Word: beethovens
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Dates: during 1950-1959
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...Beethoven: Symphony No. 3 (the NBC Symphony, Arturo Toscanini conducting; Victor, 2 sides LP). Toscanini's music seems to grow leaner with the years. In this new performance, he has scalpeled away pounds of the bombast with which the "Eroica" is too often fattened out; what remains is clear, bone-clean, but still well-muscled. Recording: excellent...
Magnificent as it was, the Brahms by no means obliterated Beethoven's "Pastoral" Symphony, the other item on the program. The work presents such a succession of beauties that it is impossible to absorb them all at once. This performance revealed new ones, testifying again to the versitility of Mr. Munch and not incidently to the genius of Beethoven...
...performance of Beethoven's Missa Solemnis done in Boston these day's can't help but be compared to Serge Koussevitzky's interpretation of the same work, either as performed in Symphony Hall two years ago or as released on records. The version given by Charles Munch with the Boston Symphony, the Glee Club, and the Radcliffe Choral Society, yesterday afternoon was certainly different, and in many places better...
...Missa Solemnis is a monumental piece of music. It was written towards the end of Beethoven's life when he was way ahead of his age musically. Hence, there is nothing obvious about it. It contains little or no development of themes, and it passes over each musical idea so quickly that the unfamiliar are soon lost and unappreciative...
...chorus work was magnificent throughout. Great credit must go to Professor Woodworth who prepared the Glee Club and Choral Society. It must be extraordinarily difficult to rehearse them for Koussevitzky one year and change style completely two years later for Munch. Their response to the conducting through all of Beethoven's surprises was excellent, and their top speed singing in the Gloria was nothing short of amazing...