So to the culmination
of Gielen’s DVD Beethoven cycle
(see http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2004/Nov04/Beethoven1-3_Gielen.htm
and http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2004/Dec04/Beethoven45_Gielen.htm
).
As a whole this cycle is not made of
the most inspiring stuff, despite many
impressive moments and insights along
the way. Camera work, too, is standard
stuff with randomly-chosen string players
getting the occasional moment of stardom.
There is a wide variety of angles, not
always logically employed. Shots of
Gielen show a conductor endowed with
all the technique - rather minimalist
in expression, it has to be said - but
not, by the look of it, a huge amount
of enthusiasm.
The performances reflect
this. The Seventh is the earliest on
the disc, dating from 1998. The Sostenuto
introduction is slow by modern standards,
yet the Allegro gallops along - and
includes the exposition repeat. As so
often with Gielen’s performances of
this repertoire, there are great pluses
(expert orchestral balancing in the
development) balanced with minuses (the
great cello and double-bass ostinato
towards the end is nowhere near the
omen of doom it should be). The ‘slow’
movement is actually slow for once.
Distinctly funereal, it still managed
to convey a sense of unstoppable momentum,
and Gielen gets excellent pianissimi
from his players.
What is strange about
this Seventh is that it is a game of
two halves. All of a sudden it takes
off at the third movement, whose dynamic,
almost hammered beginning introduces
a fast, furious and tremendously exciting
Scherzo - even the Trio has a blazing
climax.
A shot of the impressive
double-bass line-up - around eight of
them - confirms Gielen’s somewhat massive
interpretation. In keeping with this,
the close is no race to the finishing
post, instead revealing the discipline
that is a Gielen trademark. All string
departments are clearly well trained
for this famous movement.
The Eighth - given
in a hall that looks as if it is less
than half-full! - begins in the most
explosive of fashions. Dynamic contrasts
are well marked, and there is drama
aplenty. The end, though, is beautifully
judged, the epitome of musicality.
If the tick-tock woodwind
of the second movement is not as expertly
balanced as some, there are some suave
and witty contributions to compensate.
The horns shine in the Trio of the third
movement, yet the interpretative highlight
of this reading is the finale, wherein
the disjunct passages - indeed the late-Beethovenian
tendency towards implied disintegration
- is a model of true late-Beethoven
style.
So to the massive Ninth.
EuroArts provide subtitles in English
and French for the Schiller, should
you need them. A severe-faced Gielen
leads his forces through a first movement
that, whilst full of drama, does not
really point towards the new worlds
of expression the composer was clearly
had in mind. Close-miking of timpani
is not necessarily a bad thing in this
piece, but some may find it distracting.
The Scherzo is perhaps
on the earth-bound side. The rustic
Trio works well though. At least the
flowing slow movement aspires towards
higher planes. If the finale does not
begin with an Almighty bolt from the
blue, the relentlessness of the cello
and double-bass recitatives is mightily
exciting, while the March has a lovely
parodistic twang to it. Soloists are
generally good especially the young
and focussed bass. A shame the soprano,
Renate Behle, swoops up to her highest
note.
An interesting set
of interpretations and that comment
goes for the entire cycle as well as
the present offering. Nothing, I remain
sure, that will have you squirming in
your seat in excitement, but Gielen’s
agenda seems to be to pass on his wealth
of experience. He gains excellent results
from his players, who reveal unflagging
enthusiasm.
Colin Clarke
Renate Behle (soprano); Yvonne Naef (contralto);
Glenn Winslade (tenor); Hanno Müller-Brachmann
(bass); Berlin Radio Chorus; SWR Sinfonieorchester
Baden-Baden und Freiburg/Michael Gielen. 
EUROARTS
2050669 [141’00] 
