The almost encyclopedic undertaking that French label harmonia mundi has embarked on to celebrate the double anniversary of the birth and death of Beethoven between 2020 and 2027 has already proven itself to be captivating with its emphasis on contemporary works from the start of the 19th century. It also presents us with a version of Beethoven in direct contact with the works of his own era, a step away from the usual romanticised image of the solitary genius in his ivory tower. The juxtaposition of the renowned ‘Pastoral’ Symphony with the Portrait musical de la nature ou Grande Simphonie is troubling to say the least. The latter was written by relatively unknown composer Justin Heinrich Knecht 25 years prior to Beethoven’s masterpiece (it was recorded in a world premiere in 1997 by Frieder Bernius but flew under the radar). The two composers having had the same editor, everything points to the fact that Beethoven was probably familiar with the work, and the similarities between the two are not unrecognisable. The result of a long tradition of pastoral musical works, divided into five movements, with very similar programme indications, Rousseauesque naïvety with regard to the melodic contours and imitations of bird calls all go to show the proximity of the two works. This is a thrilling interpretation thanks to the convincing performance by the Berlin Akademie für Alte Musik that puts the two works on a par together. © François Hudry/Qobuz

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Beethoven's nine symphonies -- what can one say? The greatest body of orchestral works ever composed? Probably. The most performed body of orchestral works ever composed? Certainly. The most recorded body of orchestral works ever composed? Absolutely. Not only has virtually every conductor recorded a Beethoven cycle, some of them have gotten to record it multiple times: Abbado, Bernstein, Solti, Karajan, and Haitink, among others. What does this proliferation tell us? Usually nothing about the music that hasn't been heard before, but sometimes something about what the conductor thinks about the music. These performances with the London Symphony Orchestra recorded in 2005 and 2006 tell what Bernard Haitink thinks about the greatest body of orchestral works ever composed. And what does Haitink think? Pretty much nothing that hasn't been thought before. His tempos are neither too fast nor too slow, but straight down the moderato. His dynamics are neither too loud nor too quiet, but right in the mezzo. His textures are clear and lucid. His colors are blended and smooth. His interpretations are solid and sincere. But what does Haitink tell us about what he thinks about Beethoven's symphonies? Pretty much nothing except that he is an experienced conductor with a superb baton technique who keeps his opinions to himself. The London Symphony's playing is enthusiastic but too often ragged around the edges for comfort. LSO Live's recording is transparent but the perspective seems to shift from work to work -- sometimes the strings are too far away, other times the brass are too close.© TiVo

Issued complete for the first time, a new recording of Franz Liszt’s iconic piano transcriptions of the nine Beethoven symphonies. As the Italian pianist Giovanni Bellucci remarks in an extensive booklet introduction, this album is the fruit of study over the past 20 years and more, into the worlds of both Beethoven and Liszt and their meeting point in these transcriptions where the Hungarian composer sought to honour his forebear as the original leader of an artistic movement we now think of as Romanticism, where the composer places himself at the front and centre of his works. Liszt’s transcriptions diverged from the ready-made arrangements which publishers rapidly produced and reprinted to meet the demands of amateur and domestic audiences. Here, the symphonic world of Beethoven is not merely experienced as a distant echo but translated into the idiom of the virtuoso piano which swept across Europe during the latter half of the 19th century, led by Liszt and Clara Schumann. Thus in these performances, Bellucci seeks a kind of fidelity to the Romantic age of the transcriptions rather than the Classical age of the original works. Taking broad tempi and probing deeply into textures which, after all, condense the soundworld of an entire orchestra into the span of ten fingers, Bellucci presents an individual and compelling new vision of works which renew themselves at the hands of each new generation’s interpreters. The cycle reaches its climax with the Ninth, recorded live at the 2014 Lisztomania Festival in France, with the participation of the Czech Philharmonic Choir of Brno and soloists Hana Škarková, Lucie Hilscherová, Michal Lehotský and Martin Gurbal. Other studio sessions have taken place in the famous Salle de Musique at La Chaux de Fonds in Switzerland, between 2018 and 2021. "In completing the project", Bellucci remarks, "I would like to borrow Franz Liszt’s words and make them mine, albeit just for a moment: "The piano is, for me, what the frigate is for the sailor, indeed, perhaps even more, because the piano is my word, is my life". In transcribing the 9 Beethoven Symphonies for piano solo Franz Liszt (1811-1886) not only made these symphonic masterworks available for domestic use but also demonstrated his immense creativity, insight, knowledge and pianistic resources. The work of a true genius, these transcriptions reveal the essential language and message of Beethoven, written down in pianism of the highest quality and difficulty, in this sense still valuable today. It takes a pianist of near superhuman powers and virtuosity to do justice to these scores. Giovanni Bellucci is such a pianist. Not only he "plays all the notes" but he is able to recreate the grandeur, drama, lyricism and intimacy of the original, presenting a monument made up of countless details. © Brilliant Classics

Between 1978 and 1994, Klaus Tennstedt made most of his recordings, including a number of highly regarded live radio broadcasts with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, and many of these are available on the LPO label. This 2015 CD of Ludwig van Beethoven's Egmont Overture and the Symphony No. 6 in F major, "Pastoral," offers performances from 1991 and 1992, respectively, when Tennstedt was making few appearances with the orchestra due to his increasing health problems. Yet the interpretations and the playing are exceptionally controlled and polished, and Tennstedt's feeling for both works is comparable to his earlier recordings, when he was in full command of the music and his musicians. Regrettably, these performances were recorded in analog, and despite digital remastering, the sound of the Egmont Overture is rather flat and slightly distorted through compression, so the orchestra seems a little distant and not fully vibrant. The reproduction is much clearer in the "Pastoral," and there is a better sense of depth and instrumental color. While Egmont may not be the best choice for first-time listeners, the "Pastoral" is a fine performance that can be recommended to all listeners. © TiVo