Ludwig van Beethoven Karl Boumlhm Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra - Beethoven Symphonie No 9 (5 tracks) +Album Reviews

Absolutely the Best Ninth!

05/24/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is absolutely the best Ninth available: great conducting; great solo vocalists; great orchestral performance; great recorded sound; great cover art (Munch).As others have noted, this is the "slowest" Ninth around. This is true; but "slow" must not be misunderstood as "dragging." On the contrary, this performance sizzles exactly where it should. And it's not "slow" because Bohm was too old to conduct properly. Actually, this is the finest Ninth realization, because Bohm had a lifetime of experience, and here he really displays his incisive critique: he lets the music breathe: he lets it meditate: he lets brood: he lets it expand unto the cosmos. And this pregnancy of concept gives birth to a realization of rare art. I'm a von Karajan fan, but this realization makes Karajan sound like he's rushing to be finished as quickly as possible, just to be done and go home: Karajan sounds ridiculously fast. No, Bohm lets the gentle Beethoven breathe, giving him time to philosophize. Plus, the disc is at a bargan price: double the satisfaction. Please do yourself (or someone else) a favor: get this disc."

Deeply Moving

01/17/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Though many seem to regard this version of Beethoven's ninth as too slow, I find it very moving and inspirational. Böhm's approach is poetic and lets the listener digest every single note. At the end, it leaves you with a bittersweet sensation of both joy and nostalgy that reminded me that Beethoven was unable to actually hear the grandiosity of his work."

Wonderfully slow

J. Buxton | Waltham, MA United States | 12/17/1999

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I have great affection for this symphony, and I own about 33 different recorded versions. As David Hurwitz points out in his review, it is the slowest performance on record at almost 80 minutes! Although I usually agree with Mr. Hurwitz's reviews, I disagree with him in his comparison to Bohm's earlier Vienna recording. I think this one is better mostly due to the soloists. Norman and Domingo sing like the superstars they are, and I think the slower speeds actually add some dramatic tension. However, if you want to own only one Beethoven nine, look for Bernstein's recording with the Vienna Philharmonic or Giulini's bargain version with the London Symphony."

Yeah, it isn't instant satisfaction

Chen Yuan-Tud | 01/23/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is not the definitive recording of the Ninth Symphony. I used to say that it was, but Karl Bohm's recording for the same label (with the same orchestra) happens to edge it out... barely. Get it as a double with the third symphony, of which he is one of the greatest performers. Having said that, this is still a wonderful recording. Karl Bohm was old... over eighty in fact when he recorded this, and he had decades of experience. His sense of clarity is wonderful, and his command of the orchestra is fantastic. The tempos, like his magnificent recording of Mozart's 40th symphony, are slower than many other conducters who can't sense that there is more than sheer power and force to Beethoven's masterpiece. Chances are this won't appeal to you on the first few listens... because you are so accustomed to faster tempos the work will seem sluggish. But unlike the popular Karajan recording, the more you listen the more you will grasp the brilliance of Bohm's interpretations. Also it is worthwhile to compare the faster tempos of the ninth or of his many other works to the moderate tempos... Bohm understood the importance of tempo and he knew which tempos would bring out the most truth of Beethoven's work. The second movement is slightly slower than most, but the pulse is brilliant and the lines are strong and forceful. Also, there is an interesting score direction that is almost always ignored. The center of the Scherzo is in 4/4 and is marked presto... specifically the measure length is to correspond to that of the 3/8. Which means it goes absurdly fast... probably too fast unless you take the 3/8 much slower, which is what Bohm does. If you listen to Karajan and others, what you find is he actually plays the tempo slower in that section, making it sound more graceful and serene. But the score doesn't lie. The first movement is massive and powerful, much more so than any other recording (Possibly even more powerful than his previous version in this instance... in fact, it is safe to say that the sheer force and power exceed that of the 70's recording in most instances). The fourth movement recieves the most flack of any for it's radical tempos, but it is here that it's most obviously brilliant. Some of the tempos are counter intuitive, but the experience is brilliant... the pulse does occasionally rage, but he doesn't treat the work like it's a sprint. Of course, the presto at the end is presented in a true presto, and again the relationship in most recordings is not effective because the tempo they began with was not correct. The voices are incredible, the solos are beyond perfect. An absolutely wondorous recording that after much listening and careful attention will prove to be, if not the definitive recording of the 9th, certainly one of the best."

Search - Ludwig van Beethoven, Karl Böhm, Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra :: Beethoven: Symphonie No. 9

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