Beethoven: Symphonies Nos. 5 & 7: Recorded live in Carnegie Hall, New York City in October 2011

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after hearing these explosive, invigorating and electrifying performances, we are reminded once again of the ferocious intensity that must have shell-shocked 19th-century Viennese audiences...Gardiner... — BBC Music Magazine, January 2013, 4 out of 5 stars More…

Release Date: 1st Oct 2012
Catalogue No: SDG717
Label: SDG
Length: 72 minutes

Gramophone Magazine

January 2013

Editor's Choice
Presto Favourites

Recommended Recording

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Beethoven: Symphony No. 7 in A major, Op. 92

Work length39:01

$9.00

$11.65

$15.75

Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique
Sir John Eliot Gardiner

I. Poco sostenuto - Vivace

Track length13:16

$3.00

$3.85

$5.25

II. Allegretto

Track length8:27

$2.00

$2.60

$3.50

III. Presto, assai meno presto

Track length8:44

$2.00

$2.60

$3.50

IV. Allegro con brio

Track length8:34

$2.00

$2.60

$3.50

Beethoven: Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67

Work length33:15

$8.00

$10.35

$14.00

Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique
Sir John Eliot Gardiner

I. Allegro con brio

Track length6:41

$1.00

$1.30

$1.75

II. Andante con moto

Track length8:38

$2.00

$2.60

$3.50

III. Allegro

Track length7:50

$2.00

$2.60

$3.50

IV. Allegro

Track length10:06

$3.00

$3.85

$5.25

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Favourites, Ludwig van Beethoven - Orchestral & Choral Works

James attempts the Herculean task of choosing his favourite recordings of orchestral and choral works by Ludwig van Beethoven.

Nearly twenty years after their acclaimed Beethoven Symphonies recordings for Deutsche Grammophon, Sir John Eliot Gardiner and the Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique returned to this repertoire for the first time last year, in a tour that took them to London, Philadelphia, Washington and New York. The concert in Carnegie Hall was broadcast live by WQXR, who kindly agreed to make the recording available to us to release on our label.

Sir John Eliot’s Gardiner’s reading of these familiar pieces highlights their revolutionary origin.

Performing on period instruments, the ORR brings light, clarity and brisk energy, as well as a warm and genuinely thrilling sound.

The Seventh, famously described by Wagner as the “apotheosis of the dance”, stands out by its sheer physical energy expressed in its many obsessively repetitive passages. The Fifth, often considered to be a deeply personal piece, also reveals echoes of revolutionary songs.

The album is packaged in a digipack and contains a 36 pages booklet with original notes by BBC presenter and music journalist Stephen Johnson.

Reviews

January 2013

after hearing these explosive, invigorating and electrifying performances, we are reminded once again of the ferocious intensity that must have shell-shocked 19th-century Viennese audiences...Gardiner brings tremendous rhythmic drive and irresistable forward momentum to both Symphonies and revels in the sheer audacity of Beethoven's orchestration

24th November 2012

The execution is fabulous, the (superlative) stylistic foundation always at the service of the music’s rhythm, energy and inner logic...With every performance of these symphonies, the listener ought to be taken aback at the revolutionary force of Beethoven’s language. Where many fail, Gardiner succeeds.

January 2013

So palpable is the excitement of these live performances that it almost comes as a shock that the applause has been excised...Gardiner and his resplendent Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique rejoice here in the sheer physicality of the music...These are the kind of performances that remind us of what a revolution of reassessment period-instrument bands provoke.

November 2012

These are thrusting, dynamic performances...though the music is played very speedily there’s no skating over Beethoven’s drama and argument.

If you're looking for an alternative take on these two symphonies, then this live recording with John Eliot Gardiner conducting the Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique is ideal. The period-instrument orchestra bring a pleasing clarity to the textures, and Gardiner's often swift tempos (for example in the outer movements of the Fifth) brush away any cobwebs that might have been allowed to accumulate over the years.

28th October 2012

Even if Weber didn’t make the famous remark attributed to him — “Beethoven is ripe for the madhouse” — you can understand his reaction. Played as the ORR play it, it can still make your hair stand on end.

14th October 2012

the electricity in the air is almost tangible. Gardiner is merciless in his demands...The tempo is often exhilarating, the playing always vital, edgy and thrillingly fluent. This is the most exciting Beethoven release you are likely to hear this year.

20th October 2012

The pace still feels driven, the tension high, but there’s a greater sense of fun and a touch more colour now. You sense that Gardiner’s Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique now have these difficult pieces under their collective skin, and can now project them with a little more spontaneity and freedom. This Fifth seethes, bubbles and spits in places...Symphony no 7 is better still, its rapt introduction leading to an astonishing, punchy Vivace.

Beethoven: Symphonies Nos. 5 & 7

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Favourites, Ludwig van Beethoven - Orchestral & Choral Works

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