Word: beethoven
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...Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 ("Choral") in D Minor (Philadelphia Orches tra, Eugene Ormandy conducting, with Stella Roman, Enid Szantho, Frederick Jagel, Nicola Moscona and the Westminster Choir, John Finley Williamson conducting; Columbia, 16 sides). The first U.S. recording in German of this colossus for orchestra and voice is many shades below Columbia's superlative prewar waxing by Felix Weingartner and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra and State Opera Chorus. Performance: fair...
Once that has been played, however, there must be a certain semblance of balance. A given proportion of the remaining time should be devoted to works of classical importance. That which is left must be divided among the Romantics and the impressionists--carefully. The Romantic school stretches from middle Beethoven and Berlioz through Sibelius, and perhaps (in a false beard) through Hindemith and Schoenberg...
Therefore, extreme care must be used in choosing programs from the Romantic school. This year, we have heard Berlioz and romantic Beethoven, then Rimsky-Korsakov, Rachmaninoff, and Sibelius. This week we shall hear Tchaikovsky. The choice here appears quite unfortunate. Perhaps this will be remedied later. But not even the ghost of an impressionist has entered Symphony Hall, despite the recent productivity of Milhaud...
...musical circles, the Boston Symphony owes its great reputation to precision playing and the persistent performance of new music. Koussevitzky's Beethoven has started numerous arguments; his Mozart is generally considered inferior to that of most reputable conductors. Russian music is his forte, and his Brahms is second only to Toscanini...
Very few people agree with Koussevitzky's choice of tempi in Beethoven, but almost no one can deny that they are always honest and effective. It is often sound to get a new impression of a well-worn piece; when the work is one as great as the "Eroica," it becomes essential. If the approach is different, it is studied; if it makes the work sound different than it does with other conductors, there is always a great chance that, perhaps, Beethoven wanted it to sound just that...