Beethoven: Symphonies Nos. 1, 2 & 7

Antonello Manacorda & Kammerakademie Potsdam

Released on 07/10/2022 by Sony Classical
Main artists: Antonello Manacorda Kammerakademie Potsdam Antonello Manacorda & Kammerakademie Potsdam
Genre: Classical

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Sony Classical has begun publishing what promises to be a complete set of Beethoven symphonies recorded with the Kammerakadamie Potsdam, under the direction of its principal conductor Antonello Manacorda. This first volume includes the first two Symphonies and the so-called ‘Apotheosis of the Dance’, but two further volumes are set to be released by autumn 2024. As with the previous Schubert or Mendelssohn recordings, you may be surprised by the relentless vigour of the subject matter, the Dionysian impetus of the ensemble playing and the clarity of the textures that make this first volume so outstanding. Though nothing in this interpretation can be described as truly revolutionary at first glance, Beethoven's passionate, effervescent spirit is made instantly apparent. From the First Symphony (which sounds more influenced by Haydn or the French revolutionary composers (Gossec) than by Mozart and his Viennese contemporaries) onwards, Beethoven redefines musical time and invents new soundscapes. With their brisk tempos, Manacorda and his Kammerakademie Potsdam also enhance the stunning musical structures built by the German composer.

Beethoven has long played a central role in the concerts of the Kammerakademie Potsdam, but he’s been absent from the ensemble's discography until now. However, when the musicians performed all nine Symphonies over the course of a single weekend in 2014, it became clear to them that they would one day record them all: ‘The intensity of the preparations needed to perform this vast corpus of works within a relatively short space of time meant that this was a hugely important experience for us all,’ Manacorda recalls. The recent pandemic provided the players and conductor with an opportunity to make this wish come true.

Antonello Manacorda went on to say, “We perform on modern instruments. We use modern woodwinds but natural horns and trumpets and smaller, narrower-bore trombones. So it’s a combination of the old and the new. This allows us to perform works for larger resources without needing forty strings since it’s much easier in this way to create the right balance and achieve the correct degree of clarity.”

This is a particularly promising first volume - one which has also been beautifully captured. Once you start listening, you probably won’t want to stop. The First Symphony was recorded live whilst the other two works were captured in the studio; you can never know when inspiration is going to strike. © Pierre-Yves Lascar & Sony Classical/Qobuz

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Beethoven: Symphonies Nos. 1, 2 & 7

Antonello Manacorda

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Symphony No. 1 in C major, Op. 21 (Ludwig van Beethoven)

I. Adagio molto - Allegro con brio