COMPOSERS: Beethoven
LABELS: Decca Eclipse
WORKS: Symphony No. 6 in F (Pastoral); Egmont Overture; Leonore Overture No. 3
PERFORMER: Philharmonia Orchestra/ Vladimir Ashkenazy
CATALOGUE NO: 448 986-2 1982-4
The gentle, programmatic Pastoral is the Beethoven symphony that people tend not to like, and this undistinguished recording shows us why. Having awakened feelings of torpor upon arriving in the country, Ashkenazy presents a cast of peasants that could be on a temperance society outing, and a storm reminiscent of a wet Sunday in Worthing. It all adds up to exactly the dreary experience bewailed by the piece’s critics. Christopher Wood
Beethoven: Symphony No. 6 in F (Pastoral); Egmont Overture; Leonore Overture No. 3
The gentle, programmatic Pastoral is the Beethoven symphony that people tend not to like, and this undistinguished recording shows us why. Having awakened feelings of torpor upon arriving in the country, Ashkenazy presents a cast of peasants that could be on a temperance society outing, and a storm reminiscent of a wet Sunday in Worthing. It all adds up to exactly the dreary experience bewailed by the piece’s critics. Christopher Wood
Our rating
2
Published: January 20, 2012 at 2:37 pm