Beethoven: Symphony No 9, "Choral"

Artists London Symphony Orchestra, Bernard Haitink, London Symphony Chorus

€23,99 EUR

Tax included.

Friedrich von Schiller’s poem ’Ode to Joy’ could almost have been calculated to appeal to the idealistic Beethoven. Written in 1785, it lauds the joys of fellowship, the happiness of married life, the wonders of nature and the universe and the eternal mystery of divine love, and as early as 1793 Beethoven was considering setting it as a song. In 1812 he attempted a ’choral overture’ using parts of the text, but it was not for another decade that he was to find a true home for it when he made it the subject of the extraordinary and revolutionary finale to his Ninth and last symphony, the first ever to include a choral movement.

Tracklist

Autoplay next track

Total time: 01:08:09

1. Symphony No 9- i. Allegro ma non troppo, un poco maestoso

15:35

2. Symphony No 9- ii. Scherzo- Molto vivace

13:50

3. Symphony No 9- iii. Adagio molto e cantabile

14:11

4. Symphony No 9- iv. Presto - Allegro ma non troppo - Vivace - Adagio cantabile

24:33

Previews are short MP3 excerpts. Your download is in the quality and channels you choose.

Additional Information

Label

LSO Live

SKU

LSO0592

Qualities

FLAC 96 kHz, FLAC 192 kHz, DSD 64

Channels

2ch Stereo, 5ch Surround, 2ch Stereo & 5ch Surround

Artists

London Symphony Orchestra, Bernard Haitink, London Symphony Chorus

Composers

Beethoven

Conductors

Bernard Haitink

Genres

Classical

Original Recording Format

DSD 64

Instruments

Choir, Orchestra

Release Date

June 16, 2015

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Reviews

HRAudio.net

John Broggio

This superlative account of the "Choral" symphony must surely, good or great as the rest of the cycle is, be the jewel in this wonderful crown of the Beethoven symphonies from Haitink and the LSO.

At one climax, one can almost imagine that the timpani needed new skins after each performance! One feels the steely firmness of the LSO under Haitink with almost frightening intensity and it is no small relief when the final blows of this titanic struggle are over. For all the number of strings, the sound is gratifyingly lean (not undernourished) and allows all details to be clearly heard and further enhance the emotional impact of this astonishing symphony.

Haitink manages to completely capture Beethoven's evocation of the first 3 movements in a snapshot before ushering in the great melody which is then treated to a staggering set of variations. The LSO Chorus and soloists match all that has gone before and soon one can almost "see" the stars referred to by Schiller. Unlike some modern interpretations set down on various media, there is no headlong rush into the concluding outburst but a carefully managed, yet joyously triumphant explosion of sound.

The LSO Live team also deserve every praise as this is by far the best sound from the Barbican that I have yet to hear.

Source: hraudio.net