Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125 'Choral'

…Otto Klemperer's energy and momentum come not from his tempos but from the way the rhythms are articulated. In the first movement and Scherzo the heroic, teeth-gritted determination are physically... — BBC Music Magazine, February 2010 More…

Catalogue No: SBT1177
Label: Testament

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1st February 2010
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Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125 'Choral'

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Beethoven: Symphony #9, In D Minor, Op. 125 - 1. Allegro Ma Non Troppo, Un Poco Maestoso

Beethoven: Symphony #9, In D Minor, Op. 125 - 2. Molto Vivace

Beethoven: Symphony #9, In D Minor, Op. 125 - 3. Adagio Molto E Cantabile

Beethoven: Symphony #9, In D Minor, Op. 125 - 4. Presto, Allegro Assai

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February 2010

…Otto Klemperer's energy and momentum come not from his tempos but from the way the rhythms are articulated. In the first movement and Scherzo the heroic, teeth-gritted determination are physically gripping, In this Ninth combined urgency with masterly control and spellbinding authority, and a dignity all his own.

2010

This is a revelatory live recording by EMI's engineers of Klemperer's performance of the Ninth Symphony at the Royal Festival Hall, immediately before his 1957 EMI recording. Where the studio recording gives us a frontal, ground-level view of the players spread out across the spaces of the Kingsway Hall, this live Festival Hall recording offers us that special Klemperer balance which gave particular prominence to the winds and the timpani. Strings, and in the finale the chorus, are nicely focused; but from where we sit, somewhere above the first oboe, it's winds and timpani that are the centre of interest. No one would have dared balance a studio recording this way, yet this is far closer to what a Klemperer performance really sounded like.
There are a couple of oddities in the finale. In the preliminary orchestral statement of the 'joy' theme, the bassoon descant drowns out the violas and cellos; then, later on, we get a less than clear view of the tenor. (A blessed relief, perhaps, given Kmentt's thin, dried-out sound here.) Interpretatively, the two performances are identical, though the live performance is just that bit more intense. The first movement does not benefit greatly but the Scherzo is transformed; what rather lumbers in the studio is here a thrilling dance of the Titans. The finale is wonderfully performed, thrillingly articulated by the newly founded Philharmonia Chorus and the Philharmonia players. Detail after detail shines out, etched into the imagination by the playing and the persistently enquiring recording.

Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125 'Choral'

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