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US Mall 1 - Ode to Freedom: Bernstein Conducts Beethoven's Ninth Symphony in Berlin
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List Price: $16.98
Our Price: $9.81
Your Save: $ 7.17 ( 42% )
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Deutsche Grammophon
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Binding: Audio CD
EAN: 0028942986121
Label: Deutsche Grammophon
Manufacturer: Deutsche Grammophon
Number Of Discs: 1
Publisher: Deutsche Grammophon
Release Date: 1990-03-01
Studio: Deutsche Grammophon
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: Who let this old fart conduct this masterpiece?
Comment: I know who let him conduct it! Those greedy DG music executives, that's who, hoping to make a quick killing with the release of this sludge of a performance. The fall of the Berlin Wall was an event of great significance and to commemorate the occasion, DG gets the most famous living conductor in the world to conduct one of the greatest and most famous works of music in history, Beethoven's 9th Symphony! They even changed the word joy to the word freedom in the finale! This had the makings of something truly special but unfortunately it falls short of even the most mediocre expectations.
Herbert von Karajan died not too long before the Berlin Wall fell and if he was still alive, it would undoubtedly be Karajan conducting on this recording, not Bernstein. Karajan became an old man physically in his final years, but his musicmaking never surrendered to his age. Karajan's last decade of performances was just as vigorous and intense as in the good, old days. Bernstein on the other hand, really did become an old man, physically and musically. His tempos became messy and lethargic, everything was elongated, ponderous and many times vapid. Don't think I'm wanting in respect to Bernstein, I think he was great when he was young, never on the level of Toscanini, Furtwangler, Karajan, but great nonetheless. Even in his final years, Lenny could turn out a gem like Shostakovich's Leningrad Symphony with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra but more and more Bernstein became the hack, the slow, painful hack. Listen to the infamous Tchaikovsky 6th from the final Bernstein years, it's a joke!
Returning to this Beethoven 9th, it is just as much of a joke as that Tchaikovsky 6th. The first movement is nearly 18 minutes long, limp and slow without any of the apocalyptic climaxes that you have to deliver if you're going to take such a spacious tempo. The scherzo is better, one short repeat is skipped and the movement is palatable. The adagio is awful, 20 minutes long and without any spiritual tension at all. Furtwangler's famous wartime 9th also has a 20 minute adagio but it is phrased and sculpted so beautifully, with such inner intensity that it overwhelms you and tears are not uncommon upon hearing it's magnificence. Bernstein on the other hand puts you to sleep. It's nap time.
The finale, can Bernstein pull it off? Did he ever? This might come as a shock to some but as great a conductor as Bernstein was, he never recorded a great version of the 9th Symphony. I repeat, never! Not with the NYPO, not in Vienna and certainly not here in Berlin with this hastily put together concoction of musicians from various orchestras. Bernstein could succeed with the initial three movements, back in NY and in Vienna with the VPO, but the finale always eluded him. He schmaltzed it up every up, he made it disjointed, episodic and nearly incoherent as on this "Ode to Freedom" CD. It becomes not joy, not freedom but instead, a hapless, lethargic mess. The whole thing seems like a funeral and proceeds for nearly 29 minutes! Karl Bohm's final digital version on DG was also that slow but felt somewhat more alive what with the great orchestra and chorus. Bernstein doesn't even have that.
Please, whatever you do, don't listen to this nightmare and conclude that this is Beethoven's 9th. It's not. If you want to hear the 9th, there is Furtwangler, Karajan, Toscanini, Solti, Wand, whomever, but not this Bernstein, it's possibly the worst ever! I'm not exaggerating, it's just as egregious as Roger Norrington's infamous London Classical Players recording, except for totally different reasons. Norrington is the worst of the period-instrument, fast paced, clipped readings and this Bernstein is the worst of the traditional, big orchestra versions.
If you just love Bernstein and want to hear him in Beethoven's 9th Symphony, go buy his earlier versions, one from the late 1970's with the Vienna Philharmonic and one with the New York Philharmonic from the 1960's. Those versions are average but even average is far superior to this epic mess called "Ode to Freedom". Please free yourself from this recording, it's only good as a bad joke!
Customer Rating:
Summary: I will only listen to this work in private
Comment: For years, when I listened to the 9th, I would play the 1st and 2nd movements
and then skip to the finale. I enjoy crisp, energetic and powerful music and
the 9th has it in unsurpassed measure. And this rendition provides just that.
I haven't listened to all the great performances of the 9th, but I've listened
to quite a few, and this is my favorite. This is the version I compare all the
subsequent ones I've listened to. I've heard better 4th mvts., but this one is
very near to the best. The first two movts. are done competantly and do not
disappoint. If the skills of the orchestra and recording quality were to be the
same....the time alotted the conductor, that he has to rehearse a work with
his players, determines it's ultimate success. I believe that Bernstein had a
good amount of time to communicate his interpretation to this orchestra.
And Lord knows there was high motivation by all concerned in the project.
Bernstein's interpretation of Beethoven's 3rd movt., the adagio molto e
cantabile, is by far the finest I've ever experienced. The emotional
groundwork is laid and the peak and resolution are sublime.
I know I'm going to fight back the tears, if I'm allowed to
listen this 3rd movt without distraction. If you ever get the opportunity
to purchase the video tape of this concert, do by all means buy it.
Oddly, the audio recording, alone, does not contain the full emotional
impact of the performance. However the audio CD is a "must have".
But, the full effect of the live performance in the video tape with
both audio and visual is truly magnificant. I'm not going
to attempt to describe it here. Why it's not reprinted for more to
experience is a sad business. People don't know what they're missing.
I allow myself to view my copy but seldom. I dare not watch it too
many times.
Customer Rating:
Summary: The longest running commercial
Comment: But one would rather watch the Milk commerical, at least it markets some real stuff and doesn't take 70+ labored minutes. The coalition of the willing was undoubtedly doing a heck of a job in fending off the competition from various common village bands, and the commander-in-chief barely held its members together. Despite all the Freiheit, it is a freudlos performance.
Customer Rating:
Summary: A sloppy, heaartfelt performance from a great occasion
Comment: This best-selling Beethoven Ninth, with new lyrics for the Schiller poem in the finale, has sold by the millions, I'm sure. The fall of the Berlin wall called for such a grand coming together of musicians form all over Europe, but in musical terms this isn't good Beeethoven. Bernstein wrenches every note to grab as much drama as possible out of it, and there is nothing left of real, unvarnished Beethoven. I owuld only buy this CD as a histroical memento at this late date.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Ode to lethargy
Comment: What a tub of lard! I don't see how anyone could listen to this record with pleasure. It is an assault on all which faithful musicians and composers hold dear to them. Just take a look at the score while you're listening to this music, and you'll see my point. For starters, this is one of the longest performances of Beethoven's 9th on record. The first movement is 18 minutes long, and the 2nd almost 11 with a repeat omitted. Then comes the real meat. The third movement is 20 minutes long. Bernstein takes this literally at half tempo, as he always does with important adagio movements that have "much to exploit." And then comes the big finale - 28 and a half minutes. All told - a 78 minute long symphony. Average performances clock in at about 70 minutes; faster performances which follow Beethoven's metronome markings are about 60 minutes long. So, Bernstein was "just a little slow", eh? Sure. Two minutes longer and Deutsche Grammophon would've had to market this performance using two CDs. (And what a pity for them. They would have made a killing off of it for sure.)
That's just the tip of the iceburg. Rhythmic intensity and accuracy are thrown completely out the window. Bernstein's pickup orchestra, the best musicians from the best orchestras in the world, lose their footing because they are not used to beating Beethoven about the head as Bernstein has them do here. There are numerous mistakes - some are noticeable, some are more hidden. These folks do not play as an ensemble, and who would expect them to, with all the different styles present? One might expect that Bernstein, faced with this dilemma, might be sensible enough to give them some direction as to how to articulate similarly - or at all for that matter. Not the case here. He just trusts that everyone will understand how things run under his baton, and the result is sloppiness and dull music-making. The harmonic progressions are lost amidst a sea of angry robotic ostinatos. There is no shape or balance to the music. The poetry is gone. Bernstein gesticulates and says, "Here you go, be inspired," but they don't know how. On the rare occasion that a bit of unique and interesting music is made, it is completely out of context and of a character not suited to this symphony.
Another side effect of lousy direction is one of the most complete structural collapses in the history of the 9th. Bernstein's failure to acknowledge this symphony as more than just a bunch of extended episodes wreaks havoc on the musicality. There is no forward drive, no anticipation of the next musical idea that blooms from the previous one. There is no continuity. The fire just dies, even in the parts that are dramatic. "Oh, but wait!" the other reviewers say. "There is much fire in these performances! Just listen to the climaxes!" The climaxes are as bland as the rest of the performance, and they only appear to be intense because Bernstein incites the musicians to play extremely loudly. A string quartet could play with more intensity than this lost group. Bernstein doesn't stoke up the fire, but instead sears us in the back with a hot branding iron.
This performance can be summed up as being retrograde. Instead of setting free emotions and thoughts of joy, this performance inhibits them. I'm not sure how the Berlin audience could get through this performance without crying from sheer boredom and irritation. The listener will see no joy here, only a languid, aggravating and oppressive mish-mash of bad technique, and bad interpretation. You may certainly buy this because of the occasion, but what is the point of celebrating if the music won't even let you do that? Don't waste your time on this.
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