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

“The other jewel is Tennstedt’s Beethoven: Ninth Symphony, crackling with nervous energy from the start and showcasing the LPO’s intuitive relationship with its late lamented German chief.” Financial Times, 27 October 2007

“An electrifying Beethoven Choral Symphony from Tennstedt.” Sunday Telegraph, 20 January 2008

“Perhaps the first thing that will strike you about these recordings is that they certainly don't hang around...This may come as a shock to those used to more indulgent, romantically-inclined accounts, but I'm sure that all will be won over by these consistently engaging performances...I particularly love the way that the orchestra tears into the propulsive rhythms of the Seventh Symphony...These are wonderful performances” Classic FM Magazine, June 2011 *****

“In providing us with this vital, meekly played and always engaging new period-instrument Beethoven cycle, Emmanuel Krivine is effectively challenging what has in recent years become an all-too-familiar template of sleek, bloodless lines and fast-lane tempi...Krivine knows how to slam a Beethovenian sforzando without breaking glass...He knows how to let the music breathe, too - where to put on the pressure and where to ease off again” Gramophone Magazine, July 2011

“Krivine's set...is spectacular – largely because whilst listening you’re convinced that what you’re hearing is the only way that this music should ever sound. The effect is uproarious, occasionally shocking and consistently exhilarating. The orchestral sound is inevitably sparer, thinner, but the colours are much sharper...This is a fantastic bargain, and possibly the most consistently enjoyable period-instrument recording available.” Graham Rickson, The Arts Desk, 18th June 2011

“Bruggen’s Beethoven with his crack European ensemble is again a breath of fresh air … every bar crackles with energy and delight. Excellent recorded sound, capturing a natural concert hall perspective.” Classical Music, 17th November 2012

“Brüggen's message, interpreted from uncorrupted texts, gets through, every repeat except one (in the third movement of the Seventh) observed. But he reserves judgement about Beethoven's metronome markings...Brüggen strips (the Ninth) of the overbearing bombast encrusted across generations...This is Brüggen's voyage to the vortex of Beethoven's last symphony. Go with him for a rare emotional encounter.” Gramophone Magazine, January 2013

“What makes these new readings so rewarding is the depth and breadth of his conception of Beethoven’s sound world, combined with the clarity of period instruments. Older conductors achieved this with modern instruments, but Brüggen’s accounts of the purely orchestral symphonies have uncommon integrity.” Sunday Times, 10th March 2013

“the O18C have the same exhilarating zeal now as they did when they made their previous set of Beethoven recordings for Philips in the early 1990s...Brüggen isn't one for attention-seeking effects or eccentricities, but his performances bristle with ideas, making them confrontational in the best sense.” The Guardian, 18th October 2012 ****

“The lean, tight, firecracker approach to Beethoven, currently fashionable, is not Barenboim’s way. An old romantic at heart, he refuses to give crisp definition even to the motto rhythms launching No 5...Once Beethoven’s kaleidoscope turns gently lyrical, conductor and musicians are more persuasive. The lighter the symphony in gesture and texture, the better the performances become.” The Times, 6th July 2012 ***

“Hearing such a refreshingly old-fashioned, heavyweight approach to Beethoven still feels like a guilty pleasure. Tempi tend to be broad yet flexible, and the odd-numbered symphonies are the ones which emerge most happily.” The Arts Desk, 28th July 2012

“he appears to conceive of a Beethovenian performing style derived backwards from the Ninth and, more than that, from Wagner's idea of the Ninth. What distinguishes Barenboim's set...is the courage of its iconoclastic convictions...Barenboim will challenge, perplex or irritate you at every turn.” Gramophone Magazine, September 2012

“These are the most old-fashioned performances of the works that I have listened to in a very long time...Barenboim has fallen under the spell of Furtwangler: several of these performances are virtually carbon copies of Barenboim's great predecessor...In short, despite serious shortcomings' this is a worthwhile and often moving set.” BBC Music Magazine, September 2012 ****

“Chailly's first recorded Beethoven cycle shows him to be a Classicist through and through...There is also a lovely Italianate cantabile which period strings would find it impossible (and possibly undesirable) to match...The recordings, I should add, are superb...There is space around the sound, as there needs to be in Beethoven, complemented by an immediacy and clarity of detail that derives in large measure from the playing itself.” Gramophone Magazine, Awards Issue 2011

“His Beethoven represents a confrontation of tradition...with innovative ideas...From the outset, it is clear that Chailly’s Beethoven will be an exhilarating adventure: closely observing the once-controversial metronome markings, he conducts the fast movements of the C and D major symphonies with Haydnesque wit and brio...The breathtaking finale of No 8 is the most exciting I have heard on disc.” Sunday Times, 23rd October 2011

“This is above all, an explosively swift cycle. Chailly is utterly faithful to Beethoven's metronome markings...but the tautness of the playing, the definition of its detail – especially from the woodwind – and the phenomenal range of dynamics the Gewandhaus Orchestra has at its command mean that weight and drama are always available to Chailly...The result is a Beethoven cycle that's up there with the best modern-orchestra versions of recent times” The Guardian, 3rd November 2011 *****

“Readings focused entirely on the composer, not on debating how things ‘should’ sound...The playing is responsive and immaculate throughout, forming the backbone of Chailly’s brilliantly authentic crib-sheet of a symphony cycle.” Daniel Ross, bbc.co.uk, 26th October 2011

“they play as if possessed: Chailly has opted to stick faithfully to the composer's original tempos. The effect is revelatory: even old warhorses such as the 5th Symphony are transformed into galloping racehorses, in thoroughbred performances befitting the pedigree of the material, restoring a dash and brio to works whose revolutionary aspects can once again be clearly glimpsed.” The Independent, 11th November 2011 *****

“Chailly injects a colossal and thrilling urgency into the music...This is a remarkable feat, which owes much to the fabulous unanimity of the Leipzig players. Many orchestras would stumble over the finale of the Second Symphony, if taken at Chailly’s breakneck speed, but this one sails through unscathed.” The Telegraph, 18th November 2011 *****

“There is a monumentality and gravitas in these new Decca recordings, released to tie in with Chailly’s Barbican residency...You really do get the best of both worlds here – clear textures and sharp articulation to rival those of Krivine’s recent period cycle, paired with orchestral textures rich and characterful.” The Arts Desk, 26th November 2011

“Chailly is direct, fiery, full of vitality and detail...[he] simply convinces me...To hear the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra on stupendous form in these masterpieces is a privilege, and one that's hard to resist given the blazing power and conviction of Chailly's vision.” International Record Review, May 2012