Fate seems to decree that I am obliged, once in a while, to settle
down in a cosy corner for a few evenings, evaluating one or other
wonderful cycle of Beethoven’s symphonies. With Claudio Abbado
I have the advantage of coming fresh to his approach, having heard
more about his recordings by reputation than in reality. I do
have his recordings of Beethoven’s overtures with the Vienna Philharmonic
so do have an inkling of and in fact quite like his ‘Vienna sound’,
but sheer poverty and neglect has so far prevented me from acquainting
myself with Abbado’s first
set of Berlin Philharmoniker recordings.
The reverse of the
box for this set has been loosely covered with a paper sticker
which tells us that the recordings in this set are not
those which originally appeared on CD in 2000, an issue for
which there must have been understandable confusion: “Here is
the new complete edition of Claudio Abbado’s Beethoven Symphonies
with the Berlin Philharmonic. Nos. 1-8, previously released
only on DVD, were recorded live in Rome in 2001, while No.9
is Abbado’s re-edited version of the earlier recording from
Berlin. Containing the maestro’s final interpretative wishes,
this new cycle replaces his Berlin set issued by Deutsche Grammophon
in 2000 – now no longer available.” According to some online
sources it still is available, but I’ll have to let that
pass. There follows a comment from Abbado, also justifying this
new release: “After many performances of the cycle, our interpretative
vision had matured, becoming more natural and shared. The concerts
in Rome marked significant advances in terms of style, spirit
and technique”.
This presents something
of a fait accompli for those who already have the original
2000 Berlin recordings. The 9th is certainly derived
from the old set, but the rest are most assuredly different.
The 2000 Berlin discs are generally acknowledged to be a considerable
improvement on Abbado’s Vienna set, and now we have a new further
improved CD edition of the Berlin recordings, previously to
be purchased on DVDs which are also still available on Euroarts
– which I assume to be the same recordings, though these are
likely to cost you more as a collection than this CD box. What
to do? I suspect fans of the earlier Abbado set will want this
one, especially if they haven’t invested in the DVDs. My approach
has to be one which compares ‘like with like’, as one who, desiring
a complete modern orchestra set of the Beethoven symphonies,
sees two such sets at similar price from one of the most respected
record labels, those by Claudio Abbado, and the more recently
recorded set by Mikhail
Pletnev, both on Deutsche Grammophon.
The Beethoven symphonies
with the Berlin Philharmonic do have a history of course, and
Claudio Abbado’s tenure with this great orchestra came directly
after that of Herbert von Karajan, whose three cycles of these
works with this orchestra dominated the catalogue for decades.
In many ways, Abbado’s conducting seems to have re-invigorated
the orchestra, bringing back that energy and vigour which makes
von Karajan’s earliest 1960’s Berlin set still the one most
admired by many critics. I have a pet theory as to why the glossy
sheen, perceived or actual, of the later recordings of these
and other works has become so reviled in some quarters. Herbert
von Karajan’s quest for orchestral perfection achieved much
and there are of course many great recordings for which we can
all be grateful. Some of the results however seemed to set the
works in aspic or amber – preserved for eternity, and apparently
intended as untouchable and perfect examples of orchestral power,
beauty and refinement. The human soul rebels against such a
concept, seeking avenues of escape, and perhaps even unconsciously
looking for imperfections which indicate a sense of organic
growth and development. Without this sense of rawness and connectedness
to our own un-godlike condition, the music is taken away from
us and put upon a pedestal, remote and shielded by an aura of
elitism. Listening again to von Karajan with ‘innocent ears’
and I’m convinced that this is partially a side-effect of hype
and pre-conceived bias, but with conductors such as Abbado and
Pletnev there can be little argument that more of a common ground
is regained: we are awed and excited, but there is always the
sense that we might have ‘been there’, and that there is room
for change: space for both a past and a future to which we can
all belong and, in a way, contribute.
Whatever your opinion,
if you listen properly to any of Karajan’s recordings you will
still find wonderful things, and Abbado certainly didn’t throw
the Berliner baby out, with or without the bathwater. The 2000
cycle was considered more taut and ‘classical’ than the grander
visions of Herbert von Karajan, even to the extent of some reduction
in the size of the orchestra. The sense of scale I find is plenty
big enough in this new release, with the rich acoustic of the
Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome contributing to
this effect. As has been noted with the first version of this
cycle, Abaddo’s tempi are swifter than some, inviting a comparison
with ‘historically informed’ performance practice. Those who
have an antipathy for historical instruments and the kinds of
interpretation proposed by conductors such as Roger Norrington
need have no fears with this set – the orchestra sounds as mighty
and big-boned as ever, with plenty of expressively warm vibrato
texture in the strings, and in many of the wind solos. In a
way, Abbado might be criticised for treading the middle ground
between old-world convention and early-music authenticism. My
feeling is that there is always room for both, and plenty of
scope for exciting recordings such as these made with modern
instruments. These recordings may occupy some kind of middle
ground, but they are certainly not middle-of-the-road.
With regard to the
acoustic, Abbado’s Rome set is comparable with that of Pletnev,
which was recorded in the Great Hall of the Moscow State Conservatory.
Neither is overpoweringly resonant, but one can appreciate the
sense of air and space around the musicians in both. As far
as timings go there are differences, but no real consistency
with regard to who is more or less compact. What contrasts can
be heard I can at least partially put down to tradition and
background. Pletnev’s relatively new band the Russian National
Orchestra has no towering history with this music, and with
Pletnev’s clear intention to bring Beethoven as far as possible
into contemporary relevance he seems freer to play with greater
extremes. I never found his pulling and pushing of the music
and its inner dynamics to be offensively wilful, but if the
personality of the conductor is something you prefer on the
sidelines with this music, then Pletnev’s cycle will probably
not be your choice – certainly not over Abbado. That said, this
set really does make you sit up and listen anew to these old
warhorses, so for the palette jaded by years of stodgy old recordings
this will give you the kick up the backside you may not even
realise you were seeking.
Abbado’s live Rome
recordings are of course anything but stodgy. At every point
the energy levels are at high pitch, with crispness of rhythm
and articulation being very strong points. Clarity over speed
has been mentioned as a problem with Abbado’s first DG reading
of the Symphony No.4, but I don’t have much sense of
there being any issues with either the tempo relationships between
movements, or any kind of helter-skelter performance which denies
the music space for sufficient detail, or in giving the players
any technical problems. Some similar criticism was also
levelled at finales of the 7th and 8th
symphonies in the original DG set, as being too swift for the
music to take proper shape. I don’t feel that in these Rome
performances. There’s no sense of the orchestra being held back,
but neither is there much lacking in terms of clarity. The faster
movements all have plenty of drive, and the excitement of a
live performance is very much in evidence, but lack of control
or the use of ill-advised tempi are not criticisms I feel I
could level at any aspect of this cycle. Looking at John Eliot
Gardiner’s historically informed Archiv recording and as you
might expect, even Abbado’s timings are undercut almost entirely
across the board and by quite a large margin in some movements,
but those for the Symphony No.2 are in fact strikingly
similar.
Are there any imperfections?
I’ve played through the whole thing on more than one sound system,
and there are very few minor details I might point out as being
worth mentioning. I find the balance of the timpani a little
too forward at times, giving us a bit of a bumpy ride in, say,
some moments in the Symphony No.2. Then again, this is
something I noticed more on loudspeakers, and find to be less
of a problem on good headphones. Some listeners might find a
contradiction in Abbado’s more chamber orchestra readings, and,
to my ears, the truly symphonic sound of the orchestra. The
funereal march of the Allegretto second movement of the
Symphony No.7 for instance pushes forward at quite a
pace, depriving the movement of some of its emotional weight.
I had a sneaky feeling the Symphony No.6 might turn out
to be too sophisticated for its own good, but, wobbly overdone
flute aside it has some superb moments, though I wouldn’t place
it as one of the strongest in the box. One or two critics of
the earlier Berlin recordings commented on the ‘distant’ nature
of the recordings, and there is as you might expect some change
in perspective between the bulk of these Rome recordings, and
the re-issued Symphony No.9. On its own this is a fine
‘Choral’, but as the climax and point of arrival for this new
CD release its marginally less full sound and the more woolly
lower middle register are a little less than one might have
hoped for after all the gorgeousness in the previous symphonies.
Abbado’s performance is full of all the same potent drama however,
and the choir and singers are all top notch, so I wouldn’t press
too hard for this as a reason for looking elsewhere. I do wonder
what was wrong with the Rome 9th however – the only
difference I can see is Eike Wilm Schulte in the place of Thomas
Quasthoff as baritone soloist.
Are there any particular
highlights? I don’t want to seem like a cop-out, but, not really.
This is a cycle of the Beethoven symphonies which belongs together.
Should DG have released these individually I think they might,
with the exception of that 9th, convincingly have
been accused of presenting us ‘bleeding chunks’ of a set which
has its own inner dynamic and organic sense of unity. I suspect
most listeners will become as addicted to these recordings in
the same way as the reader of a good novel will find it hard
to put the book down without finding out how the story continues,
relishing what happens next, and being reluctant to finish.
Abbado’s attention to detail, his clear affection for the phrasing
and shape in the music at both micro and macro levels and his
connection to the freshness of Beethoven’s ideas are all aspects
which make this set a highlight in its own right. Abbado is
at home as much in the sensitively intimate as the overtly heroic,
something which is encapsulated in excellent symphonies No.3
and No.5.
There is something
of a challenge about re-creating and re-discovering the essence
of music which is both overly-familiar but, in marvellous recordings
such as these, keeps bringing us back for more. I’m lucky – Abbado
and Pletnev look very nice side-by-side on my shelf, and I look
forward to bouncing them off each other for a long time to come.
There are of course many other cycles that introduce what we have
learned from the authentic movement into the modern orchestra.
That with Sir
Charles Mackerras seems to make a strong case for consideration,
and David
Zinman’s cycle has some comparable qualities to Abbado in
terms of interpretation while having if anything more of a shock
factor in terms of balance and tempo in some areas. The Berlin
Philharmonic has its own unique power however, and this will be
something which will bring in plenty of buyers, though standards
in orchestral playing today give them by no means an exclusively
pre-eminent position in this market. If however you’re on the
lookout for a fine, modern instrument set of the Beethoven Symphonies,
Abbado will excite, stimulate and satisfy – guaranteed.
Dominy Clements
Karita Mattila
(soprano); Violeta Urmana (mezzo); Thomas Moser (tenor); Thomas
Quasthoff (bass-baritone) 
