My listening post this morning (with Iron Maiden’s Powerslave album on low in the background) is overlooking the snow-covered balcony. The temperature outside is 30 degrees Fahrenheit, which is -1 Celsius. No matter how you measure it, it’s cold.
Because I can barely hear Maiden in the background (it’s at the same level as music playing over the sound system in a restaurant or at Barnes & Noble and there for mood), my focus is on French conductor Andre Cluytens, Orchestre Philharmonique De Berlin, and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7 in A major.
I encountered Maestro Cluytens six times previous to this morning, on…
Day 6. Rating: “Huzzah!” (A masterful performance.)
Day 24. Rating: “Meh!”
Day 42. Rating: “Meh!”
Day 60. Rating: “Huzzah!”
Day 78. Rating: “Huzzah!”
Day 96. Rating: “Huzzah!”
Interesting.
This odd Christmas-like CD box set of Andre Cluytens performances is one that I would have overlooked completely as I paged through possible choices on Amazon. The art work really turns me off. It looks Christmas-y and hokey.
And yet, the ratings to date are four “Huzzah!” and two “Meh!” That surprises me.
So the big question (at least, for me) this morning is, “What will Maestro Cluytens bring me this time?”
I’ll know in about 40 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. 7 in A 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. Poco sostenuto – Vivace……………………………..13:29
II. Allegretto………………………………………………………9:24
III. Presto – Assai meno presto (trio)……………….8:20
IV. Allegro con brio…………………………………………..7:01
Total running time: 38:14
My Rating:
Recording quality: 4 (noticeable, but not debilitating tape hiss, ambient sounds; otherwise, crisp and clean with lots of top end, perhaps a little too much)
Overall musicianship: 5 (sounds remarkably inspired, lively, passionate)
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: 5 (“Huzzah!”)
Movement I begins with a big, bold explosion of sound, and leaves the gate like a racehorse on amphetamines. And the pace never lets up. The instruments are bright, perhaps a shade too bright (the brass instruments are kind of piercing) the orchestra is responsive and powerful, and I am along for the entire ride.
Movement II (remember, my favorite in this symphony) is nicely somber, yet not maudlin. It is the perfect follow up to the kick-ass Movement I. I found myself totally immersed in Cluyten’s interpretation of this all-important movement. I was transported.
You know when you’re watching TV or a movie or even a stage play and you can see the actors acting? I hate that. When I can see someone acting, I cannot willingly suspend disbelief. I am ejected from the story.
Orchestras and conductors can be that way, too. When I hear pretense or that they’re trying to hard, it’s like I’m hearing them “acting.”
Not so with this movement. I do not hear them “acting.” I am right there with them, all the way to the pizzicato-infused ending.
Movement III, like Movement I, springs forth from silence and is suddenly in my face.
I have read interviews with (and have even been told by) members of the first incarnation of King Crimson (1969) that when they performed “In The Court of the Crimson King” that they went from silence to a wall of sound instantly. No farting around. No testing of the instruments. No “check-check-check” into the mic. Silence to performance. Bam!
That’s how these Cluytens performances are: silence to performance. Bam!
Movement IV is no exception. It leaps from the starting gate and charges toward the finish.
In short, this allegro is very con brio.
Overall, this performance is well recorded (if a bit too bright), very well played, and magical. That’s the important element, the magic.
Highly recommended.
“Huzzah!”