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Herbert von Karajan's 1977 Deutsche Grammophon cycle of the Beethoven Symphonies with the Berlin Philharmonic has been reissued on the popular budget price Eloquence label.
This special jubilee edition, issued to mark the maestro's centenary, has been newly remastered with special AMSI surround sound in a 6CD capbox set. While a further reissue of the cycle is imminent as part of DG's 'Karajan Symphony Edition' this attractive Eloquence box will nicely suffice for the interim.
Given the critical and commercial success of Karajan's famous 1963 Beethoven set - which has continued ever since - some questioned the conductor's decision to remake the cycle in the 1970s. Yet the reasoning - as ever - was sound: 1977 was Beethoven Year and competing LP sets from rival conductors like Haitink, Jochum, Kempe and Solti were either in progress or already in the shops. Furthermore, the quadrophonic craze was at its height and Karajan wanted to be the first with a surround sound set of the Nine.
Attitudes at DG headquarters finally decided matters when it became clear that EMI was after a stereo Karajan/Beethoven box of their own. Initially content to ride with the '63 set, DG were obliged to remake the cycle with Karajan if only to head 'Nipper' off at at pass.
The gamble worked. Released as an integral LP box set in the autumn of 1977 - minus quadrophonics - the new DG cycle became an instant bestseller, with both the box set and separate LP pressings acquiring top recommendation status. Indeed, the success of the cycle persisted way beyond the arrival of CD and Karajan's own digital remakes from the mid-1980s, which never attained the same kudos. In fact, it took the CD appearance of the '63 survey in the 1990s to finally overtop the cycle of '77, which reappeared on DG's long-running 'Galleria' series.
Now, having perhaps tired of so many reissues of the '63 set, attention has now turned back to the '77 one, which ironically now appears in a CD version of quadrophony. While it's true that Karajan supplanted his original DG set for marketing purposes, on a musical level the new performances were often quite different.
The main change involved Karajan's approach to Beethoven's controversial metronome marks, which often call for much faster tempos than most conductors normally apply. While many, like Solti, tended to go in for weighty utterance in the manner of Furtwangler or Klemperer, Karajan tried for a more literal, athletic approach - albeit from the orbit of Toscanini. This shows up to startling effect in the 'Eroica', especially in the first movement which - for the time - is unusually fast. Even some 'Period' performances of the work sound a bit sluggish by comparison!
Elsewhere, playing and recording quality on the '77 set also differs from Karajan's '63 original: Sharper ensemble, richer tone colouring and heightened dynamic contrast distinquish the orchestral sound while the drier, cleaner acoustic of the Berlin Philharmonie brings added immediacy to the performances.
The famous Fifth Symphony benefits enormously from this approach, as weight and agility are applied with an even hand. Similarly, the Ninth emerges as a more flexible, spontaneous interpretation, with keener balancing between orchestra and voices in the concluding 'Ode to Joy'.
Similarly the 'Pastoral' symphony, never one of Karajan's favourite works, flows by at a more natural, flowing pace, without the hard-driven aspect of its hastily assembled predecessor. There's more space around the notes in the first, second and fourth symphonies too; the golden tone quality of the Berlin Philharmonic impressing in the long and tricky introductions.
The Seventh Symphony is also a more alert- sounding performance than before albeit with extra breadth and long-term structural control in the slow movement - a quality also found in the 'March Funerbre' of the new 'Eroica' which is, for all the extra intensity, more epic in style.
Couplings in this new Eloquence set are the same as on the 'Galleria' CD originals: 1&4, 2&7 and 5&8 while the Ninth stands on its own. The 'Eroica' and the 'Pastoral' are each paired up with assorted Beethoven overtures Karajan recorded in the late 1960s. It's not ideal, given that most Beethoven CD sets tend to put the Symphonies in numerical order these days, but given the low asking price of the box, it's a minor quibble.
It's certainly good to have Karajan's 1977 Beethoven Symphony cycle available for a more modest outlay and given that it now undercuts the capbox DG 'Collectors Edition' of of the '63 set, this timely Eloquence edition is well-worth considering. However, this is only available in Austria and Germany, so collectors elsewhere are advised to buy on-line or wait for the pricier 'Symphony Edition' box in the autumn.
Robert Kenchington.
Photo: Karajan montage by Siegfried Lauterwasser/DG
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