - Ormandy/Phila - (used 5 horns 2 first, 3 second), Szell/Cleveland (used 6 horns!! 3+3)


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## haziz (Sep 15, 2017)

Merl said:


> My favourite Beethoven symphony. Always has been and probably always will be. I have more recordings of it than any other (200+). Honeck slays it in sound to die for on Reference. For an HIP alternative Krivine smashes it too but there are so many really impressive ones (not surprised with so many recordings around). Almost impossible to totally mess it up unless you're Celi or Cobra (shudder).



I forgot about Honeck's recording when I posted earlier. A superb performance, beautifully recorded! Highly recommended. Krivine's is also excellent as I noted earlier.


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## Kreisler jr (Apr 21, 2021)

Heck148 said:


> Great piece...one of my favorites, both ro hear and to play...
> Many good ones - ottomh - Solti, Dorati, Szell, Reiner (the '54 video one), Walter..
> Great live ones I've heard - Ormandy/Phila - (used 5 horns 2 first, 3 second), Szell/Cleveland (used 6 horns!! 3+3)


Would these also have doubled or tripled woodwind or would the doubled/tripled horns only play all in certain passages?


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## Ethereality (Apr 6, 2019)

TC rankings can tend to be problematic with other composers (I've called it analysis paralysis with raters) however they seem to do a great job with Beethoven and Brahms, but the only proper rating to me would be:

Beethoven Symphony No. 3 - _6/6_
Beethoven Symphony No. 5 - _6/6_ - Other Beethoven gets improperly underrated, so this was a bit lower in the past even though it should be a 6
Beethoven Symphony No. 6 - _5.5/6_ - Not a big pastoral music fan compared to most here actually, though this symphony is beyond reproach
Beethoven Symphony No. 7 - _4.5/6 - _Some very memorable ideas but an execution that is a lot weaker
Beethoven Symphony No. 9 - _6/6 - _Terrific symphony, the third movement into the fourth achieve the height of the symphony


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## TwoFlutesOneTrumpet (Aug 31, 2011)

Easy decision: if the symphony is by Beethoven then it is excellent.


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## Heck148 (Oct 27, 2016)

Kreisler jr said:


> Would these also have doubled or tripled woodwind or would the doubled/tripled horns only play all in certain passages?


The woodwinds were not 2bled...the extra horns played in the loud parts, of which there are some big ones - mvt I - Vivace tutti, conclusion; mvt IV - throughout at loud places...


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## geralmar (Feb 15, 2013)

Bohm, 1959

My first acquaintance with the Symphony (paid two dollars at a college bookstore) and so special; but really just one of many fine recordings.


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