Post by erik on Feb 3, 2024 18:14:13 GMT -5
This week's Classical Albums Spotlight looks at a recording that combines two great Austro-German symphonies, Beethoven's 5th and Schumann's Rhenish Symphony.
Beethoven: SYMPHONY NO. 5 IN C MINOR, OP. 67 (FATE)
Schumann: SYMPHONY NO. 3 IN E FLAT MAJOR, OP. 97 (RHENISH)
Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra/CARLO MARIA GIULINI (Deutsche Grammophon)
Beset by deafness after he had reached the halfway point of his life (he would be totally deaf by the time he finished his Ninth Symphony), Beethoven nevertheless managed to create some of the most emotionally and intellectually important music in Western history. The imposing four-note motif that opens his Symphony No. 5, the most famous opening four-note motif in history, initiates his concerns about human fate, and not just his own, in ways that, even in our troubled 21st century, seem singularly relatable. What makes this work so imposing is how he enhanced the scope of the symphonic form, not just in making the Adagio and Scherzo so imposing, but also in inserting a trampling bridge from the Scherzo into the blazing C Major finale, where trombones and piccolo are heard for the first time ever in a symphony. The work, dating from 1806-07, was a big hit when first heard in a massive marathon concert in Vienna in 1807; and it remains hugely popular (and understandably so) to this day.
Among Beethoven’s many admirers was his fellow German Robert Schumann. Despite a tragic life beset by depression and mental illness, Schumann managed to overcome these problems when he could by simply writing music that had both lyrical content and dramatic content as well. His Rhenish Symphony, published as #3, but actually his Fourth (and final) work in the form, which premiered in 1850, was inspired by his and his wife Clare’s visits to the Rhineland section of Germany, and much of its dramatic and heroic splendor was inspired by the great cathedrals in the city of Cologne. Despite Schumann having had a reputation for being one of the least successful orchestrators of his own music, many conductors have, especially since the late 1960’s, gone back to those original orchestrations; and with its use of trombones, the Rhenish remains one of the most popular German symphonies of the mid-to-late 19th century.
Although his tenure was a short one, Carlo Maria Giulini had a significant impact as music director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra from 1978 to 1985, making many great recordings with the orchestra for Deutsche Grammophon. Their 1982 recording of the Beethoven 5th has consistently ranked with critics as being among the best versions of this ultimate symphonic war horse. The same can be said for their 1980 recording of Schumann’s Rhenish Symphony, which is performed with the appropriate amount of heroic gravitas that the often-troubled Schumann mustered here. This makes a great pairing of two of the most important symphonies in the Austro-German repertoire.
Beethoven: SYMPHONY NO. 5 IN C MINOR, OP. 67 (FATE)
Schumann: SYMPHONY NO. 3 IN E FLAT MAJOR, OP. 97 (RHENISH)
Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra/CARLO MARIA GIULINI (Deutsche Grammophon)
Beset by deafness after he had reached the halfway point of his life (he would be totally deaf by the time he finished his Ninth Symphony), Beethoven nevertheless managed to create some of the most emotionally and intellectually important music in Western history. The imposing four-note motif that opens his Symphony No. 5, the most famous opening four-note motif in history, initiates his concerns about human fate, and not just his own, in ways that, even in our troubled 21st century, seem singularly relatable. What makes this work so imposing is how he enhanced the scope of the symphonic form, not just in making the Adagio and Scherzo so imposing, but also in inserting a trampling bridge from the Scherzo into the blazing C Major finale, where trombones and piccolo are heard for the first time ever in a symphony. The work, dating from 1806-07, was a big hit when first heard in a massive marathon concert in Vienna in 1807; and it remains hugely popular (and understandably so) to this day.
Among Beethoven’s many admirers was his fellow German Robert Schumann. Despite a tragic life beset by depression and mental illness, Schumann managed to overcome these problems when he could by simply writing music that had both lyrical content and dramatic content as well. His Rhenish Symphony, published as #3, but actually his Fourth (and final) work in the form, which premiered in 1850, was inspired by his and his wife Clare’s visits to the Rhineland section of Germany, and much of its dramatic and heroic splendor was inspired by the great cathedrals in the city of Cologne. Despite Schumann having had a reputation for being one of the least successful orchestrators of his own music, many conductors have, especially since the late 1960’s, gone back to those original orchestrations; and with its use of trombones, the Rhenish remains one of the most popular German symphonies of the mid-to-late 19th century.
Although his tenure was a short one, Carlo Maria Giulini had a significant impact as music director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra from 1978 to 1985, making many great recordings with the orchestra for Deutsche Grammophon. Their 1982 recording of the Beethoven 5th has consistently ranked with critics as being among the best versions of this ultimate symphonic war horse. The same can be said for their 1980 recording of Schumann’s Rhenish Symphony, which is performed with the appropriate amount of heroic gravitas that the often-troubled Schumann mustered here. This makes a great pairing of two of the most important symphonies in the Austro-German repertoire.