Mozart 6, Beethoven 4
Dec. 16th, 2006 08:43 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
khiemtranLast Sunday was supposed to be the day Beethoven's Ninth caught up with Mozart's Symphony No. 40 in my humble collection.
I did a poll of my iTunes library the other day and found, not surprisingly, that the "Great" G Minor Symphony was the work I had the most recordings of (five). In my defence, these are all either budget or mid-range recordings, and of course they're all justified. There was Jane Glover and the RPO (my first, and the one I imprinted on early), Colin Davis and the incomparable Staatskapelle Dresden (my favourite), Böhm and the BPO (interesting from a historical perspective) and two from Jaap Ter Linden and the Mozart Akademie Amsterdam (with and without clarinets). Actually, the fact that there were two different Ter Linden recordings in the Brilliant Classics set I bought is really the only reason that K.550 happened to be number one, instead of, say, the Jupiter. As time has gone by, I've looked less and less kindly upon the Ter Linden versions. They're interesting in terms of period authenticity, but I keep feeling there's something missing emotionally and artistically that can't just be explained by the historical performance practice.
Anyway, among the many works with four recordings was Beethoven's Ninth Symphony and I happened to see a copy of Fürtwangler's Bayreuth Ninth on sale in a discount shop a few weeks ago. As usual, it took me a while to decide whether to get it or not, and it wasn't until last Sunday, shopping with Liem, that I had a chance to look back in that store again. Sure enough, it wasn't there anymore and I had the usual pangs of non-buyer's regret. But while I was searching through the racks, I did come across a complete surprise...
It was the discontinued recording from a few ones ago of Richard Tognetti playing the Beethoven Violin Concerto, definitely on my "must buy" list and, even better, discounted to $10. And one the same disc? The ACO playing the Symphony No. 40 with a mix of period and modern instruments and a performance that is now my new favourite.
So, 6 for Mr Mozart and still only 4 for poor Ludwig. Although I'm still looking for decent Fürtwangler recordings, so there's still a chance the Ninth will catch up. There are at least of interest to me (the wartime BPO recording, the Bayreuth and the Lucerne) so it may even be 6-7 eventually. And, of course they'll all be justified.
I did a poll of my iTunes library the other day and found, not surprisingly, that the "Great" G Minor Symphony was the work I had the most recordings of (five). In my defence, these are all either budget or mid-range recordings, and of course they're all justified. There was Jane Glover and the RPO (my first, and the one I imprinted on early), Colin Davis and the incomparable Staatskapelle Dresden (my favourite), Böhm and the BPO (interesting from a historical perspective) and two from Jaap Ter Linden and the Mozart Akademie Amsterdam (with and without clarinets). Actually, the fact that there were two different Ter Linden recordings in the Brilliant Classics set I bought is really the only reason that K.550 happened to be number one, instead of, say, the Jupiter. As time has gone by, I've looked less and less kindly upon the Ter Linden versions. They're interesting in terms of period authenticity, but I keep feeling there's something missing emotionally and artistically that can't just be explained by the historical performance practice.
Anyway, among the many works with four recordings was Beethoven's Ninth Symphony and I happened to see a copy of Fürtwangler's Bayreuth Ninth on sale in a discount shop a few weeks ago. As usual, it took me a while to decide whether to get it or not, and it wasn't until last Sunday, shopping with Liem, that I had a chance to look back in that store again. Sure enough, it wasn't there anymore and I had the usual pangs of non-buyer's regret. But while I was searching through the racks, I did come across a complete surprise...
It was the discontinued recording from a few ones ago of Richard Tognetti playing the Beethoven Violin Concerto, definitely on my "must buy" list and, even better, discounted to $10. And one the same disc? The ACO playing the Symphony No. 40 with a mix of period and modern instruments and a performance that is now my new favourite.
So, 6 for Mr Mozart and still only 4 for poor Ludwig. Although I'm still looking for decent Fürtwangler recordings, so there's still a chance the Ninth will catch up. There are at least of interest to me (the wartime BPO recording, the Bayreuth and the Lucerne) so it may even be 6-7 eventually. And, of course they'll all be justified.
