Celebrating Simon Rattle: 1995 Beethoven Symphony Cycle

[Flosshilde]

Does the BBC Legelnds label still exist? I would think that the tapes are owned by the CBSO anyway (see upthread for their provenance), & they don't appear to have a record label.

[Petrushka]

Does the BBC Legelnds label still exist? I would think that the tapes are owned by the CBSO anyway (see upthread for their provenance), & they don't appear to have a record label.

ICA Classics seem to have taken on the mantle of issuing BBC tapes as the BBC Legends label is now defunct but they too have dried up of late, hopefully not permanently.

If the CBSO wish to issue these Beethoven performances - and they should, they really should - I'm sure they have the right connections to do so.

[jayne lee wilson]

I found Rattle's 1995 Frankfurt account of Beethoven's 2nd rather more distinctive than his 1st...

"As per no.1" I thought as, (after a lovely, individualised flute solo in the intro) the allegro got under way, warm, swift and precise as we'd come to expect from this great team by the mid-90s; but the music-making soon seemed to burn more brightly, with a weighty, resonant wind band singing out from dashingly accented strings, and - maybe Rattle was keeping something back for the coda? Oh, you bet! It exploded with such power, brilliance and sheer joy (yet deftly recovering its poise before the end...) I could barely calm down for the andante.
This was a serene song in a sunlit meadow, poised, smiling gracefully. Not a cloud in the sky.
The scherzo played tit-for-tat and give-n-take but with a beefy punch. Then the finale had a contrasting, lighter feel, reined-in and moderately paced initially, but - the coda? I've never heard it quite so mischievously playful as this, with extremes of dynamics and tempo, daringly elongated pause and sudden attack; in the climax, those centrally-spread double basses chewing away with virtuoso, high-speed abandon!

I tend to prefer Beethoven's 1st played back towards Haydn ; but No.2 can take many approaches, and having enjoyed Gardiner's recent SDG live ORR one (superb Cadogan Hall recording, c/w No.8), I was primed to respond to Rattle's very different, but equally wonderful creation.
I just wish it was available in 24/96 resolution, like the JEG!

Fine sound, warm, dynamic & transparent to every detail, directly off the iPlayer in the small hours at 320 kbps AAC.

[Zucchini]

If the CBSO wish to issue these Beethoven performances - and they should, they really should - I'm sure they have the right connections to do so.

Mr Maddock has a complete (and magnificent) Beethoven cycle by Andris Nelsons recorded live by Orfeo and awaiting release. And it poses a tricky problem - when you're searching for a new MD maybe it's not exactly tactful to launch a major series by his immediate predecessor.

[edashtav]

I found Rattle's 1995 Frankfurt account of Beethoven's 2nd rather more distinctive than his 1st...

I agree, entirely, Jayne, no2 was a delight from start to finish.

[teamsaint]

Mr Maddock has a complete (and magnificent) Beethoven cycle by Andris Nelsons recorded live by Orfeo and awaiting release. And it poses a tricky problem - when you're searching for a new MD maybe it's not exactly tactful to launch a major series by his immediate predecessor.

If they have the resources to release historic recordings, ( and accepting that these may be very good, and of historical interest), it seems a shame that they can't find any repertoire that would really benefit from a new release.

I Know, I Know, Beethoven sells .....apparently....

[Petrushka]

Mr Maddock has a complete (and magnificent) Beethoven cycle by Andris Nelsons recorded live by Orfeo and awaiting release. And it poses a tricky problem - when you're searching for a new MD maybe it's not exactly tactful to launch a major series by his immediate predecessor.

Not quite his immediate predecessor: Sakari Oramo came in between.

I don't see why this should be a problem as we are talking about two cycles recorded 20 years apart and Rattle's does, and I hate saying this, come under the label of 'historic' in the broadest sense of the word.

All that said, what a treat we are having this week on Radio 3. I've been looking forward with great anticipation during the day to each evening's broadcast and feel excited and enriched by what I've heard. Thanks Radio 3!

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Warner's might also object?

[Petrushka]

Warner's might also object?

I'm not sure about this and it depends on what happened when Warner took over EMI's artists. Rattle was an exclusive artist recording with EMI at the time of these performances and EMI doesn't exist anymore. Warner's took over EMI but I'm not sure if Rattle is still recording with them. Those recordings issued solely under the Warner name were set down during EMI's tenure as far as I know.

Laurie Watt of this parish is the man to sort out this sort of tangle!

[Flosshilde]

He's on the Warner website so presumably he is exclusive to them.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

I think that the Rachmaninoff Bells was released "purely" under the Warner label, marking the transfer of his contract. But, yes; I'm sure Laurie will be better informed.

This will be particularly pertinent if Rattle does take over at the LSO!


(Oh, and, YES! I'm finding this Beethoven cycle far more exciting than Rattle's VPO set.

Anyone else remember a South Bank Show (or similar) documentary following the even younger Rattle's very first attempt at the Eroica not long after he took up his post at Birmingham? Said then that he didn't like the metronome mark for the first movement as he thought it made the Music sound "like the keystone kops"!

[jayne lee wilson]

Well, I'm off to bed now, but still shaking my head at the extreme, staggering brilliance of the Beethoven 4th finale in this live Rattle/CBSO cycle... how often in a lifetime does one hear an orchestra playing this well? Goodness...

Hope to say more on this later, as of the Pastoral, here a Romantic tone painting of at times heartbreaking delicacy, but with a truly barn-wrecking storm, more Caspar David Friedrich than Goethe!

Live cycles recorded across a few days can fall into the trap of interpretative uniformity, but this isn't happening here: the unique character of each symphony is being very vividly and individually realised.

And it simply must be offered as a commercial release. A CD Box, yes, but - oh go on, why not 24-bit downloads too...

(Heard directly off the iPlayer again at 320 kbps AAC.)

[Bryn]

Well, I'm off to bed now, but still shaking my head at the extreme, staggering brilliance of the Beethoven 4th finale in this live Rattle/CBSO cycle... how often in a lifetime does one hear an orchestra playing this well? Goodness...

(Heard directly off the iPlayer again at 320 kbps AAC.)

With possibly that little extra top end, now that they have upped the sample rate to 48kHz.

[Zucchini]

Not quite his immediate predecessor: Sakari Oramo came in between.

Of course - I meant that the new MD, inheriting Andris' boots, will have no chance of recording these symphonies for years. But I didn't make it very clear.

I would guess that the Nelsons cycle will have to be released because Orfeo must have substantial costs. The Rattle series isn't in the least bit urgent and can wait another 5-10 years if necessary.

[silvestrione]

Well, I'm off to bed now, but still shaking my head at the extreme, staggering brilliance of the Beethoven 4th finale in this live Rattle/CBSO cycle... how often in a lifetime does one hear an orchestra playing this well? Goodness...

Hope to say more on this later, as of the Pastoral, here a Romantic tone painting of at times heartbreaking delicacy, but with a truly barn-wrecking storm, more Caspar David Friedrich than Goethe!

Live cycles recorded across a few days can fall into the trap of interpretative uniformity, but this isn't happening here: the unique character of each symphony is being very vividly and individually realised.

And it simply must be offered as a commercial release. A CD Box, yes, but - oh go on, why not 24-bit downloads too...

(Heard directly off the iPlayer again at 320 kbps AAC.)

Thanks for your earlier detailed review of Sym 2 (which I've now listened to three times!), and for your enthusiasm here, JLW. I certainly found myself thinking the same, that 'the unique character of each symphony' was 'very vividly and individually realised': well put!

I'm sure No. 2 benefited from being the only symphony in that night's concert: a distinction it rarely has, and you can imagine the orchestra saving something for what's to come, usually, e.g. the 3rd, 5th, or 7th. You realise what a masterpiece it is, played like that (the obvious influence of Mozart's 'Prague' a positive thing, with the new symphony standing up well in the face of that great predecessor).