This afternoon, I have the pleasure (or maybe not; time will tell) of listening to Dutch conductor Bernard Haitink (1929- ), the London Symphony Orchestra, and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6 in F major.
I’m going to get right down to it.
I’ve encountered Maestro Haitink five times previously, on…
Day 8. Rating:”Meh!”
Day 26. Rating:”Huzzah!”
Day 44. Rating:”Huzzah!”
Day 62. Rating: “Meh!”
Day 80. Rating: A very strong “Meh!”
The problem I had the last time I heard Maestro Haitink (performing Beethoven’s Fifth) was his tempo. He played it way too fast.
And that’s the first thing I noticed with today’s Symphony No. 6. It is played faster than Wilhelm Furtwangler’s, the conductor who preceded Haitink in my project.
But will that scuttle the entire performance this time the way it did the last?
We’ll see.
I’ll reveal my rating in a few minutes.
Beethoven wrote his symphonies in four parts (except for the Sixth, which is in five). The time breakdown of this particular one (Symphony No. 6 in F major), from this particular conductor (Haitink, at age 76) and this particular orchestra (London Symphony Orchestra), at this particular time in history (November 21 and 22, 2005) on this particular record label (LSO Live) is as follows:
I. Allegro ma non troppo………………………………………..11:56
“Awakening of cheerful feelings upon arrival in the country”
II. Andante molto mosso………………………………………..13:27
“Scene by the brook”
III. Allegro…………………………………………………………………5:58
“Merry gathering of country folk”
IV. Allegro…………………………………………………………………..4:08
“Thunderstorm”
V. Allegretto……………………………………………………………..9:28
“Shepherd’s song: Happy and thankful feelings after the storm”
Total running time: 44:17
My Rating:
Recording quality: 4 (SACD 5.1 multi-channel recording, noticeable tape hiss and ambient noises, otherwise lush and dynamic)
Overall musicianship: 3 (a noticeably hurried performance)
CD liner notes: 5 (big booklet with lots of pertinent information and essays)
How does this make me feel: 3 (“Meh!”)
My brain rebels against tempos that seem too fast to me.
Granted, as I’ve mentioned several times before, I’m not a musicologist. I don’t know a tempo from a toadstool. But I do know what feels right to me, what resonates, what moves my heart.
Fast usually doesn’t.
Fast moves my brain. But it never touches my heart.
For example, in the world of heavy metal guitarists there’s a Swedish guitar wizard named Yngwie Malmsteen. That guy’s fingers fly like they’re driven by demons.
Here’s what I mean:
See what I mean? His fingers seem like they’re about to fly off the neck of his white Stratocaster.
I don’t feel a note of Yngwie’s music.
His technique remains stuck in my head; an intellectual puzzle to ponder. How can he play so fast?
By way of contrast is Irish guitarist Gary Moore playing “Parisienne Walkways.”
That music I can feel.
Gary’s solos reach deep into my soul and move me, nearly to the point of tears, all the way down to my toes.
That’s why tempo is important. Anything played to the point of frenzy rarely reaches my heart.
That goes for Beethoven’s music.
To me, Beethoven’s music is like fine wine. It needs to breathe, to air out. Not enough space between notes and you might as well leave the cork in the bottle. Too much space between the notes and the wine breathes too much and doesn’t taste right when it’s finally decanted into one’s waiting glass.
Haitink seems to play Beethoven in a hurried fashion.
He did it (big time!) in his performance of Beethoven’s Fifth.
And he’s doing it again, although not quite as speedily, here in Beethoven’s Sixth.
For example, my favorite melody in just about any symphony I’ve ever heard appears in Movement I of Beethoven’s Sixth – in this performance around the 10:00 mark (10:16-10:28, to be precise). Unfortunately, the notes of this gorgeous melody are played too fast for its elegance to sink in! Or, to put it another way, it was played too fast and, therefore, it got stuck in my head. My heard didn’t feel it.
Hatink seems to play too fast, to the point of reckless with Beethoven’s symphonies.
Which is a shame because these LSO Live recordings are superb.
Very clean and lush. Each instrument is well represented in the mix.
Yet, the tempos of at least two of the symphonies (Fifth and Sixth) are rushed, and all that talent and technology is wasted.
I was hoping I’d dig this performance, partly because it’s Haitink, partly because it’s the LSO, and partly because it’s a favorite Beethoven symphony.
Besides, if any of Beethoven’s symphonies requires a slower pace, it’s the Sixth. It’s all about nature walks, for Pete’s sake!
All these things considered, the best I can do is rate it “Meh!”