Description: A purchaser's review: "And so to the Choral Symphony, the culmination of David Zinman’s Beethoven cycle with members of the Tonalle Orchestra of Zurich, the Swiss Chamber Choir and a quartet of soloists, soprano Ruth Ziesak, b. 1963, contralto Birgit Remmert, b. 1966, tenor Steve Davislim, b. 1967, and bass Detlef Roth, b. 1969.The enthusiasm, if not experience, of these young singers in their individual singing is entirely in keeping with the Bärenreiter Urtext about which its editor, Jonathan Del Mar, waxes so evangelically in the brochure, and which is here performed on modern instruments. As a team they approach the excellence of the choir.Del Mar expresses his frustration that ‘the beautiful new Urtexts [remain] untouched on library shelves while musicians continue to play from old faulty editions’. Perhaps so, but the average concertgoer and musical listener is probably also rather conservative and, as Del Mar admits, there are costs to be taken into account in discarding ‘the well-used, marked and (especially) bowed copies with which they are so familiar’. Having now listened to each of the “new” symphonies several times, I find them interesting as an historical footnote but no more. Others will certainly disagree.The Choral Symphony will be the ultimate test of Zinman’s cycle, especially for those steeped in traditional mid-20th century large performances. Certainly, I missed the overwhelming emotion of Klemperer and, of course, Furtwängler.The most obvious difference lies in the tempi that are much quicker than normally encountered and destroyed the almost messianic sweep of the last two movements. Originally distributed as a set by Arte Nova, the individual CDs may now be obtained separately which allows the listener to get an impression before diving in and purchasing all 5 CDs. The digital sound here is very clear, affording a clear balance between instruments of different sections, choir and soloists, but I missed the spaciousness and intensity associated with traditional – especially – live performances.The combined forces are very committed and responsive, partly the result of extensive rehearsals, and deserve a 5* rating; for intensity and emotional content my marking is lower, 3*, so 4* overall.In the brochure which includes a brief commentary on the symphony by Barbara Dobretsberger, translated by Chandler Cudlipp and Lawrence Brazier, Zinman describes coming across ‘an alternate version’ of the finale and, to demonstrate this, a 13’ segment of this from the Alla Marcia onwards, is presented on the final track."
Price: 10.95 AUD
Location: Northam, Western Australia
End Time: 2025-01-18T14:55:24.000Z
Shipping Cost: 13.47 AUD
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Item Specifics
Restocking fee: No
Return shipping will be paid by: Buyer
Returns Accepted: Returns Accepted
Item must be returned within: 30 Days
Artist: David Zinman
Format: CD
Release Title: BEETHOVEN: SYMPHONY NO. 9
Genre: Classical
