A tremendous Third AND First
John Grabowski | USA | 08/29/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
"What a pity this magnificent recording is out of print. The reader should look for this in any used shop he or she knows. I find this to be perhaps *the* ideal interpretation for the Eroica--both dramatic and lean, expansive and focused. But perhaps an even bigger surprise is the First symphony. Till now I'd never heard a version that I found particularly compelling. Not because it is such a towering work, but rather because it is so easily eclipsed by the other symphonies in LvB's canon. So the current recording--fresh, lyrical, thrilling--was a real surpriseCluytens accomplishes an amazing eat-your-cake-and-have-it-too feat with the Third, giving us brisk tempi and clean textures that still feel epic and immense. He seems very aware of this symphony's classical antecedents while at the same time understanding its totally revolutionary aspect. Karajan's famous and well-regarded first run with the BPO was recorded just a few years after this, yet he comes nowhere near achieving what Cluytens does with the same orchestra, and one realizes when one hears this recording the shortcomings of HvK's thicker, tubbier sound and more outwardly and gesturally-dramatic performance. The Funeral March movement has rarely sounded more forboding or fatalistic (I'd have to check my WWII Furtwangler recording for the only likely competition), although Cluytens has to deal with a movement that is perhaps overblown and not one of Beethoven's most organically-satisfying creations, the (and I know I'll get flack for this) low point in the symphony. But the scherzo never sounded so energetic and airborn, with the true spirit of egalitarian revolution in the air, nor the finale so inevitable a result of the preceeding movements, with each heroic variation gently evolving from its predecessor, leading up to a stately climax. Through the performance it is all so impressive how Cluytens suggests without hammering away. We are aware of the sweep of this reading, but the mechanics are hidden, so that it's really hard to figure out why we feel this way. I've heard that several of Cluytens Beethoven recordings have been over the years mislabeled as Furtwangler performances. That alone is testimony to the high level of execution here, although it's possible this relatively unsung conductor may even surpass Furtwangler himself in this symphony. The accompanying Symphony No. 1, as I said, is also a surprise, and a treat, with the first phrases for the violins played with such shape and line as I've never heard them before. Cluytens brings out beauty in the slow movement that I've never heard before, and it's hard to hear exactly *how* he does it, it's so natural and effortless. There's a triplet figure in the trumpets in the Minuet that I've never heard articulated so cleanly before. The finale is just the right tempo and weight--frolic without pushing too hard. It's amazing enough to hear such a great Eroica, but then to follow it with a superb reading of a symphony that so often is quite frankly a throw-away, is really extraordianry.Highly, highly recommended, in case you couldn't tell."
This is really good!
John Grabowski | 08/04/1999
(5 out of 5 stars)
"We are drenched in the riches of Beethoven. We have Zinman cheap, we have Harnoncourt, we have Norrington, and we have Karajan. What more could you want? How about another inexpensive set that had the opposite approach of Zinman on Arte Nova, but no less valid. In fact, Cluytens is infinitely warmer than Zinman; the humanity is all there. A wonderful recording, no matter the price."
Track Listings (8) - Disc #1