Search - Beethoven, Respighi, De Sabata :: Symphony 5/Pines of Rome

Intense.

offeck | New York, NY -- United States of America | 11/03/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The Beethoven is a white hot, rip-roaring, ferocious performance. Towering. In a league with those of Furtwangler and Richard Strauss, only much better, and nothing is cut out!If you like Respighi, there really only is Toscanini and De Sabata. And Reiner, too, I guess! Not the most serious of music, but it has its moments... You can tell Victor really has a keen knowledge of what's going on, or at least what should be."

Excellent

magellan | Santa Clara, CA | 09/29/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Beethoven's 5th is an example of how the master could take apparently uninteresting and unlikely material and develop it into a great piece of music. The famous four-note theme that forms the basis of the first movement really isn't even a melody; it's more like a short motif or idee fixe, as the French would say. Anyway, that Beethoven could take such minimal material and create one of the great symphonic movements from it is another testimony to his genius."