MusicWeb International One of the most grown-up review sites around 2024
60,000 reviews
... and still writing ...

Search MusicWeb Here Acte Prealable Polish CDs
 

Presto Music CD retailer
 
Founder: Len Mullenger                                    Editor in Chief:John Quinn             

Some items
to consider

new MWI
Current reviews

old MWI
pre-2023 reviews

paid for
advertisements

Acte Prealable Polish recordings

Forgotten Recordings
Forgotten Recordings
All Forgotten Records Reviews

TROUBADISC
Troubadisc Weinberg- TROCD01450

All Troubadisc reviews


FOGHORN Classics

Alexandra-Quartet
Brahms String Quartets

All Foghorn Reviews


All HDTT reviews


Songs to Harp from
the Old and New World


all Nimbus reviews



all tudor reviews


Follow us on Twitter


Editorial Board
MusicWeb International
Founding Editor
   
Rob Barnett
Editor in Chief
John Quinn
Contributing Editor
Ralph Moore
Webmaster
   David Barker
Postmaster
Jonathan Woolf
MusicWeb Founder
   Len Mullenger

REVIEW
Plain text for smartphones & printers


Advertising on
Musicweb


Donate and keep us afloat

 

New Releases

Naxos Classical
All Naxos reviews

Chandos recordings
All Chandos reviews

Hyperion recordings
All Hyperion reviews

Foghorn recordings
All Foghorn reviews

Troubadisc recordings
All Troubadisc reviews



all Bridge reviews


all cpo reviews

Divine Art recordings
Click to see New Releases
Get 10% off using code musicweb10
All Divine Art reviews


All Eloquence reviews

Lyrita recordings
All Lyrita Reviews

 

Wyastone New Releases
Obtain 10% discount

Subscribe to our free weekly review listing

 


Support us financially by purchasing this disc from
Ludwig van BEETHOVEN (1770-1827)
Symphony No. 1 in C, Op. 21 (1799-1800) [26:27]
Symphony No. 5 in C Minor Op. 67 (1807) [30:47]
Beethoven Orchester Bonn/Stefan Blunier
rec. 29-31 May 2012, Bonn
MUSIKPRODUKTION DABRINGHAUS UND GRIMM MDG 937 1756-6 [57:26] 

How wonderful it is to hear these two symphonies which have been so much part of my life over the years. My music teacher at school in Oxford in the late 1960s introduced us to Beethoven 1 in our music class. I was hooked, having previously only known the Pastoral, still my favourite. Right from the opening the thirty year old Beethoven is making a statement at the start of a new century. Heaven knows how many versions I’ve listened to, from the exciting Mengelberg through to Rattle, Most have been superb experiences. The only problem is that there are just so many - never too many - to chose from! With most available recordings over the past sixty years in good sound this newcomer faces fierce competition.
 
Stefan Blunier and his Beethoven Orchester were new to me. That said, several of their recordings have been reviewed on MWI and I read these accounts prior to listening to this disc. Their version of Number 1 is fine as it goes but some of the magic of this work was missing. The recording is also not as good as expected yet it was made only last year. Blunier seems to concentrate on detail rather than overall structure. Turning to Klemperer live in Vienna (review) and in moderate sound - which I got on the strength of my colleague John Quinn’s review - or Karajan in his 1962 cycle on DG the playing and the spirit was on a totally different level.
 
Blunier’s Beethoven 5 is a better performance and one which I enjoyed. The Bonn orchestra are certainly fine players and hearing them in the concert hall would be a joy. Disconcertingly Blunier doesn’t take the recapitulation in the final movement and that just sounds wrong here. For comparison I returned to Carlos Kleiber’s famous recording on DG and was struck by the power and sense of occasion. The sound too of the VPO from the 1970s is still excellent.
 
In the end even if the Beethoven market weren’t saturated it would be difficult to be very positive about this record. Even so, I was very pleased to hear this very good orchestra and these works again. The performances are fine as far as they go and at budget price would be worthy of a listen. Sadly, at full price they cannot be recommended.
 
David R Dunsmore