#BeethovenOdyssey #Beethoven2020 #Beethoven250

1/ #Symphony1 was first performed #OnThisDay in 1800. In this thread, I'll choose my all-time #Top20 recordings and chart its changing sound #OnRecord, from Pablo Casals in 1927 to Ádám Fischer in 2019. https://twitter.com/deeplyclassical/status/1241989812875337728?s=20
2/ Follow my playlist as I choose my #Top20 recordings over the next seven days. Two of my all-time favourites aren't available to stream, so I'll add @Spotify-only bonuses for adventurous Beethovenians to try. https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6cOteYrAj7ab1DsBXK6lWA?si=2kC4x3JpRaess0FrliHPLA
3/ I'll mention other notable recordings along the way. If you're a real hardcore Beethovenian, follow my extended @Spotify playlist and get enough daily doses of Symphony No. 1 to sustain you through more than a month of #SelfIsolation. https://open.spotify.com/playlist/07ZkKoSN8BJl4YILhue8zD?si=60nJpk30Q6e3CtowIQcUKQ
4/ Pablo Casals (surprisingly vivid sound) and Hans Pfitzner (murky and rather dull) appeared soon after the invention of electrical recording, but they must yield to Felix Weingartner (the first conductor to record all 9 symphonies) and @Vienna_Phil in 1937.
4/ Pablo Casals (surprisingly vivid sound) and Hans Pfitzner (murky and rather dull) appeared soon after the invention of electrical recording, but they must yield to Felix Weingartner (the first conductor to record all 9 symphonies) and @Vienna_Phil in 1937.
4/ Pablo Casals (surprisingly vivid sound) and Hans Pfitzner (murky and rather dull) appeared soon after the invention of electrical recording, but they must yield to Felix Weingartner (the first conductor to record all 9 symphonies) and @Vienna_Phil in 1937.
4/ Pablo Casals (surprisingly vivid sound) and Hans Pfitzner (murky and rather dull) appeared soon after the invention of electrical recording, but they must yield to Felix Weingartner (the first conductor to record all 9 symphonies) and @Vienna_Phil in 1937.
5/ #Top20 #1 Weingartner's "lean-beef" Beethoven is outplayed, out-conducted and outclassed by Arturo Toscanini and @BBCSO, also from 1937. Disciplined, vibrant, great sound for the era. Climaxes crackle with electricity. Love the touches of portamento. All the repeats too ♥️.
6/ The 1950s: Hermann Scherchen is crisp, wonderfully phrased but the playing is occasionally frail. Otto Klemperer's later Philharmonia recordings sound too ponderous to me now, but live on @ICAClassics in 1954 he's fierce and fiery as well as epic. Both nearly made my Top 20.
6/ The 1950s: Hermann Scherchen is crisp, wonderfully phrased but the playing is occasionally frail. Otto Klemperer's later Philharmonia recordings sound too ponderous to me now, but live on @ICAClassics in 1954 he's fierce and fiery as well as epic. Both nearly made my Top 20.
6/ The 1950s: Hermann Scherchen is crisp, wonderfully phrased but the playing is occasionally frail. Otto Klemperer's later Philharmonia recordings sound too ponderous to me now, but live on @ICAClassics in 1954 he's fierce and fiery as well as epic. Both nearly made my Top 20.
7/ #Top20 #2 Günter Wand doesn't so much interpret Beethoven as release it on the orchestra. His recordings are havens of warmth, humanity and clarity. Nothing stands out, but nothing is obscured. My favourite is his first with @guerzenichorch, but I recommend them all.
8/ In the next installment: Karajan's #60s Beethoven symphony cycle overshadowed several other fine accounts. Who conducted them, and will Herbie make my Top 20?
8/ In the next installment: Karajan's #60s Beethoven symphony cycle overshadowed several other fine accounts. Who conducted them, and will Herbie make my Top 20?
8/ In the next installment: Karajan's #60s Beethoven symphony cycle overshadowed several other fine accounts. Who conducted them, and will Herbie make my Top 20?
9/ #Top20 #3 Carl Schuricht's mono Parisian cycle is spicey, fast-flowing and full of character. I want to discuss the wonders of Beethoven with each player late into the night over brandy and Gauloises. Timpani are missing in action, but who cares? Magnifique! @aquilanebula
10/ I love French orchestras in Beethoven. They play the symphonies like chamber music writ large, every player an individual character. @Orch_Lamoureux and the wonderful Igor Markevitch make a great partnership that simply oozes class. I very nearly included this @CarlRosman.
11/ #Top20 #4: Beautifully balanced and poised, Eugen Jochum's big-band, broadly-paced @BerlinPhil Beethoven is grand as grand can be. Crisp articulation and muscular rhythms give all the energy needed - try the bouncy scherzo. Early @DGclassics stereo still sounds stunning.
12/ Herbert von Karajan's #60s Beethoven cycle was a game-changer for the record industry. The refinement and cool beauty of its Op. 21 is seductive, but I prefer his rough, tough, street-fighting live @nyphil account from a few years before with a punch like Mohammed Ali.
12/ Herbert von Karajan's #60s Beethoven cycle was a game-changer for the record industry. The refinement and cool beauty of its Op. 21 is seductive, but I prefer his rough, tough, street-fighting live @nyphil account from a few years before with a punch like Mohammed Ali.
12/ Herbert von Karajan's #60s Beethoven cycle was a game-changer for the record industry. The refinement and cool beauty of its Op. 21 is seductive, but I prefer his rough, tough, street-fighting live @nyphil account from a few years before with a punch like Mohammed Ali.
13/ #Top20 #5 Karajan's appearance was unlucky for some, overshadowing the cycle by Rene Leibowitz. @rpoonline play like an orchestra possessed. If you thought breakneck speeds and slammed sforzandi didn't arrive until period instruments, get a load of this! Superb sound too.
14/ The #60s brought impressive New World Beethoven. George Szell is crisp and disciplined but I don't dig the andante's weighty tread. New York Bernstein is bold and brash; he's far more refined years later in old Vienna. Both are good; a 'best of both' version would be great.
14/ The #60s brought impressive New World Beethoven. George Szell is crisp and disciplined but I don't dig the andante's weighty tread. New York Bernstein is bold and brash; he's far more refined years later in old Vienna. Both are good; a 'best of both' version would be great.
14/ The #60s brought impressive New World Beethoven. George Szell is crisp and disciplined but I don't dig the andante's weighty tread. New York Bernstein is bold and brash; he's far more refined years later in old Vienna. Both are good; a 'best of both' version would be great.
14/ The #60s brought impressive New World Beethoven. George Szell is crisp and disciplined but I don't dig the andante's weighty tread. New York Bernstein is bold and brash; he's far more refined years later in old Vienna. Both are good; a 'best of both' version would be great.
15/ Szell and Bernstein can make the music feel inflated. Leslie Jones in '68 has an HIP vibe that's ahead of its time, and old-school charm that should never go out of fashion. Occasional roughness just keeps him out of my Top 20. He's one of my two @Spotify bonuses instead.
16/ The #70s brought more glamorous orchestral sound but not much else. Exceptions are Herbert Blomstedt in Dresden, gloriously played and loftily conducted, and Solti's big-boned bear-hug. By the #80s Beethoven performance needed something new to give it a shot in the arm.
16/ The #70s brought more glamorous orchestral sound but not much else. Exceptions are Herbert Blomstedt in Dresden, gloriously played and loftily conducted, and Solti's big-boned bear-hug. By the #80s Beethoven performance needed something new to give it a shot in the arm.
16/ The #70s brought more glamorous orchestral sound but not much else. Exceptions are Herbert Blomstedt in Dresden, gloriously played and loftily conducted, and Solti's big-boned bear-hug. By the #80s Beethoven performance needed something new to give it a shot in the arm.
17/ #Top20 #6 Roger Norrington and his merry band of period-instrument mavericks go back to the future to bring Beethoven into a brave new world. Instead of offering plush, lush comfort they're in your face and ready for a fight, a party, or both. This gives me tingles even now.
18/ #Top20 #7 Christoph von Dohnanyi showed that traditional big band Beethoven still had plenty to offer as the #80s ended. Lush, lustrous, yet transparent. Full of rhythmic life, with climaxes masterfully handled. My favourite New World Beethoven 1, sadly not on @Spotify.
19/ #Top20 #8 The #90s turned period-instrument rebellion into a revolution as Nikolaus Harnoncourt and @ChambOrchEurope brought historical performance practices to modern instruments with compelling theatrical flair. Ground Zero for the Beethoven style that's now the norm.
20/ As the century drew to a close, Gardiner's period performances reached new heights of proficiency. Meanwhile Mackerras, Zinman & Abbado adopted both historical practices and new @Baerenreiter scores that corrected many historical errors. All hover just outside my Top 20.
20/ As the century drew to a close, Gardiner's period performances reached new heights of proficiency. Meanwhile Mackerras, Zinman & Abbado adopted both historical practices and new @Baerenreiter scores that corrected many historical errors. All hover just outside my Top 20.
20/ As the century drew to a close, Gardiner's period performances reached new heights of proficiency. Meanwhile Mackerras, Zinman & Abbado adopted both historical practices and new @Baerenreiter scores that corrected many historical errors. All hover just outside my Top 20.
20/ As the century drew to a close, Gardiner's period performances reached new heights of proficiency. Meanwhile Mackerras, Zinman & Abbado adopted both historical practices and new @Baerenreiter scores that corrected many historical errors. All hover just outside my Top 20.
20/ As the century drew to a close, Gardiner's period performances reached new heights of proficiency. Meanwhile Mackerras, Zinman & Abbado adopted both historical practices and new @Baerenreiter scores that corrected many historical errors. All hover just outside my Top 20.
21/ Before I leave the twentieth century, one more @Spotify bonus. Dominique Jonckheere's Beethoven is a bit rough and raw, but spikey strings hustle, spicey winds bustle, and brass are itching for a fight. I'd happily go drinking with this Beethoven once #lockdown is over.
22/ #Top20 #9: Beethoven 1 starts the 21st century in riotous good humour, You can almost see the twinkle in Thomas Fey's eye as he dials his mentor Harnoncourt's HIP shock tactics up to 11. Traditionalist snowflakes may be appalled, but I've seldom had this much Beetho-FUN!
23/ #Top20 #10: In 2004 Kurt Masur and @LPOrchestra showed you can play this music perfectly at the sort of speeds Beethoven asked for without original instruments or historic performance practices. Great 21st-century Beethoven with no ideology, only exceptional musicianship.
24/ #Top20 #11: Period, HIP & traditional Beethoven, rigidly separated in the #90s, start to blend. At 80+ Stanislaw Skrowaczewski brims with youthful vigour in 2006. Punchy and transparent but with rounded sweet sonority, it's Toscanini meets Wand on speed. @OehmsClassics
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