Ludwig van BEETHOVEN (1770-1827)
Symphony No. 7 in A, Op. 92 (1811-12) [40:35]
Symphony No. 8 in F, Op. 93 (1812) [25:22]
The Netherlands Symphony Orchestra/Jan Willem de Vriend
rec. 29-30 June 2010 (Symphony no.7) and 25-26 June 2008 (Symphony No.8),
Muziekcentrum Enschede
CHALLENGE CLASSICS CC72500 [65:57]
This is volume 3 of Jan Willem de Vriend’s complete cycle of the Beethoven
symphonies, of which volume 1 is reviewed here.
I greatly enjoyed what this team did with the Beethoven Violin Concerto
(see review),
so needed no second bidding to investigate some of this new symphonic work.
The booklet notes are nicely written though somewhat subjective, and there
is nothing about De Vriend’s approach to interpreting Beethoven other than
the rather coy final sentence, “As always, they delve into the depths of the
symphonies and from these depths, they elevate themselves to a higher level...
in their understanding of Ludwig van Beethoven” Come on people: that’s
not content, that’s worthless column filler fluff. Left to the evidence of
what we hear, I agree with John Sheppard’s summary of these being “essentially
clean, well recorded performances, combining many aspects of the modern trend
towards historically informed performance.” With their SACD recording as a
potentially important selling point, they immediately run into an already
complete cycle and one of my favourites, that with Osmo Vänskä on
the BIS label (see review).
I don’t dislike Jan Willem de Vriend’s Beethoven at all. His Symphony No.7
has a spring and a drive which tops Vänskä for urgency in most
of the faster movements, while not sounding over impetuous or rushed. The
final Allegro con brio reaches fever pitch for example, and is remarkably
exciting. The recorded balance is brighter on the whole, but this might have
something to do with the string balance, which is a tad fuller and a good
deal warmer from the BIS label, or is it the orchestra? My impression is that
there is sometimes not quite enough weight in the string sound during tuttis
with the NSO, or at least when the brass is in full flow. This is by no means
always the case, but there are moments where the string counterweight to the
brass interjections seems to struggle a little. See if you agree at 10:10
in the first movement of the Symphony No.7 where the melodic shape
from the strings is actually quite hard to track. Intonation isn’t always
perfect either, and the little flute solo at 10:50 in the same movement sounds
plain sharp. There is plenty of detail in the recording though, and no really
substantial complaints on a technical level.
The character of the brass in the Symphony No.7 is rather special in
this recording, with some nicely growling horns creating a sense of drama
at numerous points. The period nature of the performance of course means little
or no vibrato in the strings, so there will no doubt be comments about their
thinness of sound. I’m rather used to this now, but it’s worth bearing in
mind if you have an allergy to this practice. The famous funereal Allegretto
starts fairly urbanely but builds convincingly, and the timpani thwacks
here and elsewhere are allowed free rein.
The pairing of the 7th and 8th symphonies is a good
one, with the brooding and theatrical drama of the one contrasting with the
frequently good natured sunlight of the other. Once again, this Symphony
No.8 is very good, though while the lyrical touches in the winds are nicely
phrased the legato from the strings is a little less clean. De Vriend moves
everything along with a light touch and everyone at ease with his driving
tempo and wide dynamics in the opening Allegro e vivace con brio. Timpani
played with harder sticks tell in favour for De Vriend and against Vänskä
here, whose fatter sounding drums rumble more like a storm in the background
rather than being a real part of the ensemble, though that quiet ending is
so tight from the Minnesota band it ends up having the last and best
word. De Vriend’s Allegretto scherzando is a bit ‘twixt and between
– neither really light and refined nor filled with the surprise and variety
we have from Vänskä. His touch is also a mite heavy with the Tempo
di Menuetto, coming from a baseline soft dynamic which isn’t really that
soft. Vänskä gets his players almost down to nothing where he wants;
allowing plenty of space for dynamics without having to raise the roof each
time there’s a forte. There are plenty of good things here though,
and certainly enough testosterone-filled meatiness to go around if you like
your Beethoven assertive and masculine. Funnily enough, after so many hard-driven
fast movements it is in the finale of the Symphony No.8 that De Vriend
eases his foot off the pedal just a little. This allows all those late Beethoven
inner voices to speak with that much more clarity, which I rather enjoy. The
little off-beat timpani strokes at 2:22 are a delight, and there is plenty
of colour and texture to relish, as well as a fine feel of quasi-descriptive
narrative in De Vriend’s almost operatic response to this movement.
This is a fine recording and a brace of performances which has much to recommend
it. There are one or two mild and mostly minor qualitative issues with the
playing, and if you are looking for the most refined of Beethoven then Vänskä
is still your man. Jan Willem de Vriend does have a way of making these symphonies
sound fresh and exciting however, even a little dangerous – in a different
and good way. These don’t quite knock the best recommendations off the top,
but as a SACD choice I would certainly choose De Vriend over the heavier Philippe
Herreweghe (see review).
Dominy Clements
Not quite top, but holds plenty of interest.