# Bizarre recording of Beethoven Violin Concerto



## bigshot (Nov 22, 2011)

Today I listened to Beethoven's Violin Concerto in D Maj by Brueggen for the first time. It came in one of the box sets... perhaps the Luminaires box. I forget.

The soloist was technically proficient but bland, but I have come to expect that. The thing that really puzzled me was the orchestral part. The overall sound was very thin, and the tympani sounded like a oil drum- all bang and no boom. The conducting was like a cross between Haydn and Stravinsky... metrical separateness and evenness of voicing of each note with big slashing rhythms. It sure didn't sound much like Beethoven. It took me so much by surprise, and I have no idea what to think of it. It sounded like angry OCD. Very odd.


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## millionrainbows (Jun 23, 2012)

bigshot said:


> Today I listened to Beethoven's Violin Concerto in D Maj by Brueggen for the first time. It came in one of the box sets... perhaps the Luminaires box. I forget.
> 
> The soloist was technically proficient but bland, but I have come to expect that. The thing that really puzzled me was the orchestral part. The overall sound was very thin, and the tympani sounded like a oil drum- all bang and no boom. The conducting was like a cross between Haydn and Stravinsky... metrical separateness and evenness of voicing of each note with big slashing rhythms. It sure didn't sound much like Beethoven. It took me so much by surprise, and I have no idea what to think of it. It sounded like angry OCD. Very odd.


Hmm...interesting. I wish I had a way of hearing it. You know, a title, a link, a UPC code, a stale cracker...


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## mmsbls (Mar 6, 2011)

I don't have the recording, but I did find this version on youtube with Brueggen and the Orchestra of the 18th Century in a live version. The post explicitly states that this is not the famous Philips recording. The violin concerto is one of my favorite works, but I felt this version was rather devoid of excitement. A bit leaden and not at all what I think of when thinking of Beethoven. I don't know if the two versions are similar.


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## bigshot (Nov 22, 2011)

That has the same weird even phrasing and staccato slashes. The tympani there sounds less like a tin can though. Pretty awful. It's like Beethoven played by some giant angry machine.


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## millionrainbows (Jun 23, 2012)

bigshot said:


> Today I listened to Beethoven's Violin Concerto in D Maj by Brueggen for the first time. It came in one of the box sets... perhaps the Luminaires box. I forget.
> 
> The soloist was technically proficient but bland, but I have come to expect that. The thing that really puzzled me was the orchestral part. The overall sound was very thin, and the tympani sounded like a oil drum- all bang and no boom. The conducting was like a cross between Haydn and Stravinsky... metrical separateness and evenness of voicing of each note with big slashing rhythms. It sure didn't sound much like Beethoven. It took me so much by surprise, and I have no idea what to think of it. It sounded like angry OCD. Very odd.


Hey stale cracker! is it from this one? http://amzn.com/B001OMT66M


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## bigshot (Nov 22, 2011)

I think it was the Philips box set.

http://www.amazon.com/Violin-Concerto-Romances-Ludwig-Beethoven/dp/B000023ZEM

Had I been buying this separately, those Amazon reviews would have tipped me off immediately that it sucked.


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## millionrainbows (Jun 23, 2012)

bigshot said:


> I think it was the Philips box set.
> 
> http://www.amazon.com/Violin-Concerto-Romances-Ludwig-Beethoven/dp/B000023ZEM
> 
> Had I been buying this separately, those Amazon reviews would have tipped me off immediately that it sucked.


Hey, thanks for the link. I like bizarre, and after all, we need some comparison to really appreciate the good.


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## bigshot (Nov 22, 2011)

Drink about 17 cups of coffee before listening and you'll be in the perfect mood.


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## Guest (Jul 18, 2013)

I assumed you were talking about the version recorded by Gidon Kremer that uses Alfred Schnittke's cadenzas!











Too bad these are audio only "videos"--still, they are pretty intense to listen to!


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