RECORDING OF THE MONTH     CHOPIN Waltzes and Impromptus Vladimir Feltsman £11 post free World-wide VIVALDI The four seasons London Mozart Players/Juritz £12 post free World-wide BEETHOVEN Symphonies 4 and 5 LSO/Yondani Butt £12 post free World-wide

Brilliant Classics

Ludwig van BEETHOVEN (1770-1827) Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67 (1808) [37’11]; Symphony No. 6 in F, Op. 68, Pastoral (1808) [39’48]. Staatskapelle Dresden/Herbert Blomstedt Rec. Lukaskirche, Dresden, 1977. ADD BRILLIANT CLASSICS - CLASSIC COLLECTION 99868 [78’49]

Interesting that this disc should come along for review so soon after Sir Roger Norrington’s very different take on this core repertoire on Hänssler CD93.086 (see review). It would be hard to imagine two more contrasted approaches to the same basic text: Norrington intent on making the music seem new, whatever the cost; Blomstedt firmly in the accepted mould of the late 1970s, complete with large orchestra and safe, sometimes stolid, tempi (a conception ideally suited to the resonances of Dresden’s Lukaskirche, one could argue). Blomstedt presents a very big-boned Beethoven, hardly fleet of foot. Everything is safe, reassuringly so, some might say. The present disc is available as part of a five-disc Brilliant Classics box of all nine symphonies (99927: see Neil Horner’s review), and on the present evidence I shall not be scampering out to the shops. Talking of scampering, the double-basses in the Trio of the Fifth’s third movement are remarkably well-behaved: I wish the same could be said of the recording engineer(s). The highlighting of string sections at this point and throughout the Trio is most off-putting. This trait is also noticeable in the finale, which does however finally manage to generate some excitement. Alas, the climactic coda is merely ‘neat’. After a dull, rhythmically deficient first movement, the ‘Pastoral’ promises more in its ‘Szene am Bach’. This flows nicely along, blossoming out at all the right moments. Here perhaps he and Norrington are not too far away, whether in timing (Blomstedt 12’40; Norrington 11’32) or in intent. However, Blomstedt does not capitalise on his newly-found intimacy with the Master. The third movement is unsmiling (neither are the horns the baying, off-the-leash hunting horns they can and should be). Blomstedt and Norrington both share a finale that sags (in Blomstedt’s case there is little or no sign of the sun coming out). The symphony, and the disc, ends like a damp squib. Definitely not recommended. Colin Clarke   Advertising Rates Visitor stats MusicWeb International has over 40,000 Classical CD reviews on offer Discs received Having a problem Donating? Gerard Hoffnung Concerts & The Bricklayer Story   New Releases New Releases   MusicWeb sells the Polish catalogue CDAccord £10.50 post free W-W MusicWeb sells the Arcodiva catalogue £12.00 post free W-W £11.75 post-free world- wide MusicWeb can now offer you discs from the following catalogues: Prices include postage [Acte Préalable £13.50] [Arcodiva £12.00] [Avie from £6.25] [British Music Society £12.00] [CDACCORD from £13.50 ] [ClassicO £12.50] [Hallé from £11] [Heritage £10] [Hortus £14.99 ] [Lyrita ONLY £11.75 ] [Nimbus Special prices] [Northern Flowers £13.50] [REDCLIFFE £11 ] [Sheva £11] [Tactus £11.50 ] [Talent from £12.00 ] [Toccata Classics £10.50 ] Musicweb Special Offers Monthly Best Buys     Google Ads - for information about privacy matters, click here.  Amazon Musicweb International is a participant in the Amazon EU Associates Programme, an affiliate advertising programme designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com

Return to Index

Reviews from previous months Join the mailing list and receive a hyperlinked weekly update on the discs reviewed. details We welcome feedback on our reviews. Please use the Bulletin Board Please paste in the first line of your comments the URL of the review to which you refer.