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Beethoven: The Symphonies / John Eliot Gardiner [5-CD Collector's Edition]
Release Date: 03/30/2010
Label: Archiv Produktion (Dg) Catalog #: 477 8643 Spars Code: DDD
Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven
Performer: Gilles Cachemaille, Anne Sofie von Otter, Anthony Rolfe Johnson, Luba Orgonasova
Conductor: John Eliot Gardiner
Orchestra/Ensemble: Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique, Monteverdi Choir
Number of Discs: 5
Recorded in: Stereo
Length: 5 Hours 29 Mins.
EAN: 0028947786436
Works on This Recording
1. Symphony no 1 in C major, Op. 21 by Ludwig van Beethoven
Conductor: John Eliot Gardiner
Orchestra/Ensemble: Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique
Period: Classical
Written: 1800; Vienna, Austria
2. Symphony no 2 in D major, Op. 36 by Ludwig van Beethoven
Conductor: John Eliot Gardiner
Orchestra/Ensemble: Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique
Period: Classical
Written: 1801-1802; Vienna, Austria
3. Symphony no 3 in E flat major, Op. 55 "Eroica" by Ludwig van Beethoven
Conductor: John Eliot Gardiner
Orchestra/Ensemble: Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique
Period: Classical
Written: 1803; Vienna, Austria
4. Symphony no 4 in B flat major, Op. 60 by Ludwig van Beethoven
Conductor: John Eliot Gardiner
Orchestra/Ensemble: Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique
Period: Classical
Written: 1806; Vienna, Austria
5. Symphony no 5 in C minor, Op. 67 by Ludwig van Beethoven
Conductor: John Eliot Gardiner
Orchestra/Ensemble: Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique
Period: Classical
Written: 1807-1808; Vienna, Austria
6. Symphony no 6 in F major, Op. 68 "Pastoral" by Ludwig van Beethoven
Conductor: John Eliot Gardiner
Orchestra/Ensemble: Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique
Period: Classical
Written: 1808; Vienna, Austria
7. Symphony no 7 in A major, Op. 92 by Ludwig van Beethoven
Conductor: John Eliot Gardiner
Orchestra/Ensemble: Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique
Period: Classical
Written: 1811-1812; Vienna, Austria
8. Symphony no 8 in F major, Op. 93 by Ludwig van Beethoven
Conductor: John Eliot Gardiner
Orchestra/Ensemble: Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique
Period: Classical
Written: 1812; Vienna, Austria
9. Symphony no 9 in D minor, Op. 125 "Choral" by Ludwig van Beethoven
Performer: Gilles Cachemaille (Baritone), Anne Sofie von Otter (Mezzo Soprano), Anthony Rolfe Johnson (Tenor),
Luba Orgonasova (Soprano)
Conductor: John Eliot Gardiner
Orchestra/Ensemble: Monteverdi Choir, Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique
Period: Classical
Written: 1822-1824; Vienna, Austria
Notes and Editorial Reviews
‘It seems almost incredible,' writes John Eliot Gardiner in the press handout accompanying this set, ‘that these, the most celebrated symphonies ever composed, are performed regularly from texts that correspond neither to Beethoven's first nor last wishes, as evinced by the autograph scores or by the first printed editions with corrections in Beethoven's hand.'
These new recordings have used Clive Brown (Fifth Symphony) and Jonathan Del Mar (all the others) to re-examine all the extant source material and to correct the ‘standard' texts of Breitkopf & Härtel which, everybody assumed, transmitted the Urtext of Beethoven's symphonies. The results are spectacular, like the recent cleanings of the Sistine Chapel or the Cappella Brancacci in Florence. Beethoven's symphonies have emerged cleansed of wrong notes, wrong phrasings, wrong dynamic marks and even wrong tempi. The most glaring wrong tempo comes in the finale of the Ninth, with the alla marcia tenor solo, where the metronome marking which Beethoven dictated to his nephew, Carl, was misread so that the passage has always been taken far too slowly. (Details may be consulted in the exemplary booklet.) The most interesting, large-scale textual change concerns the Scherzo/Trio of the Fifth, now restored to its original form: scherzo/trio/scherzo/trio/transition to finale (this is the form in a set of manuscript orchestral parts corrected by Beethoven, now in the Vienna Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde).
But a large part of the cleansing process must be attributed to the remarkable Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique and the clear, incisive, taut readings it gives under Gardiner's guidance. Again and again I felt as if I were hearing these warhorses for the first time. Never have Beethoven's brilliant timpani parts seemed so aggressively original – even violent. Never have the woodwind and brass meshed so effortlessly with the strings: the balance of these CDs is impeccable.
On all accounts, therefore, this set is a triumph and certainly the most important Beethoven recording since the arrival of CD: important for getting the texts right (something we now regard as obvious in Haydn's and Mozart's symphonies); important for the revelatory sound of these original instruments; and especially important for the clean, unsentimental, brilliant readings by Gardiner and his orchestra. Not least, DG has given us a marvellously rounded, yet detailed sound, despite the fact that the nine symphonies were recorded at different times and places. Never was the advent of CD more triumphantly vindicated.
Performance: 5 (out of 5); Sound: 5 (out of 5)
-- HC Robbins Landon, BBC Music Magazine [1994]
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Review by Blair Sanderson [-]
The 1990s were a peak period for historically informed performances, and the most praised box set to emerge from this boom time was John Eliot Gardiner's 1994 survey of Ludwig van Beethoven's nine symphonies, brilliantly played on original instruments by the redoubtable Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique. If any early music conductor or authentic practice ensemble ever succeeded in changing public opinions and transforming standard repertoire, surely top honors belong to Gardiner and his musicians, for their refreshing takes on Beethoven's core masterpieces not only won over many converts to the cause, but permanently changed the way these works are played. The crisp sonorities, the brisk rhythms, and the volatile energy of these electric performances proved once and for all that Classical performances need not be fragile, dainty, or rarefied, but should be just as robust and invigorating as any mainstream interpretation, and even more exciting for taking a few risks. Indeed, it was Gardiner's ear-opening set that showed how stodgy and sluggish many of the older established Beethoven cycles sounded in comparison, and after this set was released, most new recordings revealed its impact, particularly in the adoption of revised tempos, leaner textures, and cleaner sonorities. Traditionalists may still balk at Gardiner's interpretations or find his changes unnerving (particularly the quicker tenor solo in the finale of the Ninth), but no one who claims to know the symphonies should ignore this set, for its significance in Beethoven studies cannot be overrated. Highly recommended.
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Pressestimmen
W. Pfister in FonoForum 11 / 94:
"Schlicht umwerfende spieltechnische Perfektion, mit der Gardiners Orchestre Revolutionnaire et Romantique hier aufwartet. In ihrer wohlkal- kulierten Einheitlichkeit beeindrucken Gar- diners Interpretationen - Respekt vor so viel nachschaffender Reflexion, vor so viel unge- brochenem Künstlertum!"
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