Beethoven : Symphonies n°1 & 2

Album review

To the question "does the world need another recording coupling Beethoven's First and Second symphonies?" The easy answer is "only if it's a good one." But easy as it is, the answer is nonetheless true. There have been hundreds of recordings coupling Beethoven's First and Second symphonies over the years, but the only ones that matter are the ones that are good. While hard to define, anyone can recognize a performance that is good. It may not necessarily be the best played or the most original or the deepest or the greatest or the most profound, but they will have that aurora of rightness about it, the sense of being a part of a tradition and yet contributing something vital to that tradition, a way of phrasing, of balancing, of driving of shaping that is immediately recognizable as open, honest, and true. So to the question "does the world need the Kammerorchesterbasel and Giovanni Antonini's recording coupling Beethoven's First and Second symphonies?" The easy answer is "yes, indeed; it's a good one." Antonini has a way of molding a theme through subtle use of dynamics, of balancing a harmony through a clear separation of colors, of driving a rhythm through accents and sforzandos, and, most importantly, of shaping a structure so that themes, harmonies, and rhythms become a single musical event and the Kammerorchesterbasel embodies Antonini's conception in a warmly sculpted but sharply delineated performance immediately recognizable as open, honest, and true. While these recordings will probably not replace those of Furtwängler, Böhm, Klemperer, or Walter in the pantheon, they are certainly worthy of being in the world and well worth hearing. Oehms' super audio sound is clearer and deeper than its standard clean, direct sound.
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