Arturo Toscanini & the NBC Symphony Orchestra, Beethoven Symphony No. 6

[khiemtran]

This is an interesting recording. The Pastoral Symphony has never been one of my favourites, but this one just works for me. What works specifically is the "Storm" movement. And not as a literal storm, but as an air raid. Darker and faster than normal, and with the sense of distance enhanced by the older recording, suddenly you can see the people huddling in the dark and hear the drone of engines and thump of guns. A different sort of storm for a very different century.

Comments

[sciamanna.livejournal.com]

Toscanini doing Beethoven? Curious idea :-)

I want to find out if they have published the 9 symphonies that Muti did a few years back. At the time, the comments agreed that it was a very good and very interesting interpretation, in a "classical" rather than "romantic" style. It's one of the things I'll look for once I'm back in Dublin (along with Sting singing Renaissance songs, which a friend of my parents' played to me the other night).

[khiemtran.livejournal.com]

Toscanini doing Beethoven? Curious idea :-)

It's an interesting set. I found it on iTMS, where all nine symphonies count as one "album" (and then promptly took several hours to download). Most of the readings wouldn't count amongst my favourites, but at least they are all different from what I've heard before.

I want to find out if they have published the 9 symphonies that Muti did a few years back
At La Scala? I'd actually really like to hear the ACO do a Beethoven cycle, after hearing their #5 and some of their Bach recordings.