With an expansive repertoire, Abbado easily shifts between works from a variety of periods, from Romantic to Classical. On Beethoven: Symphonie no 6, etc, he lifts his baton in the direction of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, leading them through several movements by one of Western culture's most beloved composers. With this recording, Abbado adds to his growing reputation as one of the most talented, versatile interpreters of orchestral music.
Regarding Beethoven's symphonies, of course the 5th and the 3rd are exceptional; the 7th, 8th, and 4th all have their charms; needless to say, the 9th is certainly one of the greatest works of human civilization; and ultimately, I urge that the 6th immediately follows the 9th in aesthetic excellence: idea and expression have rarely been more finely synthesized.Abbado's leisurely reading of the 6th is delightfully bucolic; more akin to Bohm's noble stride than to Karajan's brisk romp--and after all, nobody c..
I agree with the previous reviewer. This is one of the finest sixth symphony recordings. Hurwitz considers Abbado tepid here, but I feel he is wrong. I know this a minority opinion, but I believe the first set of Beethoven Symphonies by Abbado far superior to the latest ones, which are too perky....tempi too quick. Beethoven needs space and time to let his harmonic waves wash over you. Only Bruno Walter and Abbado, to my ear, have understood his internal tempi as related to his harmonic rhythm.(If you ..
Does this guy ever offer any real insight? It seems like he is a pretty closed-minded evaluator of music. He consistently lauds Bernstein's good-but-not-great Vienna cycle, and yet he bashes Karajan's interpretations as well as Abbado's. First of all, Karajan had made numerous well-regarded performances of Beethoven, and after scanning Mr. Hurwitz' reviews, I've noticed he is just plain biased against him. Likewise, Abbado's set from the 1980's is the closest in sound and performance to that of the old guar..
