The cats think that you have gone over the edge when you sit there, staring off in one direction, talking to people who aren't even there. They try to bring you back into the world of reality by bringing you toys. Obviously, they care about you very much.
There was absolutely no doubt in my mind Dave you'd go for the Fricsay version. As soon this video hit, before playing it, I even decided it's time for a shirt and tie. My lady friend immediately asked "Who died?" :) Whenever I hear Fricsay conducting the slow movement, I can't help but imagine this must be what Heaven sounds like. Thanks Dave for spreading the word about this once in a lifetime, life enhancing recording.
I'm glad you mentioned the Kubrick connection. "Clockwork," which I saw long before I was supposed to, offers a close-up of the cassette tape in Alex's collection. "Who's Ferenc Fricsay?" I wondered. For some reason, the official soundtrack album included bits from Karajan '63, not the Fricsay. Folks who sold classical records (I lived in L.A.) told me that Fricsay's recording was gone, gone, gone: "But here's one by Karajan!" Like it or not, the HVK was considered the reference recording at that time -- if, by "reference," one means "inescapable."
Just downloaded this Fricsay Beethoven 9th and I completely agree with you. It is the best! I have been always enamored with Munch/Boston and the digital (yes thats the 80s) Karajan Beethoven 9th. Thanks for mentioning this one. I always dismissed Fricsay as a mono mainly artist and just breeze by him. I know you have talked about other Fricsay recordings and am now looking forward to hearing them. If I remember right, I think you did a review on a Fricsay box. Just goes to show you when you get 70 like me there is still something new to learn and be thrilled by. Thanks for the great info on this one!!
Every year I blast this on my stereo like my life depends on it it’s absolutely glorious. You have to have a serious problem not to love this recording.
Fricsay’s version has been my favorite since I first heard it in the late 70s. The vocal performances in particular stand out to me. I hear things in the chorus that I don’t hear in other recordings (e.g., a cascading down in thirds in the last few bars of the final section - very difficult to sing!). The solo performances too are my reference for all other recordings of the 9th, especially Fischer-Dieskau. Thank you for choosing this as your reference performance of the 9th! I wholeheartedly agree!
Thank you so much David.Immediately after this video I found the Fricsay Ninth on RUclips and it was like hearing this symphony for the first time.Hard to believe,but I never realized how beautiful it could sound.What a performance!Beethoven laid before us a vision of a better world,but we are utterly failing.
Fricsay's 9th was the first classical piece I bought when I was a teenager, a 3$ cassette in a used record store. I didn't know anything about orchestras and conductors at the time, I just took a chance with that one. Countless recordings after, it's still one of my favorite.
I am really liking this series. Sometimes I know and have the reference. But there are times, like here, where I don't, despite being some form of musician and classical music afficionado for almost four decades. What a knockout performance this is! I'm going to have to listen again and soak it in. On a first listen, I was very pleased with the considered dynamic range throughout the work, the tempi choices in the finale, and the clarity of the vocal/choral parts in the finale. Thank you! (Maag's Mendelssohn 3rd was another big discovery for me in this series; fantastic recording.)
Very interesting post and I listened to the recording on RUclips after watching it. It's a wonderful performance and the vocal quartet can't be topped. I've heard so many performances and recordings of the 9th that I don't have a reference recording. I have noted that when I hear it in concert, one thing comes across that I never hear on recordings: When the chorus comes in, the finale sounds bigger and more impressive than what went before. No surprise. A lot more performers suddenly start. Recording processes seem to adjust that effect out. I have to say about the Fricsay that my personal preference is for a slightly faster first and third movements, but he certainly brings out the grandeur in the work. Footnote: I was surprised to read, in the little book I have about the 9th, that even after the two premiere performances, Beethoven still waffled a bit about withdrawing the finale and writing an instrumental movement. The book's author doesn't speculate, but I think that possibly Beethoven might have been worried that symphony would wind up on the shelf because of the extra forces needed. Wouldn't he be surprised (and, no doubt, delighted) at what happened after his death!
The Fricsay was my first Beethoven 9th, an LP I got as a Christmas gift in 1980. I'd like to thank my Aunt Ann and Uncle Gene for making such a good choice.
I wasn't aware that Furtwängler's 1944 "Nazi" 9th was the recording his fans talked about the most. I thought it would be the 1951 Bayreuth performance. It always seems to come up in "Best 9th" lists - except here, of course.
We had an amazing professor in college named Mildred (may she rest in peace), beloved by all, but one day the students had to apologetically give her the award for looking the most like Beethoven. Her hair looked, well, like Beethoven's. She loved cats and would have loved this video.
Great choice! I was just listening to this just recently and was so impressed! I think the last movement is especially great because of its rhythmic verve. However the first move reminds me of some aspects of Furtwangler’s but it’s maybe actually quite a lot better (????).
Growing up, I never heard this. It was never talked about amongst anyone I knew. I never heard it on the radio either. So I'm just going to have to take Dave's word for it.
So much to marvel at in this recording. In the Scherzo Friscay brings out the savage/insistent horn syncopations (0:23-0;28) like no other recording i know. It's inaudible (all i can hear is a pedal note) in the Karajan for instance.
For me, it was always Bernstein in this work, whether with the NYPO or the VPO - take your pick. And you have as transcendental a quality in that slow movement as you could ask for. I completely dismiss the idea of original metronome markings for that movement. Beethoven might not have realized what he had there r, but the late 19th century conductors, possibly influenced by Wagner, saw something in that music, possibly by hindsight, and a whole generation of conductors, starting with Bulow, demonstrated to us that which many of us have continued to love to this day.
I am new to your channel and I love music, especially classical and am now listening to your Fricsay recommendation. Wow, that glorious 50's sound, now in Ultra HD (thanks Amazon Music Unlimited). My "reference" Ninth is an EMI recording, conducted by Roger Norrington and the London Classical Players, on original instruments, done as it would have been heard when it premiered. I bought this by chance and I love this interpretation as well. Raw, gritty, passionate. Your video made my day because I never knew about this awesome recording. Never been a fan of Karajan. I wonder how Carlos Kleiber would have handled the Ninth. To quote Alex - "it had been a wonderful evening and now to give it the perfect ending was a bit of the old Ludwig Van."
Norrington's is not done as it would have been done in Beethoven's day. There is no evidence of that whatsoever. Of course, feel free to enjoy the performance (I find it dreadful), but don't be fooled by the authenticity cult.
Thank you for your response. As a scholar, I certainly respect your opinion. "Dreadful," is pretty strong. LOL! When I bought the cd it was sold as an original performance. I have the Christopher Hogwood Beethoven 3, 4 & 5 also on original instruments. I like the raw, gritty sound of those performances as well. There is another channel Pearl Acoustics, that does in depth analysis of recordings, and recently did Beethoven's 3rd. Mr Lovegrove, the host, a recording engineer, did not care for the Hogwood either. Why didn't Kleiber record the 3rd and 9th, because I like the sound and interpretation of the 5th and 7th? Thank you for recommending the Fricsay. I listened to his whole Ninth, after watching your talk. It had been a while. I love the sound of 1950's and 1960's stereo, especially the RCA Living Stereo and Mercury Living Presence recordings. @@DavesClassicalGuide
I am listening to my Fricsay, my new reference Beethoven 9 now. It is incomparable. But just as an aside, I listened to a recording I found and have not played since the 1990's - Benjamin Zander's fast speed Beethoven 9 with the Boston Philharmonic. It has to be the most horrid 9th in my entire collection.
Still available online at Idagio and Qobuz in the "DG Originals" guise, but I also found it on Qobuz along with the 3rd, 5th, and 7th on something called "Classical Music Reference Recording" ... a scavenger label, I assume, but it sounds very good indeed.
Hey Dave, a bit late but.. I wonder what your opinion is on how conductors do the last part of the coda of the ninth( 👔). For me personally, I’m always bothered if they do the last exclamation of “Götterfunken!” In a dotted- eight note rhythm instead of the more usual, slow 4th note beats.. A bit nitpicky I know, but that small detail is pretty important to me haha
I think Wand is probably one of the most satisfactory conductors, most of his works are like 9 or 9.5 out of 10, but when I look for reference recordings I never go to Wand as I always want that perfection. I go for Klemperer or Monteux and Szell for Beethoven.
The booklet notes in the "Originals" edition are particularly interesting (information on the sessions and lots about Fricsay). Well worth a read, although I'm a physical copy/booklet addict, so YMMV.
I have two different performances of the 9th with Wand. The one included in the box set and an earlier stereo recording on LP. Label Musicdisc. I'm fairly certain this was also released on Testament. This is with the cologne orchestra with different soloists in the last movement.
Cluytens, probably recording the second stereo Berlin Beethoven IX, also in the late 50's, did use the same choir. Edit: I found pictures of a CfP vinyl copy of the Cluytens with (p)1958, so the two recording must be made within only a few months of each other.
I have several recordings of The Nineth, but since I am not a musician a lot of nuances go right by me. Like many people, I assumed that the reference recording was one of Karajan's - but which one? As a result, my favorite recording has always been Reiner's CSO recording on RCA (the butterfly). I understand there is something wrong with that CD, but I'll be darn if I know what it is. Nevertheless, I discovered this recording (Fricsay) only recently (late 2023). Now, I have to agree, it has become my favorite. Thanks Dave - for all the great information.
My first classical cd ever was a "nice price" 9th conducted by Ormandy. I loved it (I was 14). Later I bought a Telarc cd (don't even remember the orchestra) and hated it. I don't know if it really was a lesser performance or if my inexperienced ears weren't prepared for the differences from the Ormandy that I knew. Now I listen to Wand and I also have Abbado.
On New Year's Eve of 1999 my roommate asked me to play something for him that would signify the importance of the millennial change. I chose Beethoven's 9th, and he cried through the entire thing. I'm hoping you'll expand this reference series to include complete opera recordings.
@@DavesClassicalGuide Indeed, no turntable. But it seems it was a mini-cassette and that this format is not interchangeable with micro-cassette. I only knew these things from speech recording, didn't know they were ever used for selling music.
What gets me is that DG absolutely knew what good recordings sounded like -- and this Fricsay performance is undeniable evidence of that. So what happened?
I am very excited to listen to this recording. Thank you for bringing it to my attention. The plethora of recordings of this masterpiece left by Toscanini leaves me rather overwhelmed; do you have a personal favorite? I am drawn to the 1938 recording, as it features wonderful soloists; but your thoughts would be appreciated.
I love orange cats....have you ever heard Bernard Herrmann's Phase 4 Stereo recordings? They've been repackaged several times over the the years. I think they're just about as good as it gets, for any era, and possess some of the most realistic and life-like orchestral textures ever recorded. I'd be intrigued to hear a review good or bad on the Herrmann Phase 4's.
That would have been my personal choice and when it was issued 70 years ago it was clearly the reference. Almost certainly, it was the best selling (non crossover) classical album of the 50s until stereo came in. But I just can't get on with his view of the first movement. The fury and rage are there but not, alas, the maestoso. But the best scherzo, with all repeats, a sublime classically pure slow movement (not too slow) and an unsurpassed, beautifully integrated finale. However, I acquired the Fricsay with his complete DG box, and I'd certainly put it near the summit of some 40 or so NINTHs I own. My one gripe is that Fischer-Dieskau sounds barky and inflated in his opening solo. (He also ignorantly ignores the appoggiatura at the end of the recit which Toscanini makes sure Norman Scott sings, but that's just my Beckmesserish bete noire.)
My cat, Buddy, turns into a thorn bush if I try to pick him up. I understand about Mildred. P.S. I never heard of the Wand 9th and I will listen to it shortly! P.P.S. When I was a kid (14-17) the 9th would put me into an altered state. Seriously. The recording in question was Furtwangler's Bayreuth 1950 performance.
Wand and the NDR is a great recording. I bought the cycle on Dave’s recommendation. What I find so interesting is the consistency Wand manages to maintain movement to movement and symphony to symphony.
The recording, which made an impression on me is the Bernstein/Vienna/DG one. Especially the singing in the last movement is outstanding, it's flexible and expressive. The recording I grew up with is the Karajan/Berlin/DG from 1963 and it must say I don't like it too much years later, it sounds unyielding and strict. I think the triumph of the last movement isn't conveyed properly there. 1977 version is better, but it resembles the predecessor in its conception, 4th movement isn't joyful enough.
When I was growing up in Boston in the 50s the choice for the Beethoven's 9th among my musical friends was between Toscanini and Walter. A quote I heard attributed to Toscanini, but might have been by somebody else, was that "when Walter comes to something beautiful, he melts." Didn't Robert Shaw get his start by being Toscanini's chorus director for the 9th?
@@bbailey7818Thanks. My introduction to Robert Shaw, though I had no idea that it meant anything at the time, was his early 78 RPM spoken version of "The House at Pooh Corner." Lovely, simple, welcoming to his children. Still available on RUclips.
Dave, is possible to consider Germaine Thyssens-Valentin as a historic new reference for Faure piano works? She was rediscovered with the Testament reissue (2006) of her Ducretet-Thomson recordings (1956-1959).
I mention Beethoven’s 9th without being suitably accoutered all the time. Am I going to hell where you hear the 9th on repeat conducted by Currentzis on period instruments with one violin to a part?
I receive a big charge out of Toscanini. He requires his string players to attack the score: 1, 2, and 4, and play 3 with deep feeling. His tempos are swift. My reference Toscanini 9th is his 1948 NBC television reading that was recorded on FM sound. It's here on YT and I placed it in my sound files.
The cats think that you have gone over the edge when you sit there, staring off in one direction, talking to people who aren't even there. They try to bring you back into the world of reality by bringing you toys. Obviously, they care about you very much.
There was absolutely no doubt in my mind Dave you'd go for the Fricsay version. As soon this video hit, before playing it, I even decided it's time for a shirt and tie. My lady friend immediately asked "Who died?" :) Whenever I hear Fricsay conducting the slow movement, I can't help but imagine this must be what Heaven sounds like. Thanks Dave for spreading the word about this once in a lifetime, life enhancing recording.
I'm glad you mentioned the Kubrick connection. "Clockwork," which I saw long before I was supposed to, offers a close-up of the cassette tape in Alex's collection. "Who's Ferenc Fricsay?" I wondered. For some reason, the official soundtrack album included bits from Karajan '63, not the Fricsay. Folks who sold classical records (I lived in L.A.) told me that Fricsay's recording was gone, gone, gone: "But here's one by Karajan!" Like it or not, the HVK was considered the reference recording at that time -- if, by "reference," one means "inescapable."
I appreciate you calling this work the greatest orchestral work ever written. Without Beethoven life is not worth living.
I didn't mean it.
Just downloaded this Fricsay Beethoven 9th and I completely agree with you. It is the best! I have been always enamored with Munch/Boston and the digital (yes thats the 80s) Karajan Beethoven 9th. Thanks for mentioning this one. I always dismissed Fricsay as a mono mainly artist and just breeze by him. I know you have talked about other Fricsay recordings and am now looking forward to hearing them. If I remember right, I think you did a review on a Fricsay box. Just goes to show you when you get 70 like me there is still something new to learn and be thrilled by. Thanks for the great info on this one!!
Every year I blast this on my stereo like my life depends on it it’s absolutely glorious. You have to have a serious problem not to love this recording.
YES! I even dressed up for this episode.
Please continue doing the reference recordings videos! I enjoy them very much!
Fricsay’s version has been my favorite since I first heard it in the late 70s. The vocal performances in particular stand out to me. I hear things in the chorus that I don’t hear in other recordings (e.g., a cascading down in thirds in the last few bars of the final section - very difficult to sing!). The solo performances too are my reference for all other recordings of the 9th, especially Fischer-Dieskau. Thank you for choosing this as your reference performance of the 9th! I wholeheartedly agree!
I love seeing your cat Mildred! I used to have a Russian Blue cat named Petrushka and still miss him dearly.
Thank you so much David.Immediately after this video I found the Fricsay Ninth on RUclips and it was like hearing this symphony for the first time.Hard to believe,but I never realized how beautiful it could sound.What a performance!Beethoven laid before us a vision of a better world,but we are utterly failing.
Fricsay's 9th was the first classical piece I bought when I was a teenager, a 3$ cassette in a used record store. I didn't know anything about orchestras and conductors at the time, I just took a chance with that one. Countless recordings after, it's still one of my favorite.
I am really liking this series. Sometimes I know and have the reference. But there are times, like here, where I don't, despite being some form of musician and classical music afficionado for almost four decades. What a knockout performance this is! I'm going to have to listen again and soak it in. On a first listen, I was very pleased with the considered dynamic range throughout the work, the tempi choices in the finale, and the clarity of the vocal/choral parts in the finale. Thank you! (Maag's Mendelssohn 3rd was another big discovery for me in this series; fantastic recording.)
Jason I agree. Amazing series. And also on Maag’s Mendelssohn 3 completely agree with you. These videos are so fun.
Great talk, Dave. I've again learnt something; a recording I had no idea existed. Thank you.
If you choose to acquire it, you're in for an amazing experience.
@@maximisaev6974 It's on my radar.....
Now seems the appropriate moment to thank you for the Wand 9th you mentioned earlier. Such an amazing recording. Will check this one too.
I've thanked Dave for the Wand performance as well. It's the best I've ever heard. If only I could find it on CD to buy. Thank God for streaming.
Ah - the tie! Love the tie 😃
Very interesting post and I listened to the recording on RUclips after watching it. It's a wonderful performance and the vocal quartet can't be topped. I've heard so many performances and recordings of the 9th that I don't have a reference recording. I have noted that when I hear it in concert, one thing comes across that I never hear on recordings: When the chorus comes in, the finale sounds bigger and more impressive than what went before. No surprise. A lot more performers suddenly start. Recording processes seem to adjust that effect out. I have to say about the Fricsay that my personal preference is for a slightly faster first and third movements, but he certainly brings out the grandeur in the work. Footnote: I was surprised to read, in the little book I have about the 9th, that even after the two premiere performances, Beethoven still waffled a bit about withdrawing the finale and writing an instrumental movement. The book's author doesn't speculate, but I think that possibly Beethoven might have been worried that symphony would wind up on the shelf because of the extra forces needed. Wouldn't he be surprised (and, no doubt, delighted) at what happened after his death!
The Fricsay was my first Beethoven 9th, an LP I got as a Christmas gift in 1980. I'd like to thank my Aunt Ann and Uncle Gene for making such a good choice.
Thank you for Mildred's cameo.
I wasn't aware that Furtwängler's 1944 "Nazi" 9th was the recording his fans talked about the most. I thought it would be the 1951 Bayreuth performance. It always seems to come up in "Best 9th" lists - except here, of course.
It's the one they swear by.
We had an amazing professor in college named Mildred (may she rest in peace), beloved by all, but one day the students had to apologetically give her the award for looking the most like Beethoven. Her hair looked, well, like Beethoven's. She loved cats and would have loved this video.
I was surprised by this choice. This has been my favorite since the first time I heard it 15 years ago. Nice to know it's so highly regarded.
Thanks for this series. Very illuminating.
A new 9th to find. For me your recommendation of Wand was a revelation.
Thank you for helping me find this! I always wondered which version this was from an "Art of Listening" class I took, and I recognized the cd cover!
Great choice! I was just listening to this just recently and was so impressed! I think the last movement is especially great because of its rhythmic verve. However the first move reminds me of some aspects of Furtwangler’s but it’s maybe actually quite a lot better (????).
Growing up, I never heard this. It was never talked about amongst anyone I knew. I never heard it on the radio either. So I'm just going to have to take Dave's word for it.
Yes, you are!
Request for a video: can you do a video on Seiji Ozawa Chicago Symphony box? And as always, I love your videos!
So much to marvel at in this recording. In the Scherzo Friscay brings out the savage/insistent horn syncopations (0:23-0;28) like no other recording i know. It's inaudible (all i can hear is a pedal note) in the Karajan for instance.
Szell does, no big surprise there 🙂
and Klemperer, though the effect is very different at a significantly slower tempo.
For me, it was always Bernstein in this work, whether with the NYPO or the VPO - take your pick. And you have as transcendental a quality in that slow movement as you could ask for.
I completely dismiss the idea of original metronome markings for that movement. Beethoven might not have realized what he had there r, but the late 19th century conductors, possibly influenced by Wagner, saw something in that music, possibly by hindsight, and a whole generation of conductors, starting with Bulow, demonstrated to us that which many of us have continued to love to this day.
I am new to your channel and I love music, especially classical and am now listening to your Fricsay recommendation. Wow, that glorious 50's sound, now in Ultra HD (thanks Amazon Music Unlimited). My "reference" Ninth is an EMI recording, conducted by Roger Norrington and the London Classical Players, on original instruments, done as it would have been heard when it premiered. I bought this by chance and I love this interpretation as well. Raw, gritty, passionate. Your video made my day because I never knew about this awesome recording. Never been a fan of Karajan. I wonder how Carlos Kleiber would have handled the Ninth. To quote Alex - "it had been a wonderful evening and now to give it the perfect ending was a bit of the old Ludwig Van."
Norrington's is not done as it would have been done in Beethoven's day. There is no evidence of that whatsoever. Of course, feel free to enjoy the performance (I find it dreadful), but don't be fooled by the authenticity cult.
Thank you for your response. As a scholar, I certainly respect your opinion. "Dreadful," is pretty strong. LOL! When I bought the cd it was sold as an original performance. I have the Christopher Hogwood Beethoven 3, 4 & 5 also on original instruments. I like the raw, gritty sound of those performances as well. There is another channel Pearl Acoustics, that does in depth analysis of recordings, and recently did Beethoven's 3rd. Mr Lovegrove, the host, a recording engineer, did not care for the Hogwood either. Why didn't Kleiber record the 3rd and 9th, because I like the sound and interpretation of the 5th and 7th? Thank you for recommending the Fricsay. I listened to his whole Ninth, after watching your talk. It had been a while. I love the sound of 1950's and 1960's stereo, especially the RCA Living Stereo and Mercury Living Presence recordings. @@DavesClassicalGuide
I am listening to my Fricsay, my new reference Beethoven 9 now. It is incomparable. But just as an aside, I listened to a recording I found and have not played since the 1990's - Benjamin Zander's fast speed Beethoven 9 with the Boston Philharmonic. It has to be the most horrid 9th in my entire collection.
And it's better than his remake! Imagine that!
Still available online at Idagio and Qobuz in the "DG Originals" guise, but I also found it on Qobuz along with the 3rd, 5th, and 7th on something called "Classical Music Reference Recording" ... a scavenger label, I assume, but it sounds very good indeed.
Hey Dave, a bit late but.. I wonder what your opinion is on how conductors do the last part of the coda of the ninth( 👔). For me personally, I’m always bothered if they do the last exclamation of “Götterfunken!” In a dotted- eight note rhythm instead of the more usual, slow 4th note beats.. A bit nitpicky I know, but that small detail is pretty important to me haha
Fricsay
What A magnificent choice
It's not a choice, it's a consensus! That's what Reference recordings are.
Ask Dave, he'll confirm. 😉
Yep.
@@johanhendrix5907 A Magnificent choice to make a consensus
I love Wand’s Beethoven cycle with the NDR.
I think Wand is probably one of the most satisfactory conductors, most of his works are like 9 or 9.5 out of 10, but when I look for reference recordings I never go to Wand as I always want that perfection. I go for Klemperer or Monteux and Szell for Beethoven.
@@MrYoumitube Hard to argue re Szell. I’m enjoying his Tchaikovsky 5 now. It’s typically perfect.
The booklet notes in the "Originals" edition are particularly interesting (information on the sessions and lots about Fricsay). Well worth a read, although I'm a physical copy/booklet addict, so YMMV.
I 100% agree with your opinion.
This is a true reference record.
And you agreed without even having seen the video! Amazing!
@@DavesClassicalGuide I watched the video by fast forwarding 😅
I have two different performances of the 9th with Wand. The one included in the box set and an earlier stereo recording on LP. Label Musicdisc. I'm fairly certain this was also released on Testament. This is with the cologne orchestra with different soloists in the last movement.
Bohm's 9th on DG comes very close to being the reference recording too - and it benefits from better sound, good though the Fricsay is.
It's a wonderful performance.
More importantly, what is Mildred's reference recording of THE NINTH?
Cluytens, probably recording the second stereo Berlin Beethoven IX, also in the late 50's, did use the same choir.
Edit: I found pictures of a CfP vinyl copy of the Cluytens with (p)1958, so the two recording must be made within only a few months of each other.
I have several recordings of The Nineth, but since I am not a musician a lot of nuances go right by me. Like many people, I assumed that the reference recording was one of Karajan's - but which one? As a result, my favorite recording has always been Reiner's CSO recording on RCA (the butterfly). I understand there is something wrong with that CD, but I'll be darn if I know what it is. Nevertheless, I discovered this recording (Fricsay) only recently (late 2023). Now, I have to agree, it has become my favorite. Thanks Dave - for all the great information.
Reiner is wonderful too. No nuances go by you. If you hear the music, you hear the nuances. Period.
Dave - dressed to impress!
My first classical cd ever was a "nice price" 9th conducted by Ormandy. I loved it (I was 14). Later I bought a Telarc cd (don't even remember the orchestra) and hated it. I don't know if it really was a lesser performance or if my inexperienced ears weren't prepared for the differences from the Ormandy that I knew. Now I listen to Wand and I also have Abbado.
On New Year's Eve of 1999 my roommate asked me to play something for him that would signify the importance of the millennial change. I chose Beethoven's 9th, and he cried through the entire thing.
I'm hoping you'll expand this reference series to include complete opera recordings.
Already did Tosca. More to come.
@@DavesClassicalGuideCan't wait!
If I remember well, it's also the recording that's on the turntable in A Clockwork Orange.
It's a micro-cassette.
@@DavesClassicalGuide Indeed, no turntable. But it seems it was a mini-cassette and that this format is not interchangeable with micro-cassette.
I only knew these things from speech recording, didn't know they were ever used for selling music.
This is your best "the 9th" look of all!
What gets me is that DG absolutely knew what good recordings sounded like -- and this Fricsay performance is undeniable evidence of that. So what happened?
Karajan
This time the reference is my favorite also but in Brazil, Karajan is the reference as far as I know, at least among the consumers.
I am very excited to listen to this recording. Thank you for bringing it to my attention.
The plethora of recordings of this masterpiece left by Toscanini leaves me rather overwhelmed; do you have a personal favorite? I am drawn to the 1938 recording, as it features wonderful soloists; but your thoughts would be appreciated.
I love orange cats....have you ever heard Bernard Herrmann's Phase 4 Stereo recordings? They've been repackaged several times over the the years. I think they're just about as good as it gets, for any era, and possess some of the most realistic and life-like orchestral textures ever recorded. I'd be intrigued to hear a review good or bad on the Herrmann Phase 4's.
Done a long time ago. Check out the Herrmann play list.
I could not agree more. Beethoven's 9th by Fricsay and Wand are both amazing and are WAY ABOVE all other recordings of the 9th that I have heard.
Amazing it is. Musical yes. Pierce through your heart with joy, none better.
saw the shirt and tie, knew it was Fricsay
I have on of the Karajan's I like it but I would love to hear your recommendation.
Watch the video. It's discussed.
I have a tie just like yours!
Great choice, And Wand is terrific, but my favorite is Toscanni 1952 recording.
That would have been my personal choice and when it was issued 70 years ago it was clearly the reference. Almost certainly, it was the best selling (non crossover) classical album of the 50s until stereo came in. But I just can't get on with his view of the first movement. The fury and rage are there but not, alas, the maestoso. But the best scherzo, with all repeats, a sublime classically pure slow movement (not too slow) and an unsurpassed, beautifully integrated finale.
However, I acquired the Fricsay with his complete DG box, and I'd certainly put it near the summit of some 40 or so NINTHs I own. My one gripe is that Fischer-Dieskau sounds barky and inflated in his opening solo. (He also ignorantly ignores the appoggiatura at the end of the recit which Toscanini makes sure Norman Scott sings, but that's just my Beckmesserish bete noire.)
My cat, Buddy, turns into a thorn bush if I try to pick him up. I understand about Mildred. P.S. I never heard of the Wand 9th and I will listen to it shortly! P.P.S. When I was a kid (14-17) the 9th would put me into an altered state. Seriously. The recording in question was Furtwangler's Bayreuth 1950 performance.
Wand and the NDR is a great recording. I bought the cycle on Dave’s recommendation. What I find so interesting is the consistency Wand manages to maintain movement to movement and symphony to symphony.
The recording, which made an impression on me is the Bernstein/Vienna/DG one. Especially the singing in the last movement is outstanding, it's flexible and expressive. The recording I grew up with is the Karajan/Berlin/DG from 1963 and it must say I don't like it too much years later, it sounds unyielding and strict. I think the triumph of the last movement isn't conveyed properly there. 1977 version is better, but it resembles the predecessor in its conception, 4th movement isn't joyful enough.
When I was growing up in Boston in the 50s the choice for the Beethoven's 9th among my musical friends was between Toscanini and Walter. A quote I heard attributed to Toscanini, but might have been by somebody else, was that "when Walter comes to something beautiful, he melts." Didn't Robert Shaw get his start by being Toscanini's chorus director for the 9th?
That is an authentic Toscanini quote, alright. Shaw did the 9th with Toscanini several times. Initially, it was the Shaw Collegiate Chorale.
@@bbailey7818Thanks. My introduction to Robert Shaw, though I had no idea that it meant anything at the time, was his early 78 RPM spoken version of "The House at Pooh Corner." Lovely, simple, welcoming to his children. Still available on RUclips.
@@winslowrogers2026I personally always liked his narration in the first recording of Blitzstein's Airborne Symphony with young Lennie on RCA.
Dave, is possible to consider Germaine Thyssens-Valentin as a historic new reference for Faure piano works? She was rediscovered with the Testament reissue (2006) of her Ducretet-Thomson recordings (1956-1959).
It hasn't been long enough for any consensus to develop.
I like Kletzki's 9th with the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra.
So do I, but who cares? It's not the reference.
I think maybe KARAJAN did a better first movement of the symphony, but the rest is Fricsay all the way
Which recording was your personal favorite? I couldn't understand the conductor's name and close captioned really mangled it?
Look at the video description. It's written there, always.
@@DavesClassicalGuide the transcript says your personal favorite was recorded only once by "gter Von" this is a conductor of whom I have never heard.
@@BobBoyd-r5p Günter Wand
What about Bohms WPO studio recording? It got to be the champion together with the Wand in a critics blind listening.
Irrelevant to the question of reference recording. It doesn't have to be "the best" or "the winner" or some such.
Hello Dave, could you share your audio gear, how do you listen to music. Thanks
I don't discuss audio equipment.
Was sort of expecting you would mention the Klemperer, especially the live version....But not such a great sound maybe....
Has it always been easily available? Or was Testament the first official release? That doesn't help to become a reference version.
I mention Beethoven’s 9th without being suitably accoutered all the time. Am I going to hell where you hear the 9th on repeat conducted by Currentzis on period instruments with one violin to a part?
Probably, if you don't go to hell for your stupid screen name.
Oh, I don’t mind going to Christian hell, that’s where all the best people go.
I receive a big charge out of Toscanini. He requires his string players to attack the score: 1, 2, and 4, and play 3 with deep feeling. His tempos are swift. My reference Toscanini 9th is his 1948 NBC television reading that was recorded on FM sound. It's here on YT and I placed it in my sound files.
Mildred was my mom's name.
My heart will always belong to Bernstein's recording with the Vienna Phil, but I look forward to hearing Wand and Fricsay
At least Mildred doesn't want to play kvetch.
I thought only canines played fetch. I thought cats told you, "fetch?! get it yourself!"
One strange one is by Solti with Chicago, whose adagio is slow but effective -- so slow that it takes almost as long as the final, choral movement.
Furtwangler can never be the reference. Not for me, anyway.
He could. For example: Schumann 4, Brahms 1, don Giovanni, Coriolan
@@mauryq2150Schubert 9th.
@@bbailey7818 yes, I forgot