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First a little background: I'm not a classical music expert- I grew up on rock and roll and now that I'm getting older I decided to expand my classical music horizons. I have around 30 classical music CDs, maybe more, but consider myself very much a classical music newcomer. I bought my "NPR Guide to Building a Classical Music Collection"The NPR Guide to Building a Classical CD Collection : The 350 Essential Works and so it began.
Of course in exploring classical music it doesn't take long before you begin listening to Beethoven. So, going from the prevailing authority, it was either Kleiber or Karajan- perhaps Toscanini, Szell or Furtwängler or Bernstein, depending on the symphony. I went with Kleiber and bought Beethoven Symphonies 5 & 7 in SACD. Listened to it a couple times, then again, but could not discover what made this recording so great, frankly.
First, classical music- and symphonies in particular it seems to me- suffer most from poor sound quality. Recordings, even re-mastered in SACD, suffer the same fate as all music recorded in the 70s or earlier- the sound quality is muddy and lacking in detail, crispness and definition. There is no such thing- and never will be unfortunately- as high definition music recorded more than 20 years ago. That great classical performance recordings suffer from poor sound quality is nothing new, and is why there are more classical re-masterings than any other music genre. But, the remastering is always based on the original muddy recording that probably only captured about 75% of the sound anyway. The remastering into SACD or other forms simply helps remove some of the muddiness, but thats about it. It can't bring back what was lost in the original recording, no matter how state-of-the-art the recording equipment was back then, or how good the re-mastering equipment is today. I think the inferior sound quality isn't as noticable (its still there of course) in some other classical works- Rubenstein's Chopin works on the Living Stereo SACDs have pretty good sound quality, for example- not to mention excellent performances.
OK, the recording sound quality is not Kleiber's fault, nor the Vienna Philharmonic's. Not even the recording engineer's- they did the best with what they had. But to my ears, Kleiber's 5th performance lacks energy and vitality. Combined with the muddy sound quality (even in SACD) the recording seems very lackluster. Now, to any respected classical music authority, these comments are a heresy and obviously demonstrate I don't know what I'm talking about. But I make them not only because I believe them, but because I believe there are a lot of people out there who might like to get into classical music and perhaps have started as I did but basically dropped it thinking, "if this is the best out there, then I guess I don't like classical music that much." Of course there are other versions out there- Bernstein's is more appealing to younger ears I think, and Furtwangler's seems like it could be appealing, but a 40s recording in mono, no matter how well it's remastered, ain't gonna sound too great. If you were there for the performance, it may have been the best ever. But if you weren't, the recording is a dim reflection of the event. It is these types performances that, while critically outstanding, the sound quality is poor, and, in some cases, seem rather lacking in energy and vitality. Some argue there is more emotion in Kleiber's or other recordings than Vanska's, but I didn't find this to be the case. You can have a fast tempo that still lacks energy, or a slow one that is riviting with vitality. But I think modern ears prefer the energetic, dramatic performances that some of the most critically acclaimed lack- in some cases due to performance but also because it was lost in muddy sound quality. These recordings leave many classical newcomers heading for the exits, continuing the long decline of the classical music world audience.
Which brings me to Osmo Vanska and the Minnesota Orchestra's cycle of Beethoven Symphonies. I think if you are just getting into classical music, and want an excellent, energetic, modern performance of Beethoven's symphonies, with excellent sound quality, then this is where to start. The drama and energy of the performances, combined with the superior sound quality, leave all the top critical picks for Beethoven's 5th and other symphonies lacking. Period. I never thought Beethoven could sound this good. Forget the prevailing authorities, these are comments on a by-gone era of classical music that doesn't listen so well to younger, more modern audiences. This is unfair for many excellent performances- particularly where sound quality is the chief distraction- but it remains true that poor sound quality can- and does- reduce listening pleasure. If you like listening to classical music symphonies with all the instrumental detail, depth and definition of sound, you will always be somewhat disappointed with older recordings, no matter how many times they have been remastered. Listen to the Kleiber recording right after Vanska, and you'll know what I mean. Perhaps you will find more emotion, but more likely a poorer recording.
I hope Vanska's modern, energetic, performances and superior sound quality will be repeated in other great classical works that help bring in new listeners to classical music and help stem the tide of decline. In that sense, it is just what the classical music world needs. I also hope classical music recordings in (lossless) Dolby True HD become the norm and Vanska's performances can be released in that format as well in the future. If you've heard a musical recording in Dolby True HD, it IS being there- its that good.
Some reviews...
The very first installment, released in December 2004, caused the reviewer in International Record Review to state that "Vanska's Beethoven looks set to be a front-runner among the historically unprejudiced cycles now available." After that each new release in Osmo Vanska's cycle of Beethoven's symphonies with the Minnesota Orchestra has been treated as an occasion in the international music press; reviewers one by one discovering 'one of the finest performances of the Funeral March ever recorded', 'a Pastoral of uncommon beauty', 'an Eighth of reference quality' and a Ninth to 'rank alongside the finest of any era'. The fifth and final disc - with a 'Seventh that just may top them all' according to one review - was released in 2008, and caused reviewers to start doing their sums. Among representative comments are the following: 'a Beethoven cycle that stands with Barenboim's as a modern reference edition' ([...]), 'a Beethoven reforged for today's world' (Gramophone), and 'a magnificent traversal that seems very much of and for our time' (American Record Guide).
A constantly praised feature of the series has been the sound quality, in both stereo and surround sound formats. About the first disc the reviewer on website [...] remarked that 'one can hardly hope to hear such a many-layered sound until the next BIS release of Beethoven's Symphonies - except for in concert', while his colleague on [...] described the final installment as having 'brilliantly engineered, utterly natural sonics in all formats'. The review in Fanfare sums it up: 'Vanska's is the preferred SACD traversal, and one of the most desirable in any format.' Some of the greatest music ever, in electrifying performances and state-of-the-art recordings, is now available as a boxed set in full SACD / Surround Sound glory. It includes comprehensive liner notes by Beethoven expert Barry Cooper.
For more extensive and authoritative comments on the performances, I also recommend the review of this product titled, The Best of Our Time? Definitely Outstanding, January 29, 2010 By T. Carlsen, for excerpts of reviews from those how know more about classical music than I'll ever know, and give some credibility to this little known conductor and orchestra for the excellent, modern performance and recording of Beethoven's symphonies.
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