Beethoven: Symphony No. 6 in F major, Op. 68 'Pastoral'

“For anyone who wants first-rate stereo sound and a broadly traditional reading, it is hard to imagine more profoundly satisfying accounts than these. The playing of the LSO is nowadays quite magnificent, and they are fully justified in releasing their public performances.” BBC Music Magazine, July 2006 ****

“Very appealing, this – the punchy, neatly packed sound; the way the timps thwack away at the right-hand side of the stage, the antiphonally placed fiddles busying to and fro, Haitink's unmannered, high-energy but essentially nonaggressive approach to both symphonies. The first thing that strikes you about the Pastoral is its sensitive shaping. The second is the lively pacing, but never breathless or unduly hurried. The 'Scene by the brook' ebbs and flows at roughly the prescribed speed and yet the LSO's playing, ever warm-hearted, never adopts 'period' affectations: it's as if the laudable old guard has had a wash, a brush-up and a slight change of heart regarding tempo and articulation. The 'Peasants' Merrymaking' enjoys something of Toscanini's bacchanalian drive, the storm a measure of his dynamism.
The Second Symphony is formal but fun. The opening Adagio molto is pretty powerful, the principal allegro light on its feet but rock-steady and with an imposing and firmly held bass-line.
Again, Haitink keeps the slow movement on the move without sacrificing gravitas.
Both readings are profoundly satisfying, the work of musicians who know the scores backwards, love playing them and know what not to do. To say that they provide a new benchmark would be crass; but Haitink and the LSO seem set to provide one of the top Beethoven symphony cycles of the digital era.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“...an interpretation from Haitink that looked beyond the Second's springy geniality and incorporated what brief elements of darkness he could find as a counterweight” The Guardian *****

“Norrington conducts an enjoyable, memorable account of the Fifth. He throws off the introduction to the first movement with crisp brilliance, and the Allegro conveys enormous underlying energy. His Andante is beautifully phrased and flows most delicately; in the bustling double bass theme at the centre of the Scherzo the bowing is light, the effect refined and offering easy virtuosity.
Norrington's finale is strongly accented, his horns broadly sonorous, partly as a result of the resonant EMI sound.
The Pastoral is also a revelation. Norrington adopts a swift tempo in the joyous first movement but there's no hint of that relentless, driven quality we've sometimes had on record.
He's fully up to tempo in the vibrant tuttis; elsewhere he's most careful to allow the music to dance and breathe, the transitions always most sensitively moulded. It's also a joy to hear this symphony on period instruments. This Pastoral is a real voyage of aural discovery. Sometimes the wind tuning isn't 100 per cent true, at others it's simply a matter of Norrington teasing us with the timing of a trill's release or pointing up dissonances that usually get smoothed over. The sound is wonderfully clear and trenchant.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

A Pastoral of Relaxed gait in which every tempo and every colour seems so right: Sunday in the park with Karl perhaps - James Jolly, Gramophone 1000th issue

“Karl Böhm's Beethoven is a compound of earth and fire. His VPO recording of Beethoven's Sixth of 1971 dominated the LP catalogue for over a decade, and has done pretty well on CD on its various appearances.
His reading is generally glorious and it remains one of the finest accounts of the work ever recorded. It still sounds well and the performance (with the first-movement exposition repeat included) has an unfolding naturalness and a balance between form and lyrical impulse that's totally satisfying. The brook flows untroubled and the finale is quite lovely, with a wonderfully expansive climax.
The Schubert dates from the end of Böhm's recording career. It's a superb version of this lovely symphony, another work that suited Böhm especially well. The reading is weighty but graceful, with a most beautifully phrased Andante (worthy of a Furtwängler), a bold Minuet and a thrilling finale. The recording is splendid.
If you admire Böhm this is a worthy way to remember his special gifts.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“If you are a connoisseur of Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony...then this reissue is imperative. There is a caveat: the recording has been saved from an audio cassette version, the original master having deteriorated. But that tape recording itself is of decent quality and has been well restored...It is a meticulous, exciting interpretation, with sensational playing from the great Bavarian band. The sheer weight in the brief but volcanic storm is like no other version.” Sunday Herald, 8th January 2012

“DG's full-bodied, crystal-clear sonics make the Vienna Philharmonic's rapturous, nuanced playing all the more irresistible” Classics Today