Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 / Karajan, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
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Music CD Cover
Composer: Ludwig van BeethovenConductor: Herbert von Karajan
Orchestra: Berliner Philharmoniker
Orchestra: Wiener Singverein
Performer: Gundula Janowitz
Performer: Waldemar Kmentt
Performer: Walter Berry
Edition: Music CD
CD Release Date: 1996-01-23
Music Label: Deutsche Grammophon
Soundtracks:
- Ouverture 'Coriolan', Op.62: Ouverture
- Symphony No.9 In D Minor: 1. Allegro ma non troppo, un poco maestoso
- Symphony No.9 In D Minor: 2. Molto vivace
- Symphony No.9 In D Minor: 3. Adagio molto e cantabile
- Symphony No.9 In D Minor: 4. Presto
- Symphony No.9 In D Minor: Presto - 'O Freunde, nicht diese Tone!' - Allegro assai - (Final Chorus From Schiller's 'Ode To Joy')
Free Music Notes for Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 / Karajan, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
Free Music Review: Criticism of von Karajan's 9th
Hit: 2 Stars
Previously, a reviewer wrote:
"Karajan in 1962 wanted to perform Beethoven in a modern way compared to the overtly spiritual, often very slow, heavy, and rubato-laden style of the past in Germany. ... in the last movement Karajan takes the vocal line faster...
"By comparison, Karajan wasn't as hectically fast or intense as Toscanini,..."
I don't wish to take anything away from Karajan's technical mastery, his orchestra's wonderful sound, or his "smoothness." It's all good.
But folks should understand the real reason Karajan's original recorded version of this work, at least in terms of its tempos, comes out as the previous reviewer accurately observed. He kept to his version in subsequent recordings, of which this 1962 recording may accurately be said to be his best result.
When first he recorded the Beethoven 9th,it wasn't that Karajan wanted a more "modern" version as opposed to the older way of performing this symphony -- that is, unless you categorize as "modern" the underlying economics of Karajan's decisions regarding the tempi.
Columbia records, as has been written elsewhere, had just introduced its then new 33 1/3 rpm long playing vinyl record.
Replacing the old 78s, the new medium had one clear technical drawback that showed up in many classical albums in the years prior to the compact disc. You could only fit 60 minutes of music on the record, no more.
So Columbia first asked Furtwangler to record the work, but to bring it in under 60 minutes. Furtwangler refused, as his interpretation was in excess of 70 minutes and he wasn't about to bend just to sell recordings.
But Karajan jumped at the chance, and thus accelerated the rise of his star among the great conductors of his age. He was far from alone in adapting the music to the constraints of the market place.
Eugene Ormandy edited Rachmaninoff's 2nd symphony to get it to fit on vinyl. Jascha Heifetz edited Bruch's Scottish Fantasy and other works so he could fit the number of concertos on one recording the company wanted.
And so on ...
The most remarkable, perhaps, example of this sort of thing -- the marketplace affecting the art -- comes in the live recording now on compact disc of Leonard Bernstein being conducted by Glenn Gould in the Brahms D Minor concerto. As Mr. Bernstein's humorous speech in the nature of a disclaimer prior to the performance indicates, what Mr. Gould wanted to do with the tempo as well as the relative loudness of the orchestra and piano was, for its time, not the fashion current in New York at that time. Folks had gotten used to faster tempi and also were wedded to the Orchestra vs. Piano model of concerto.
Gould, as he explains after the work to Tim Page, explains he wanted to draw out what he saw in the work by slowing it down significantly, and also, in a "Baroquish" mood, Gould wanted to make the concerto seem more of an ensemble piece than a contest or conversation.
Both the disclaimer and the interview are on the CD -- which brings me to my final point. Note approximately when tempi began to move away from the hell bent for leather gallop of Toscanni's 78s, and the gallop of the era of long playing vinyl to the slower tempi that are far more common, if not universal, today.
I would place that point right after the introduction of the compact disc -- when you have more than 60 minutes to fill, what's the hurry?
Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 / Karajan, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra Poster
This performance is also available on Deutsche Grammophon in an earlier, mid-price incarnation, but this version is clearly the one to own, since the remastered sound is a definite improvement over previous issues. Herbert von Karajan always did a good job with this symphony, and his performances are quite consistent, even down to the very backward-balance of the chorus. By general consensus, though, this is the best of them. --David HurwitzClassical Music CDs
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