Ode to Freedom: Bernstein in Berlin
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Composer: Ludwig van BeethovenConductor: Leonard Bernstein
Performer: Berlin Radio Symphony Chorus
Performer: Berliner Rundfunksinfonie chor
Performer: Dresden Staatskapelle
Performer: New York Philharmonic
Performer: Sarah Walker
Orchestra: St.Petersburg Kirov Orchestra
Orchestra: London Symphony Orchestra
Orchestra: Paris Orchestra
Performer: June Anderson
Performer: Klaus Konig
Edition: Music CD
CD Release Date: 1990-03-01
Music Label: Deutsche Grammophon
Soundtracks:
- Symphony No. 9 in D Minor Op.125: 1. Allegro ma non troppo, un poco maestoso
- Symphony No. 9 in D Minor Op.125: 2. Molto vivace
- Symphony No. 9 in D Minor Op.125: 3. Adagio molto e cantabile
- Symphony No. 9 in D Minor Op.125: 4. Presto - Allegro assai
Music reviews of Ode to Freedom: Bernstein in Berlin
Music Review: Who let this old fart conduct this masterpiece?
Rating: 1 Stars
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!
Description of Ode to Freedom: Bernstein in Berlin
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