COMPOSERS: Beethoven
LABELS: MCA Millennium Classics
WORKS: Symphony No. 9 in D minor
PERFORMER: Elisabeth Söderström, Regina Resnik, Jon Vickers, David Ward London Bach Choir, LSO/Pierre Monteux
CATALOGUE NO: MCD 80090 ADD (1962)
Monteux’s recording of the Ninth dates from his 88th year, but reveals his age only in the fund of thought and reflection implicit in every bar. It is experience worn lightly, but time and again details of phrasing suggest a master musician in complete control of his orchestra’s sound. The tape recorder is another matter, and listeners will have to accept occasionally muffled and indistinct passages in the ‘Ode to Joy’. Worth the money nonetheless. Christopher Wood
Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 in D minor
Monteux’s recording of the Ninth dates from his 88th year, but reveals his age only in the fund of thought and reflection implicit in every bar. It is experience worn lightly, but time and again details of phrasing suggest a master musician in complete control of his orchestra’s sound. The tape recorder is another matter, and listeners will have to accept occasionally muffled and indistinct passages in the ‘Ode to Joy’. Worth the money nonetheless. Christopher Wood
Our rating
5
Published: January 20, 2012 at 2:38 pm