The late Frans Brüggen recorded the complete Beethoven Symphonies twice
(Philips, Glossa), the latter being a set of live recordings made in
Rotterdam in 2011.
The present recording is of a slightly earlier live performance, this time
in Warsaw as part of the "Chopin and his Europe" Festival. The audience are
only apparent by their applause at the end but the intensity of a live event
is clear right from the start. The first movement is taken at a steady pace
which would not have surprised conductors of an earlier generation. This
contrasts with the hectic speed too many conductors employ today which
obscures much crucial detail. Such detail is apparent from the outset in the
unusually clearly articulated off-beat crochets of the first violins in bars
seven and eight and the clarity of the rising arpeggio in the cellos and
basses in bars forty-seven and forty-eight. Throughout there is a care for
balance and articulation so as to expose all that is going on in this
extraordinary score. The long first movement repeat is welcome not only for
the four bars that would otherwise be lost but for the opportunity to relish
again the subtlety of the conductor's approach. The Funeral March by
contrast is taken at a relatively brisk pace but here too care over phrasing
ensures that it never sounds glib. One of the rare disappointments is the
very polite tone of the horns in the Trio of the Scherzo - I prefer
something much more raw. The Finale achieves real poise in the conductor's
care over the relative speeds of its various sections. My only regret is
that the differentiation between
forte and
fortissimo is
not always as clear as it can be. Beethoven tends to use this distinction to
aid punctuation and add emphasis so that this tends to reduce the impact of
the louder passages. Overall this is nonetheless a performance of real
understanding and subtlety to which I am sure I will return frequently.
I am less sure that I want to return to its companion, for all its
historical interest. Karol Kurpiński was a Polish composer and conductor.
His
Battle of Mozhaysk (later renamed "Grand Symphony depicting a
battle") was intended to celebrate Napoleon's victory at Borodino. Both
works on the disc were thus originally intended to celebrate Napoleon. By
the date of its first performance, however, Napoleon had already started his
disastrous retreat from Russia. Unusually for a Battle Symphony, a genre
which includes much extremely poor music, most of the first sections
depicting Night, Daybreak and Sunrise are not warlike in character. They
could be re-titled as a Pastoral Symphony given their imitations of the
sounds of birds and cocks. Before and after the main battle section there is
a Grand March for the parade of Napoleon's various troops. The battle itself
includes all the customary effects of that genre apart from actual gun or
cannon shots. Admirers of Beethoven's
Wellington's Victory may well
enjoy this piece but I find it hard to summon much enthusiasm for it.
This is nonetheless a disc well worth hearing for the Beethoven. Frans
Brüggen manages by sheer musicianship and care over detail to say much about
a work you may feel you know by heart. Clear recording and useful notes make
this a very desirable addition to any Beethoven collection no matter how
many versions of the
Eroica you may have already.
John Sheppard
