Beethoven 1-9 LSO Bernard Haitink

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Originally posted by Tam:


There's no such thing as perfection in any great work.

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Originally posted by Tam:

[QUOTE] no one reading is ever going to say everything about the work that could be said. Which is one of the beauties of classical music.

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Originally posted by Cheese on Zerogain:



Another one for the old farts amongst us. No, hold on - all young conductors in the world should be forced to listen intensely to this gem during their studies before they start conducting at all. Today's music teachers might be horrified at Furtwängler's choices and interpretation of this symphony as a whole - nevertheless it is a wonderful example of musicianship and a lesson in conducting. No matter how much Furtwänglers gimmicks will be criticised by specialists and experts - all theory is basically irrelevant here.

Very much has been written about this performance, being 'the greatest orchestral performance that ever took place', 'the moment when Furtwängler touched the skies', a 'tightrope walk between life and death', and many other overblown phrases. Still, I think most of them were true.

I must admit that Furty's '50s Beethoven cycle isn't the absolute reference for me. Other people (Böhm 9, Klemperer 4 and 6, Karajan ['77] 5, 7 and 9) ended up far more often on my player. But this 5th does beat everything else I have ever heard before by any orchestra.

Well. Take the cellophane off, press 'play' and try to hear what remains of the music amidst loads of background noise. During the first few minutes I was less than impressed, the interpretation starting in a fairly similar way to his 1952-ish version. The orchestra sounds somewhat conventional, nothing magical here to my ears. But then, at around 4', things are changing. The Berlin Philharmonic wakes up, and this ascension will not stop till the end of the symphony. The recording is old and dusty, but Furty's orchestral sound is of such a brilliance and joyfulness that technical issues are rapidly of no relevance whatsoever.

For some reason I never liked the 2nd movement. I found it dull. Not so in this interpretation - I just discovered how wonderful it is. At times it sounds like the Pastorale, Furtwängler manages to show the poetry in a symphony which isn't famous for it otherwise. In that sense, I am pretty convinced he did it 'right' (ie what Beethoven would have wanted it to be played like). The crescendos in the end of the slow movement are full of beauty and pride, Furtwängler definitely loved his country at that time, as did the musicians. A war symphony ? Hardly, unless the war was the very reason for the pride expressed here.

The second movement is so blissful that it could have been a work of art in itself. But then the third movement hits you again, more violently this time, and tension will not decrease until the end of the symphony. Here, for what I can judge, Furtwängler definitely proves (to those who didn't know, like me) that he is more than an artist - he is a genius. Cartesian music theorists must have had their hair on end, because the conductor doesn't really follow the score in the most accurate way. Tempo fluctuates all the time, and at times the musicians were apparently not prepared to it, some violins came a little late... oh well. Another thing I never heard to such an extent are the dynamics. Some passages are so quiet that the listener feels like being hard of hearing, only to be blown off the seat by the next fffff. It is very clear that Furty didn't want his orchestra to sound 'beautiful', and at times it definitely doesn't - but again, no-one misses it. Beauty lies elsewhere here, it's in the work itself. Furtwängler being 'inaccurate' about Beethoven's wishes ? Bollocks. The sheer dynamics of the interpretation would have made Beethoven jump like a little kid and recover his hearing.

It comes even bigger of course. The single most gorgeous moment of the symphony is the bridge between the 3rd and 4th movement. The tension is hardly bearable, it's indescribable, one must hear it to believe it. Furtwängler manages to keep the tension right till the end. Oh, talking about the last bars : in all other versions I heard with other conductors, the last bars of the work sounded very formal and way too long, and at times plain silly (Karajan '77). Not in this version though - Furtwängler increased the tempo to the extent that the orchestra hardly followed. Beautiful ? No. But it sounded just bloody right and Beethoven's score does make sense.

All these moments are nice, but again they are irrelevant compared to the overall impression this interpretation - I should say symphony actually - leaves on you. I thought I knew Beethoven a little, but as a matter of fact, I didn't. Of course, Furtwänglers and his musicians bring in their own touch. I can't remember having heard any orchestral work sound so uniquely joyful.

It is a mystery to me how people, or a nation, feel during a war. Listening to this concert, it appears very clearly that in 1943, most Germans (and probably even Furtwängler) weren't aware that things were turning sour for them on the Front - you can almost physically feel the Aufbruchstimmung. Or did the musicians play that way to enhance their hopes and confidence ?

There is also a 7th symphony on the same disc, also recorded in 1943. But the 5th is such an experience, I just didn't bother to listen to the rest as yet. By the way I wanted to order Carlos Kleiber's 5 and 7 but I fear even these most acclaimed versions have meanwhile become obsolete to my ears.

Dare I add that this post is about music, thanks. Needless to say that suggestions for other wartime recordings by Furty are most welcome.