Ludwig van Beethoven Mikhail Pletnev Marianna Tarasova - Beethoven The Nine Symphonies +Album Reviews

A boldly eccentric Beethoven cycle--there's nothing else lik

Santa Fe Listener | Santa Fe, NM USA | 09/12/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Russia doesn't really have a Beethoven tradition that has made its mark on recordings, so this complete cycle of the nine symphonies from Pletnev and his Russian National Orch. is something of a milestone. Even Mravinsky, who showed flashes of inspiration as a Beethoven interpreter, gave us nothing close to a complete cycle. Yet no one could say that Pletnev's style is "typcially Russian" or typically anything else. He has thrown caution to the winds, following any whim that occurs to him. Since he has an original musical soul, the results are strange and wonderful, and totally unpredictable.

I am giving Pletnev's efforts five stars because the only alternative is to throw up my hands. There are times when the whole enterprise seems like an elaborate prank--witness the three different tempos that Pletnev applies to the first four bars of the Pastorale before deciding to race off at lightning speed, only to slam on the brakes thrity bars later. Balances are at times extremely different from the norm; there are sudden enormous slow downs, as in the Trio of the Eroica's Scherzo; Pletnev flirts with the lightness of the period movement, only to wallow the next moment in a voluptuous romanticism that would have made Mengelberg blush (only the wayward, brilliant Dutch conductor can be offered as a parallel). By comparison, Bernstien seems like the village priest.

As for a detailed review of each symphony, I'll leave that to others -- or to a later entry after I've absorbed this shockingly original set. But my first impression is one of exhilaration blended with total bafflement. What is this wild man doing to Beethoven? You'll have to give him a listen to find out."

Going boldly where no conductor has gone before. . . .

Charles W. Batten | Conestoga, PA | 11/02/2007

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I don't know whether to laugh or cry. I own over 35 sets of Beethoven symphonies and these sound like no others. I don't quite buy the explanations in the enclosed booklet as to why Pletnev interpreted these symphonies in this manner. Those "Pleasant, cheerful feelings awakened..." were squashed at breakneck speed in the Pastoral. These recordings are not all bad, though. The Russian National Orchestra is an excellent ensemble and they have many great moments here. It seems that Pletnev took it easy on the lesser known symphonies (1,2, &8) as these are pretty good. Even in the 4th and 7th, the conductor only took limited liberties with tempos. For the most part he let the classical-style symphonies remain classical. Except for a rather swift second movement, the Ninth is very good. As for the rest, you have to hear them to believe them. Tempo changes abound. It's definitely not your grandfather's Beethoven !!"

Taking Liberties To Breathe Live Into Warhorses

L. Wiviott | CA United States | 01/06/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Classical music performance by definition must balance the constraints of written score with the interprative vision of conductor and ensemble. Without question, Mr. Pletnev's Beethoven Symphonies stress this equation heavily to the latter. His tempi are varied, his sensibilities and sonorities unique. Yet like Janine Jansen's recent reworking of Vivaldi's Four Seasons for small ensemble Vivaldi: The Four Seasons - Janine Jansen the bold choices reinvigorate the transcendent timelessness, the soul stirring / wonder-inducing sense of inevitable truth that Beethoven's masterorks induce in this listener. I appreciate and admire the more conventional achievements of von Karajan, Sir Charles Mackerras, Simon Rattle, Roger Norrington and others but perhaps it took the jolt of Pletnev's radical conception to reawaken my more visceral response to these symphonies.

So while the purists will recoil (see James Leonard's review at All Music Guide) I will rejoice that there is still something fresh to be brought into these revered works, so that rather than a complacent nod of "yes, that's how it should be played" we can prick up our ears with re-engaged interest and acknowledge, "oh yes, that's how it can be played." Such is the bold spirit that keeps classics alive."

Beethoven for the 21st Century mind

Kimba W. Lion | the East Coast | 06/25/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I note with amusement that the objection consistently raised against this set is that it doesn't sound like other people's Beethoven. Isn't that a good thing? If I wanted to hear someone else's Beethoven, I'd go put on one of the other sets I have.

With these recordings, Pletnev has allowed the pendulum of performance practice to swing back, after decades of misguided interpretations by the Historically Informed Performance crowd--rigid, lifeless performances that focused on the marks on paper (to quote one such conductor's notes) instead of the visceral quality of real music making, in an attempt to recapture what was heard at the time the composer was alive.

Sorry, but our modern minds are filled with completely different experiences than those of times past, and we cannot possibly recapture the subjective experience of other eras.

Wisely, Pletnev has given us Beethoven for the 21st-century mind, for the person who has heard all that has come after Beethoven's time. But don't think this is "hooked on Beethoven" or some other tawdry, demeaning reworking of the master's masterworks. Pletnev's recordings show a thorough understanding of the music, a visceral reaction to it, and reflections of having heard other great masters' works. Sibelius and Tchaikovsky came to mind most often as I listened to this set. But again I must stress that there are no cheap tricks involved in any of these performances; it's just that Pletnev's performances embrace the entire consciousness of the contemporary musical mind. This is not destructive to Beethoven's music in any way; it places Beethoven in context in today's world.

No matter how others may complain about Pletnev's tempo changes, every one makes sense. He brings out amazing details, highlights bits of melody, and allows you to hear things as you never had before.

The recording engineers helped greatly, too, with a sound that is rich, balanced, and marvelously detailed.

I would recommend this set of Beethoven symphonies above all others."

Search - Ludwig van Beethoven, Mikhail Pletnev, Marianna Tarasova :: Beethoven: The Nine Symphonies [Box Set]

CD Details

CD Reviews

	Ludwig van Beethoven, Mikhail Pletnev, Marianna Tarasova Beethoven: The Nine Symphonies [Box Set] Genre: Classical
? Larger Image