BaL 24.05.14: Beethoven Symphony no. 2 in D

[Beef Oven!]

A sentence for Pedants' Paradise?

Language evolves and moves on, even more quickly than Beethoven performance protocols.

[antongould]

Further to my previous comment, at least Rob is doing most of the talking - not too many interjections.

Do we not need Clemmie as well and did I just hear a tweet?

[cloughie]

Get the lot for £7.07 new (+£1.26 p+p):http://www.amazon.co.uk/Beethoven-Sy...tens+Beethoven

It remains a great set with truly superb playing, especially from the oboe throughout.

Does anyone know why Cluytens was chosen to record this cycle? Was it intended for Karajan before he decamped to DG? Whatever the case, it is, in some ways a finer set than Karajan's 1962 cycle with, one assumes, many of the same players.

Good question but he did the Pastoral in mono a couple of years previously and the success of that excellent recording perhaps spurred on the stereo set including a remake of No6. Whatever it's very good and I had the CFP LPs and now have the Disky CDs. As an aside - interesting how the cheapest Amazon merchant for many issues are American based but purchases are dispatched from Middlesex - I guess French sets such as this Cluytens set have never touched American soil - has anyone on these boards done the over £15 price test for customs?

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Language evolves and moves on, even more quickly than Beethoven performance protocols.

Any excuse.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Saarbrucken Radio Symphony Orchestra, Stanislaw Skrowaczewski

I never expected this.

[visualnickmos]

Saarbrucken Radio Symphony Orchestra, Stanislaw Skrowaczewski

I never expected this.

Quite. The extracts played were OK, but a little 'thin' shall I say, but it's impossible to judge a 4-course dinner, on just the vegetables, isn't it?
Personally I preferred the Szell and Walter - both of which are in their complete cycles, and well worth having.

[waldo]

Saarbrucken Radio Symphony Orchestra, Stanislaw Skrowaczewski

I never expected this.

I don't know Skrowaczewski's Beethoven, but his Bruckner cycle with the same orchestra is among the greatest Bruckner sets of all time. Good to see a less familiar conductor get the plaudits for once.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Hermann Scherchen's clip impressed me as much as any.

[aka Calum Da Jazbo]

indeed waldo; having by chance discovered the Skrowaczewski cycle on emusic last month and finding it attractive

but the Krivine and the Jarvi have me confused; there was an excerpt from a recording of stunning audio quality but which was it?

[HighlandDougie]

I would hazard a guess that the excerpt in excellent sound would have been Järvi - multichannel SACD, recorded in 2007 in the Funkhaus Köpenick, Berlin. I bought the Krivine, largely on the basis of a rave review from a certain Rob Cowan, and eventually passed it on to Ams as I found the sound to be so dry and uningratiating as to detract from enjoyment of the performance.

[richardfinegold]

Good question but he did the Pastoral in mono a couple of years previously and the success of that excellent recording perhaps spurred on the stereo set including a remake of No6. Whatever it's very good and I had the CFP LPs and now have the Disky CDs. As an aside - interesting how the cheapest Amazon merchant for many issues are American based but purchases are dispatched from Middlesex - I guess French sets such as this Cluytens set have never touched American soil - has anyone on these boards done the over £15 price test for customs?

I never remember seeing this set before. It is going for about $8 on Amazon. Tempting.

[richardfinegold]

I would hazard a guess that the excerpt in excellent sound would have been Järvi - multichannel SACD, recorded in 2007 in the Funkhaus Köpenick, Berlin. I bought the Krivine, largely on the basis of a rave review from a certain Rob Cowan, and eventually passed it on to Ams as I found the sound to be so dry and uningratiating as to detract from enjoyment of the performance.

I was also tempted to buy the Krivine based on raves from posters here, but it's quite expensive , so I made the whole cycle a playlist on Spotify. I don't object to the sound per se, but more to the occasionally screechy string tone. I have gotten a lot of pleasure from it though.

[cheesehoven]

I'm not convinced by the format of Andrew chatting with the reviewer- is this here to stay? Both Rob and Andrew are engaging on their own but it comes across as being a bit too matey to me.

[Tony Halstead]

I'm not convinced by the format of Andrew chatting with the reviewer- is this here to stay? Both Rob and Andrew are engaging on their own but it comes across as being a bit too matey to me.

Exactly so, too matey for me too.
I'm a bit disappointed that Rob played such a very short extract from the superlative Szell/ Cleveland recording.

[aka Calum Da Jazbo]

I would hazard a guess that the excerpt in excellent sound would have been Järvi - multichannel SACD, recorded in 2007 in the Funkhaus Köpenick, Berlin. I bought the Krivine, largely on the basis of a rave review from a certain Rob Cowan, and eventually passed it on to Ams as I found the sound to be so dry and uningratiating as to detract from enjoyment of the performance.

cheers