Beethoven: The Symphonies
Beyond argument, Claudio Abaddo's second Beethoven cycle puts his previous DG traversals of the nine symphonies in the shade. His Berlin Philharmonic musicians, for starters, play with more precision, fire, suppleness, and ensemble sophistication than the Vienna Philharmonic did for Abaddo's live 1980s DG cycle. More significant, Abaddo's interpretations turn nearly 180 degrees from a soft-grained, middle-of-the-road vantage point toward the fleet tempos and tart sonorities favored by such "historically informed" Beethovenians asCharles Mackerras,Nicholas Harnoncourt, andDavid Zinman. Like Zinman, Abaddo makes use of the much-discussed Barenreiter edition, featuring Jonathan Del Mar's textual revisions based on original sources. One might characterize Abaddo's remakes as the Zinman with better playing.Symphonies One and Two are cases in point. Both are jam-packed with crisp, fleet articulation and pungent accents. In similar fashion, the Third symphony's radical classicism hits home in a lean, driving performance redolent of the like-mindedKleiber-Concertgebouwand digitalKarajan-Berlinrecordings of theEroica. Clarity, however, is often sacrificed for speed in the Fourth. If Abbado's new Fifth lacks the elemental thrust and surging bass line distinguishingCarlos Kleiber's and Gunter Wand's powerful readings, one hears important lines that often get lost in the mix, such as the cellos' countermelody underneath the finale's second theme.The remaining symphonies boast reams of prodigious, effortless orchestral execution, but they often fall short in dynamic thrust, dramatic momentum, and even humor when appropriate. The finale of the Seventh, for instance, goes too fast for the swirling music to really take shape, and ditto for the wacky last movement of the Eighth. Abaddo'sexcellent live Berlin Ninth on Sonyis hardly superseded by the present lightweight, ill-balanced traversal, although Thomas Quasthoff's riveting declamation in the finale is gorgeous and meaningful. DG's excellent packaging includes an interview with the conductor and informative annotations. All told, an uneven cycle as a whole, but its finest moments easily stand among the best modern Beethoven symphony recordings.--Jed Distler