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A New Year's Day Concert in London: Beethoven,  Symphonies Nos. 8 and 9 Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, MDR Radio Choir Leipzig, Leipzig Gewandhaus Choir, Katerina Beranova (Soprano), Lilli Paasikivi (Mezzo-soprano), Robert Dean Smith (Tenor), Hanno Müller-Brachmann (Bass-baritone), Riccardo Chailly (conductor) Barbican Hall London, 1. 1.2009 (RC)


In comparison to its neighbours Beethoven’s Eighth Symphony can appear relatively slight, but what it lacks in length it more than makes up for in concentration of expression and thought. The symphony was premiered alongside the Seventh, and when Beethoven was informed that the audience had been puzzled by it after the energy and excitement of No. 7, Beethoven is said to have replied, ‘That’s because it’s so much better’.

Chailly launched into the opening movement with gusto, relishing Beethoven’s explosive offbeat accents. Dramatic tension was maintained right up to the majestic return of the first theme and the eventual pianissimo ending. In the middle movements the playful spirit of Haydn was never far away, and in the finale the unpredictable and subversive nature of Beethoven’s writing was convincingly brought to the fore.

From the start of the first movement of the ‘Choral’ the elemental nature of the writing was well projected and sustained. In places the woodwind balance was not ideal but the full orchestra certainly had the requisite impact in the climactic moments. Chailly made the most of the dramatic possibilities in the second movement, with its turbulent and Romantic undercurrents. The unfamiliar diminuendo ending was a startling moment to this listener.

At this point the soloists walked on stage, provoking some sporadic applause. To their credit Chailly and his orchestra managed to recapture immediately their concentration in the slow third movement. In its yearning lyricism I was reminded of Mahler on more than one occasion. Chailly carefully integrated the two dramatic full-orchestral fanfares into his overall conception.

The finale’s explosive Presto came as a shock, as it should. Structural continuity was convincingly maintained in the series of instrumental recitatives that recapitulate and reject memories of the themes of the first three movements. The rest of the movement was suitably cumulative. The male soloists had more impact than the females but the palpable sense of occasion meant that this was forgotten in the final rush for the finish and the well-deserved ovations.

Robert Costin


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