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Maybe it was

Posted by Bill Way (A) on January 22, 2016 at 13:04:25

In Reply to: No Score posted by Mike Porper on January 21, 2016 at 09:49:33:

I can't think of anyone who has anything good to say about Columbia's orchestral recordings. But... a Bernstein Beethoven cycle from 1970 is worth having for the performance. I'd much rather listen to a noisy, scratchy, processed, jerked-around ultra-compressed recording of a great performance, than a great recording of a mediocre performance. Bernstein isn't my favorite for Beethoven, but his performances over the years all had something to say. (The one exception is the embarrassingly self-indulgent 1989 Berlin Phil 9th that he conducted so slowly that I don't think they're quite finished yet.)

I just put on Bernstein's 1979 DGG Berlin Phil Beethoven 4th. I hadn't listened to this in ages. It's interesting: the tempo is slow and unvarying. Everything is very moderate, very legato, *very* restrained, almost sleepy, except for a nice sense of propulsion - that swing thing. His restraint gives it a very distinct feeling. The recording is OK; ultra-quiet vinyl, but it sounds like they put on a very steep low-pass filter at about 5k, and maybe lower.

I put the Vanska/Minnesota SACD on next, and it's a different, exciting, sometimes explosive world. I'm seat-dancing to the effing Beethoven 4th. The recording, like everything I've heard on the BIS label, is superb, even though it has that slight honey/sweet glaze I hear from every SACD.

As the blizzard starts, I'll do the others I've got: Jochum/Berlin, Toscanini/RCA, Schmidt-Isserstedt/Vienna, Walter/Columbia, and Karajan/Berlin. What, no Carlos Kleiber? Have to do something about that. Today will be Beethoven 4th day. With a masterpiece, each performance I hear gives me a deeper understanding of the piece. The better I understand it, the more I appreciate each performance. It's a vicious cycle, but a really good kind of vicious. You gotta have 'em all if you really want to dig into it, and that digging is hugely rewarding.

Yes it's frustrating when the recording doesn't measure up, but, for me, it's the performance that counts.

WW

P.S.
This took a long time to write, because I had to stop as Vanska got into the 4th movement. It's just breathtaking, and yes, it's really nice when it all comes together, with a great recording of a great performance.

"Put on your high heeled sneakers. Baby, we''re goin'' out tonight.

This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors:

Herbie's Audio Lab

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