This morning’s conductor of Beethoven’s Sympohony No. 2 in D Major is the Belgian-born Frenchman Andre Cluytens (1905-1967). The orchestra is the Orchestre Philharmonique De Berlin, also known as the Berlin Philharmonic.
And I am bored to tears.
Seriously, this recording and this performance are not even close to engaging me. It sounds as flat as the note pad beside me. This kids running amok at the table next to mine are more interesting than this recording. And that says a lot because I agree with famed actor W.C. Fields: “Anybody who hates children and dogs can’t be all bad.” (Just kidding. I love kids – other peoples’, that is.)
Beethoven wrote his symphonies in four parts (except for the Sixth, which is in five). The time breakdown of this particular one (Symphony No. 2 in D Major), from this particular conductor (Cluytens, at age 52-55) and this particular orchestra (Orchestre Philharmonique De Berlin), at this particular time in history (1957-1960) on this particular record label (Parlophone/Warner Music France) is as follows:
I. Adagio molto – Allegro con brio………………………………………………………………12:42
II. Larghetto………………………………………………………………………………………………….11:28
III. Scherezo. Allegro – Trio……………………………………………………………………………3:46
IV. Allegro molto…………………………………………………………………………………………….6:45
Total running time: 34:01
My Rating:
Recording quality: 3 (tape hiss, sounds flat/lack of dynamic range)
Overall musicianship: 3 (sounds uninspired)
CD liner notes: 2 (everything is written in French, which is great if one is from Paris; plus, no clear indication of when these symphonies were recorded)
How does this make me feel: 2
The first time I heard Maestro Cluytens (Day 6), I was blown away. And tempted to give my experience a “Huzzah!”
This time, I’m tempted to poke out my ears with a pencil.
Could the recordings really be night and day? Or am I hearing it today with different ears, perhaps because of a different frame of mind?
I have no idea how much of my own, subjective feelings affect my enjoyment (or not) of a piece of music. All I can say is I must be feeling really shitty today because this performance is less than remarkable.
I rate it a resounding “Meh!”