Beethoven: The Complete Symphonies in Bloomington, MN

These performances of
Beethoven
's symphonies appeared as single albums between 2022 and 2024 and were collected into a set in the latter year. Some of the recordings were made live at the Pierre Boulez Saal in Berlin, others at the Teldex Studio, but both sonically and musically, the set is a coherent whole. Things were simpler in the old days when performances could be classified as modern or historically oriented, but these (and plenty of others nowadays) lie somewhere in between. The
Kammerakademie Potsdam
here is a mixture of modern instruments (the winds) and historical ones (the natural horns). Conductor
Antonello Manacorda
's forces are moderate (about 25 strings in the first eight symphonies, several more in the
Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125
) but not chamber-sized. His interpretations are shaped by the historical performance movement with little vibrato in the strings, and
Manacorda
strives toward transparency. This works beautifully in many movements, where small details of counterpoint and orchestration emerge. Try the finale of the
Symphony No. 1 in C major, Op. 21
, which has a delightful lightness, or pretty much all of the
Symphony No. 6 in F major, Op. 68 ("Pastoral")
, where the intended effect of a gallery of natural scenes is especially strong. Not so successful is the first movement of the
Symphony No. 8 in F major, Op. 93
, where the tune is obscured in favor of the counterpoint. Another feature possibly borrowed from historically oriented conductors is high speed;
's first movement in the
Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67
, is brisk and bracing indeed: among the big odd-numbered symphonies, that one fares the best. The
Symphony No. 3 in E flat major, Op. 55 ("Eroica")
, and
, are clear and unobjectionable, rather dry, but with a detached quality that listeners may find stimulating in the way they strip away Romantic traditions or simply plain. Sample and decide. The individual recordings that make up the set are still available. The
plays superbly and lives up to its growing reputation;
's biggest accomplishment here may be the work he draws from the individual players, especially the period brass players. This ensemble modestly bills itself as "the leading chamber orchestra in the state of Brandenburg," but a listen to the silken strings in the finale of the
"Pastoral" symphony
will show it has advanced beyond that status. ~ James Manheim