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 SACD [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 goton 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
Unremarkable competent versions of the most duplicated repertoire. Sadly they
fall below the great.
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