Staatskapelle Dresden

Cellist Peter Bruns writes of this recording: "Interpretation starts when musicians "read between the lines" and do not merely reproduce the notes - only then can one talk of interpretation at all… Interpreters always balance the written notes and playing instructions with their own feelings and knowledge." Exercising his considerable musical scholarship and his natural virtuosity, Brun's has crafted a truly revelatory performance of one of the most beloved works in the cello repertoire. This innovative, fresh and tastefully programmed disc is a welcome addition to any collection.

Of all his nine symphonies it is the 5th that has come to epitomise Beethoven as the artist whose life was one relentless struggle with Fate and the hostilities of life. There is little doubt that the deafness (which by the time Beethoven composed the 5th in 1804/5 had become total) contributed to the sense of struggle, with the composer increasingly cut off from the world of conversation and music. By contrast the Sixth is a depiction of nature, and the joy of the composer at being in the countryside and at one with nature and her creatures. He said that the 6th ‘was more an impression of feeling than painting’. It is therefore a precursor to what would become known as a ‘tone poem’ later in the century.

Schiller’s Ode to Joy although pre dating the French Revolution, was the nearest a German artist had come to espousing the same lofty ideas of equality and universal brotherhood. As in the 5th symphony Beethoven was again influenced by the music of post revolutionary Paris as can be heard in the martial sections of the finale. The great tune in the finale has become a motif for freedom the world over, and has become symbolic with freedom especially since the famous performance to celebrate the unification of Germany. It is the only musical work recognised by UNESCO as one of the great monuments of civilisation. Beethoven’s youthful idealism finally triumphed after a lifetime of struggle and hardship. The music and its message is still as powerful today as when it received its premiere in 1824. The deaf composer was gently turned around by one of the soloists to face the tumultuous reception.