My office this morning is, once again, Chick-fil-A – one of my favorite restaurants, especially at breakfast time. It’s quiet, not crowded, and they serve (“My pleasure!”) a fine cuppa Joe. I like their cheesy advertisements, too. All that cow stuff. (Cows telling people to “Eat Mor Chikin”.) It’s corny. But I think it’s clever and fun.
Plus, the decor is quite nice. The flowers on each table are from a local teenager named Maggie who created a minister (“Maggie’s Flowers”) that raises money to, if I recall correctly, give Christmas presents to underprivileged kids.
So, as I sip my coffee, watch the old people in the booth next to us (my wife is here with me today) talk, laugh, and pray over their breakfast, I’m listening to the renowned Austrian conductor Herbert von Karajan (1908-1989) conduct the Berliner Philharmoniker’s performance of Beethoven’s ymphony No. 4 in B flat Major.
I first encountered Karajan (from his legendary 1963 cycle) in my Beethoven project on…
Day 10. Rating: “Huzzah!”
Day 28. Rating: “Huzzah!”
Day 46. Rating: “Huzzah!”
I used to worry that I would succumb to the Cult of Karajan, what a call Karajan Worship Syndrome, a disease that renders me unable to see any other conductor as worthy of praise and appreciation – or even consideration.
But, objectively speaking (well, as objectively as a subjective opinion can be), I’ve awarded “Huzzah!” ratings to everything I’ve heard from Karajan’s legendary 1963 cycle of Beethoven symphonies.
So what will today bring?
Let’s find out.
First, a quote from the superb liner notes written by Richard Osborne:
The poet William Blake was fond of commending to his friends the “fiery line” of the paintings of Michelangelo. And it is the fiery line – the living, singing pulse of the music – which we most readily attend to in the symphonies of Beethoven and, above all, in the sublime Fourth Symphony.
Richard Osborn (whoever he is) is a fine writer.
Beethoven wrote his symphonies in four parts (except for the Sixth, which is in five). The time breakdown of this particular one (Symphony No. 4 in B flat Major), from this particular conductor (Karajan, at age 54) and this particular orchestra (Berliner Philharmoniker), at this particular time in history (November, 1962) on this particular record label (Deutsche Grammophon) is as follows:
I. Adagio – Allegro vivace………………………………………………………………..9:49
II. Adagio………………………………………………………………………………………..9:55
III. Allegro molto e vivace – Trio. Un poco meno allegro………………..5:42
IV. Allegro ma non troppo………………………………………………………………..5:23
Total running time: 27:09
My Rating:
Recording quality: 4 (except for some noticeable tape hiss – especially at the beginning – this is a first-rate recording despite its 50+-years age; typical DG-label quality)
Overall musicianship: 5
CD liner notes: 5 (Nice, thick 54-page booklet with lengthy essays by Richard Osborne about each symphony, translated into English, German, and French, and all pertinent technical info)
How does this make me feel: 5 (“Huzzah!”)
This is a fantastic recording of a fantastic performance. It’s the shortest rending of Beethoven’s Fourth I’ve heard to date. I don’t know if that means Karajan employed a faster tempo, or if this is how Beethoven scored it. But this is a brisk interpretation that gets in, gets out, and leaves me wanting more.
Unlike the Bernard Haitink performance (Day 62) that seemed ponderous, stately, and not at all exciting, this crackles with dynamic energy.
Every instrument is well captured, especially the flutes of the first movement, the pizzicato of the second movement, and the timpanis that signify a shift from sedate to sprightly. Nice French horns in the Scherzo (Movement III), too.
“Huzzah!” I say. “Huzzah!”
Highly recommended.