We live in interesting
times. Major record labels have abandoned major American orchestras. Some
have resorted to starting their own record label, as is the
case with the San Francisco Symphony. Others are being rescued
by … the Scandinavians! The Philadelphia Orchestra is being
recorded on Ondine. Now, Swedish label BIS is recording the
Minnesota Orchestra in that seemingly unlikeliest of ventures
in a purportedly glutted record market: another Beethoven
symphony cycle.
So, do we need
a Beethoven cycle from Minnesota? Well, one important consideration
is that this is recorded in (hybrid, meaning you can play it
on a regular CD player as well) SACD. It is not unique in
this regard. There’s a cycle conducted by Masur from Leipzig
(Pentatone 5186159) and yet another reissue of Karajan’s 1963
Berlin cycle (DG 000165536). But Vänskä and BIS are getting
in at the beginning of this game, especially if, like me, you
are not so fond of the Germanic school of conducting.
However, I haven’t
yet made the jump to SACD. If you have, and you like your
Beethoven in the small-modern-orchestra, HIP-aware style of
Harnoncourt, this release is likely to be self-recommending. (Included
with this CD is a little brochure, dated April 2006, of
SACD releases to date by BIS. There are 42 of them, including
a complete set of Bach’s organ works that has been miraculously
shrunk to five discs. How many LPs was Hurford’s set? But
I digress, as technology marches on…) For those of us still
augmenting our conventional CD collection, however, it may
be a harder
sell. It is best described as good, but variable, Beethoven
at premium price.
It is probably
indicative of my becoming interested in and educated about
classical music in the 1990s that for the Beethoven symphonies
I imprinted on the then-new recordings with Harnoncourt conducting
the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, and the bargain-priced Szell/Cleveland
Orchestra recordings on Sony Essential Classics which were
even available for a while at the local convenience store. Listening
to Szell’s version of the third and eighth symphonies (Sony
SBK 46328) in comparison to Vänskä’s show the former to be
quite aged in sonic terms. Yet Szell’s performance of the
Eroica is superior. He sustains an ever-present sense of tension
and drama, a sense that something important is at issue, that
is comparatively lacking in the better-sounding version.
The difference
between the two performances of the eighth symphony is more
marked. Vänskä’s approaches the level of a run-through: it
never really catches fire, or dances in the way that this symphony
must.
Harnoncourt’s recordings
of these symphonies (the set was available as Teldec 0225401,
I cannot imagine they will be out of the catalogue for long)
combine Vänskä’s architectural virtues, and Szell’s with the
drama and dance of the music, to a wonderful feeling for orchestral
color and a perfectly-timed sense of when to dig into a phrase. These
remain my favorite recordings of all the Beethoven symphonies.
The liner notes
for the BIS issue, written by Barry Cooper, provide useful
and interesting material regarding the history and musical
genesis of each symphony. They are also remarkably clearly
written.
I hope that, in
choosing to record music as mainstream as Beethoven’s symphonies,
that Vänskä does not abandon the valuable work that he has
done so well, that of championing Nordic composers who deserve
to be better known.
Brian Burtt
Minnesota Orchestra/Osmo
Vänskä 
[76:16] 
