[f_minor] third beethoven

[maryellen jensen]

Enjoyable message Michael, thanks. Here's a little article on Karajan which I came across just today:

http://www.economist.com/node/21562182

Mary



Date: Thu, 13 Sep 2012 16:58:22 -0700
From: mmacelletti at sbcglobal.net
To: f_minor at glenngould.org; gmadoodat at hotmail.com
Subject: [f_minor] third beethoven

today my long awaited beethoven third, karajan berlin- gould arrived. so, i said to myself, here we go. another third.  who hasn't played it. who can't play it ?  it really isn't hard except for the two sticky wick coordination problems with orchestra in the third mmt.  i couldn't wait to hear it.   i can say that it can easily be described as a great recording of the century ( or three  !  ), with reservations.     the opening, with the berlin and karajan, was incredible. everything you remember about the symphonies and overtures with berlin was here.  full orchestral sound,  authoritative tempos, just total majesty.  certainly an accompaniment ( if i may use the word lightly )  for a soloist to fall into. and gould used it
 well.  he has never played better with an orchestra. boldness, accuracy, joy of music making, it was all here. the repartee was inspired. ( although i think karajan had more to do with that) . the first mmt cadenza went off without a hitch, as did everything . speeds were a bit brisk for gould. i thing he was complying with the maestro like he never did before. the second mmt was just all right . too fast to make me cry, like it usually does.  third mmt, again very brisk. spot on accuracy . not a wrong note in the performance . ( well, maybe one or two. i was making chile at the time. )   i can't imagine anybody playing it better,  in this world. exciting to an extreme. on a par with the horowitz-toscanini tschaikowsky first at carnegie. a performance to sell war bonds in the forties. so you might say,    what's not to like ?  and i would say, not much. except i had to put on a mozart string quartet for emotional
 relief right after listening to this truly " great recording of the century ".  i just couldn't take the tension  it created without turning to humanity's balm as soon as possible. 



 		 	   		  
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