BaL 18.01.20 - Beethoven: Symphony no. 1 in C, Op.21

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

9.30
Building a Library: Richard Wigmore recommends a version from among the recordings of Beethoven's Symphony No. 1 in C major, Op. 21.

Available versions:

Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Claudio Abbado
Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Claudio Abbado (DVD/Blu-ray)
Wiener Philharmoniker, Claudio Abbado
Nippon Symphony Orchestra, Gerd Albrecht *
L'Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Ernest Ansermet
Kammerorchester Basel, Giovanni Antonini *
Osaka Philharmonic Orchestra, Takashi Asahina *
NHK Symphony Orchestra, Vladimir Ashkenazy *
Hallé Orchestra, Sir John Barbirolli
Staatskapelle Berlin, Daniel Barenboim
West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, Daniel Barenboim
West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, Daniel Barenboim (DVD)
Moscow Chamber Orchestra, Rudolf Barshai
New York Philharmonic Orchestra, Leonard Bernstein
Wiener Philharmoniker, Leonard Bernstein
Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Herbert Blomstedt
San Francisco Symphony, Herbert Blomstedt
Staatskapelle Dresden, Herbert Blomstedt
Beethoven Orchestra Bonn, Stefan Blunier (SACD)
Wiener Philharmoniker, Karl Böhm
American Symphony Orchestra, Leon Botstein *
Manchester Camerata, Douglas Boyd
Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, Dirk Brosse *
Norwegian Chamber Orchestra, Iona Brown
Orchestra Of The 18th Century, Frans Brüggen (SACD)
London Symphony Orchestra, Yondani Butt
Pablo Casals Orchestra of Barcelona, Pablo Casals
Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Riccardo Chailly
Berliner Philharmoniker, André Cluytens
Swedish Chamber Orchestra, Thomas Dausgaard
BBC Symphony Orchestra, Sir Colin Davis (SACD)
Staatskapelle Dresden, Sir Colin Davis *
Cleveland Orchestra, Christoph von Dohnanyi
Nicolaus Esterhazy Sinfonia, Bela Drahos
Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra, Richard Edlinger *
Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra, Janos Ferencsik *
Heidelberg Symphony Orchestra, Thomas Fey *
Danish Chamber Orchestra, Ádám Fischer
Budapest Festival Orchestra, Iván Fischer (SACD)
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Iván Fischer (DVD/Blu-ray)
Berliner Philharmoniker, Ferenc Fricsay *
Danish National Symphony Orchestra, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos (DVD/Blu-ray)
New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, Janos Furst *
Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Wilhelm Furtwangler *
Radio-Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart, Wilhelm Furtwängler
Wiener Philharmoniker, Wilhelm Furtwängler
Wiener Philharmoniker, Wilhelm Furtwängler
Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique, Sir John Eliot Gardiner
Württembergisches Kammerorchester, Ruben Gazarian (SACD)
New York Philharmonic, Alan Gilbert *
SWR-Sinfonieorchester Baden-Baden und Freiburg, Michael Gielen *
SWR-Sinfonieorchester Baden-Baden und Freiburg, Michael Gielen (DVD)
Orchestra Filarmonica della Scala, Carlo Maria Giulini *
Deutsche Kammerakademie Neuss Orchestra, Johannes Goritzki
London Symphony Orchestra, Bernard Haitink (SACD)
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Bernard Haitink *
Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Nikolaus Harnoncourt
Wiener Philharmoniker, Nikolaus Harnoncourt
Orchester Wiener Akademie, Martin Haselböck
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, George Henschel *
Royal Flemish Philharmonic, Philippe Herreweghe (SACD)
Northern Sinfonia of England, Richard Hickox *
Nagano Chamber Orchestra, Joe Hisaishi *
Academy of Ancient Music, Christopher Hogwood
French National Radio Orchestra, Jascha Horenstein *
Hanover Band, Monica Huggett
Anima Eterna Brugge, Jos van Immerseel
Czech Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra, Marko Ivanovic *
Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Mariss Jansons
Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Mariss Jansons (DVD/Blu-ray)
Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, Paavo Järvi
Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, Paavo Järvi (DVD/Blu-ray)
Concertgebouw Orchestra, Eugen Jochum *
London Symphony Orchestra, Eugen Jochum
Symphonie-Orchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Eugen Jochum
Orchestre de Chambre Oratorio, Dominique Jonckheere
Little Orchestra of London, Leslie Jones *
Orchestre de l’Opera National de Paris, Philippe Jordan (DVD/Blu-ray)
Wiener Symphoniker, Philippe Jordan
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Rene Leibowitz *
Berliner Philharmoniker, Herbert von Karajan
Berliner Philharmoniker, Herbert von Karajan
Berliner Philharmoniker, Herbert von Karajan
New York Philharmonic, Herbert von Karajan
Philharmonia Orchestra, Herbert von Karajan
Bamberger Symphoniker, Joseph Keilberth
Dresdner Philharmoniker, Herbert Kegel
Münchner Philharmoniker, Rudolf Kempe
Het Kunstmaandorkest, Anton Kersjes *
Berlin State Opera Orchestra, Otto Klemperer *
Kölner Rundfunk-Sinfonie-Orchester, Otto Klemperer
New Philharmonia Orchestra, Otto Klemperer
Orchestra Sinfonica di Torino della RAI, Otto Klemperer *
Philharmonia Orchestra, Otto Klemperer
Philharmonia Orchestra, Otto Klemperer
Philharmonia Orchestra, Otto Klemperer *
Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, Paul Kletzki
Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, Ken-ichiro Kobayashi *
Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Franz Konwitschny
London Symphony Orchestra, Josef Krips *
Orchestre National de la RTF, Josef Krips
La Chambre Philharmonique, Emmanuel Krivine *
London Symphony Orchestra, Rafael Kubelik (SACD)
Haydn Orchestra Of Bolzano And Trento, Gustav Kuhn
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Rene Leibowitz
Boston Symphony Orchestra, Erich Leinsdorf *
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Raymond Leppard
Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, Jahja Ling *
Orchestra di Padova e del Veneto, Peter Maag
Cleveland Orchestra, Lorin Maazel
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Charles Mackerras *
Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Sir Charles Mackerras
L'Orchestre des Concerts Lamoureux, Igor Markevitch
Academy of St Martin in the Fields, Sir Neville Marriner *
Academy of St Martin in the Fields, Sir Neville Marriner (SACD)
Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Kurt Masur
London Philharmonic Orchestra, Kurt Masur *
New York Philharmonic, Kurt Masur *
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Willem Mengelberg
Wiener Philharmoniker, Pierre Monteux
London Symphony Orchestra, Wyn Morris
Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra, Evgeny Mravinsky
Kölner Kammerorchester, Helmut Müller-Brühl *
Radio-Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart des SWR, Hans Müller-Kray *
Boston Symphony Orchestra Charles Munch
Philadelphia Orchestra, Riccardo Muti
Orchestre Symphonique de Montreal, Kent Nagano
Ensemble Orchestral de Paris, John Nelson *
Wiener Philharmoniker, Andris Nelsons
NHK Symphony Orchestra, Vaclav Neumann
London Classical Players, Sir Roger Norrington *
RSO Stuttgart, Sir Roger Norrington
Mito Chamber Orchestra, Seiji Ozawa
Berliner Philharmoniker, Hans Pfitzner
Russian National Orchestra, Mikhail Pletnev
Thüringisches Kammerorchester Weimar, Max Pommer
Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, David Porcelijn *
Polish Chamber Orchestra, Wojciech Rajski (SACD)
Berliner Philharmoniker, Sir Simon Rattle (SACD)
Berliner Philharmoniker, Sir Simon Rattle
Berliner Philharmoniker, Sir Simon Rattle (DVD/Blu-ray)
Wiener Philharmoniker, Sir Simon Rattle
Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Fritz Reiner *
Le Cercle de l'Harmonie, Jérémie Rhorer *
SWR Sinfonieorchester Baden-Baden und Freiburg, Hans Rosbaud *
Berliner Philharmoniker, Arthur Rother *
Musica Viva Orchestra Moscow, Alexander Rudin
Copenhagen Chamber Orchestra, Morten Ryelund
Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra, Rico Saccani *
Dresdner Philharmonie, Michael Sanderling
WDR Sinfonieorchester, Jukka-Pekka Saraste
Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, Wolfgang Sawallisch
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Wolfgang Sawallisch *
Vienna State Opera Orchestra, Hermann Scherchen *
German Chamber Philharmonie of Bremen, Heinrich Schiff *
Wiener Philharmoniker, Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt *
Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Gerard Schwarz
Copenhagen Phil, Lan Shui
Berlin Municipal Orchestra, Carl Schuricht *
Radio-Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart des SWR, Carl Schuricht *
Wiener Philharmoniker, Carl Schuricht
Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra, Yuri Simonov *
Saarbrucken Radio Symphony Orchestra, Stanislaw Skrowaczewski
Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Sir Georg Solti
Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, Ignat Solzhenitsyn *
Taschenphilharmonie, Peter Stangel
Cleveland Orchestra, George Szell
Wiener Philharmoniker, Christian Thielemann (DVD/Blu-ray)
Wiener Philharmoniker, Christian Thielemann
BBC Symphony Orchestra, Arturo Toscanini
NBC Symphony Orchestra, Arturo Toscanini
NBC Symphony Orchestra, Arturo Toscanini
Orchestra Of La Scala, Arturo Toscanini *
Teatro alla Scala, Arturo Toscanini
Orchestre de la Francophonie, Jean-Phillipe Tremblay
Minnesota Orchestra, Osmo Vänskä (SACD)
Budapest Symphony Orchestra, Tamás Vásáry *
Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, Hans Vonk
Netherlands Symphony Orchestra, Jan Willem de Vriend (SACD)
Columbia Symphony Orchestra, Bruno Walter
New York Philharmonic Orchestra, Bruno Walter
Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Günter Wand
Gürzenich-Orchester Köln, Günter Wand
Münchner Philharmoniker, Günter Wand
NDR Sinfonieorchester, Günter Wand *
Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, Bruno Weil
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Felix Weingartner
Westdeutsche Sinfonia, Dirk Joeres
Central Conserbatory of China Youth Symphony Orchestra, Xia Xiaotang *
Kunming Nie Er Symphony Orchestra, Huang Yi *
Saarbrucken Radio Symphony Orchestra, Hans Zender *
Tonhalle Orchester Zürich, David Zinman
Canadian National Arts Centre Orchestra, Pinchas Zukerman *


* = download only

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Just for the record, I couldn't bring myself to cut and paste the spiel on the BBC website.

[silvestrione]

Just for the record, I couldn't bring myself to cut and paste the spiel on the BBC website.

Thanks for a marvellous and astonishing list. Are there really three different Rattle BPO versions?

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Thanks for a marvellous and astonishing list. Are there really three different Rattle BPO versions?

1. EMI/Warner
2. BPO own label
3. Video version

[Petrushka]

1. EMI/Warner
2. BPO own label
3. Video version

Isn't the EMI/Warner with the VPO? I've no knowledge of a BPO/Rattle on that label but could be wrong.

[Petrushka]

The 1960s Karajan is my 'go to' version for this symphony.

However, I do very much prefer the sudden timpani flare-up at the end of the first movement in Roger Norrington's London Classical Players version. I'm not sure what the score says here but it's wonderfully effective and I 'hear' it in my imagination whichever other version I play. Does anyone else do it (including Norrington himself in his Stuttgart recording)?

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Isn't the EMI/Warner with the VPO? I've no knowledge of a BPO/Rattle on that label but could be wrong.

You may well be right.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Norrington's LCP cycle makes a great feature of the Timpani parts of all 9 Symphonies - something I find intensely refreshing, but also means that his is the only set that I cannot listen to as a cycle: for me, it becomes an intrusive (because predictable) mannerism.

The Finale of the First is the only reservation I have about Krivine's life-changing cycle of the Symphonies - just a smidgen too fast, and a bit breathless.

I presume that this will be the first of a series of BaLs on each of the Beethoven Symphonies during this anniversary year?

[Oakapple]

Norrington's LCP cycle makes a great feature of the Timpani parts of all 9 Symphonies.

I think it's very important to make the timps easily heard in the second movement of the 1st symphony as it was such a novel idea at the time. One some recordings I've heard it's just a muffled sound somewhere in the distance.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

I presume that this will be the first of a series of BaLs on each of the Beethoven Symphonies during this anniversary year?

Another 8 mega-lists.

[Bryn]

I think it's very important to make the timps easily heard in the second movement of the 1st symphony as it was such a novel idea at the time. One some recordings I've heard it's just a muffled sound somewhere in the distance.

It was the use of hard b eaters, rather than the more common unBeethovian soft ones, that made the major distinction regarding the LCP/Norrngton recordings, I think.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

I think it's very important to make the timps easily heard in the second movement of the 1st symphony as it was such a novel idea at the time. One some recordings I've heard it's just a muffled sound somewhere in the distance.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Another 8 mega-lists.

Forewarned is forearmed - and the muscles on your own forearms may well flourish as a result!

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

It was the use of hard b eaters, rather than the more common unBeethovian soft ones, that made the major distinction regarding the LCP/Norrngton recordings, I think.

I don't think so, Bryn. All the HIPP recordings I own use wood timp sticks, but none are as prominent as the Norrington set.

[seabright]

As a matter of interest, does anyone have the complete Beethoven cycle with Rene Leibowitz and the RPO? ... It was recorded for Readers Digest and produced by Charles Gerhardt with a top-class Decca engineering team. I remember that Gerhardt gave an interview in which he revealed that he sat Leibowitz down and together they listened to all the great Beethoven recordings of the past - Weingartner, Furtwangler, Kleiber, Toscanini, Klemperer, et al. - and as a result Leibowitz produced a fabulous set. Of course, in those days Readers Digest LPs weren't reviewed, as they were only available to subscribers of the RD magazine itself. Even so, Gerhardt engaged some other great conductors - Barbirolli, Horenstein, Munch, Reiner, Boult, et al. - who all gave him some great recordings for that label.

As to the Leibowitz No. 1 and the rest of the set, it's on Naxos, as per this link ...

https://www.naxos.com/catalogue/item.asp?item_code=9.80964

And for a taster of how it sounds, it is - like so much else these days - readily available on YouTube! ... And a first-rate recording it is too ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4EFEfG819U