Two beautifully balanced accounts of the smaller-scale symph
Ralph Moore | Bishop's Stortford, UK | 01/30/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I have recently been reviewing my collection of Beethoven symphonies and re-evaluating what I am looking for. It has become clear to me that no one set will satisfy and that a judicious assembly of various recordings according to personal taste - and even mood - is the best route. Hence, I find that for the most complex works - such as the Choral or the Eroica - I need several recordings from different eras, in different styles. But for these two slightly smaller-scale works, guess what? Maag meets my every need. I have not heard all the others in his series but I understand that this disc makes the very best of the choice he made to use fewer strings, thereby permitting the woodwind and brass to be more prominent, and also utilises the most suitable of the three recording locations in which Maag recorded all nine. The sound is warm with a slight reverb; crystal clear but not too much so. Maag shares Kubelik's ability to make unerring musical choices in phrasing, tempo and balance and I hear no inadequacies in the alert playing of the relatively obscure orchestra; they are fine musicians, playing crisply and responding with seismic sensitivity to Maag's subtle direction. I suspect that his reduced orchestra militates against his being completely able to fulfil the demands of the grander symphonies, but for the stealthy, pacing mystery of the opening movement of the Fourth, Maag's band are ideal. Indeed, this is the best Fourth I have heard. Maag swings into the main subject with real élan and energy. Similarly, I have always (perhaps foolishly) relegated the Second to the status of my least favourite Beethoven symphony, but this joyous account has made me revise my opinion. These are two performances to live with; all kinds of details emerge afresh. I shall try the others in this set but suspect that we are hearing the very best of Maag in this one disc."
