Search - Ludwig van Beethoven, Herbert von Karajan, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra :: Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphony no.6 "Pastoral" / Overtures

Karajan just doesn't know how to conduct a good Beethoven si

M. A. Scott | Kansas, USA | 07/25/2005

(2 out of 5 stars)

"Herbert Von Karajan is my idol, as far as conductors go, but he couldn't conduct a good "Pastoral" to save his life!!! He rushes through this like he wants to finish it as fast as possible. There's absolutely no charm in any of his versions of this great and beautiful symphony. This is one of the handful of great symphonies, and Karajan couldn't care less, which make's me very angry indeed!!! His 1962 version is worse than this one, but not by much. It deserves a one star rating and this I'll give a one and a half. I've looked at the timings of his last three "pastorals", and they are almost identical. I think they all have a total timing of 38 to 39 minutes. It's beyond me how your two previous reviewers could give this recording a four and five star rating. I think you guys need to go to music school and get some taste. I hate to disparage Karajan, because he is the greatest all around conductor there has ever been. It's a shame that over all his years of recording, he couldn't have gotten it right once, but I guess he had to trip up sometime. Don't buy this recording!!! There are plenty of great 6th's out there, like Jochum's, Cluyten's, Ashkenazy's, Hogwood's, Goodman's, Guilini, Walter's, Hickox, Weller, and several others. Karajan should bow his head in shame for the unkind treatment of this symphony!!!



P.S. I'm returning to add this little tid bit. I just aquired Karajan's Boxed set from the early to late 50's with the Philharmonia, and the 6th in this set is even faster than his last three recordings, which includes this one. I think that he played that pastoral in just under 37 minutes, which is super fast, almost faster than I've ever heard of this beautiful symphony ever being played. You might also stay away from the DG version by Bohm from 1972, but even it is better than this Karajan issue is. It's just the opposite. It's super slow, and a bad pastoral also. I would recommend the new EMI Gemini issue of Beethoven's 6th, 8th, and 9th symphonies by Guilini for a really good pastoral if you want, which is available right here on Amazon for probably around $8 to $10 for the two disc set. You just can't beat that price anywhere, and that Gemini series has great performances for the cheapest prices I've ever heard of. Bruno Walter does a very quick pastoral (though not as fast as Karajan), but with much better results than Karajan has. I just checked, and Amazon doesn't have the Gemini issue of the pastoral listed anymore by Guilini, so you might want to try Cd Universe to find it. Just stick with the Guilini or Walter versions that I mentioned and you'll do just fine."

Beethoven's 6th

Hillpaul | West Sussex, GB | 06/22/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Puts the R back in Romantic. You get a sense of the wonder of the world around you that they tried to convey, 'erwachen heiterer Empfindungen bei der Ankunft auf dem Lande' is still one of the few pieces of music that can have tears streaming down my face with rapture"

A forceful interpretation

BasicRep | Charleston SC | 09/19/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Karajan's 6th from the mid 1970's seems to have been panned by many reviewers. This is hands down my favorite Beethoven symphony, and my favorite version to boot. Yes, the performance is tight, full of energy and not 'pastoral' at all, but I cannot find a better recording. I think Karajan viewed this symphony less literally than its title suggests, and brings out a strength in the work others miss. If you want a pretty recording, Walter and the Columbia Symphony on CBS/Sony have a beautifully played, peaceful recording, but it sounds like a different work. Beethoven: Symphonies Nos. 4 & 6 "Pastorale" If you are a fan of Karajan, and are not locked in by other performances, give this one a try."