Search - Beethoven, Gunter Wand, North German Ro :: Symphonies 5 & 6

Naturally flowing ...

Pater Ecstaticus | Norway | 02/04/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"First of all, that you know: I am a complete musical amateur. What I 'know' of music is what I hear and maybe what I 'feel'. I can at most compare playing speeds and maybe impressions and 'moods' I have, when listening to certain recordings, and comparing them.

Well, what do I 'feel' here, with Günter Wand directing the NDR-Sinfonieorchester in Beethoven's Sixth and Fifth Symphonies? I would like to say: the same as with his conducting of Bruckner: complete honesty to the music without ever 'overdoing it' (But then again: I can't read music, so you must ultimately decide for yourself if I am right or wrong!) With what I have heard of Günter Wand's conducting (some Beethoven and some Bruckner), I have always had this feeling that he just wants you to forget any programmatic ideas or abstract (or even practical) conceptions or descriptions of what one is hearing being 'described' in the music, and take in the 'pure' music: forget the program, it is telling you nothing about the music AS SUCH! This might rob the Sixth Symphony of some of its charm, maybe, and the Sixth does sound a bit 'matter of factly' here. Or maybe I should say: 'understated', or maybe even a little 'undercharacterized' (?). Anyhow, the conducting is as secure as can be, resulting in a very cohesive argument without excess. But then again, the 'Thunder & Storm' does arive rather sudden indeed, and it is not too overwhelming (it doesn't 'rage' at all), which is good: it is nicely balanced with all of the other music as played here, and it doesn't stand out too much. This is a very 'tender' Sixth, to my ears, gently flowing. But the playing itself, helped by the clear vision of Günter Wand, is marvelous: finely disciplined and nicely rounded. You cannot go wrong with this recording of the Sixth, which could ultimately maybe be called 'middle of the road', but with so much more going in favor for it than against it!

The Fifth Symphony has many of the same qualities of the Sixth Symphony: not too aggressive, no 'extreme emotions', with disciplined, beautiful playing by the whole orchestra. The beginning Allegro could maybe be a little more 'con brio', but maybe this is my opinion being influenced by those wonderful recent historical performances and historical performances-inspired recordings by for example Jaap van Zweden and the The Hague Residentie Orchestra (on Philips SACD). The whole performance is played in a gently flowing manner. Never is there evidence of that very nervous energy which often characterizes the music by Beethoven, and which is conveyed better in some other recordings of this work (for example by van Zweden). So there is something missing, to my taste. But then again, this will always be a matter of taste. But the final allegro is as exultant and exuberant as it should be, forming a very rewarding end to a somewhat 'relaxed' Fifth.

These performances of Beethoven's Fifth and Sixth Symphony are very rewarding in themselves, and especially for those people who admire the art of Günter Wand, which has stayed so consistent for over decades, these (live) recordings (1992) are not to be missed."