Album

Proving it doesn't take a chamber-sized orchestra to achieve extreme textural clarity, Osmo Vänskä and the Minnesota Orchestra have in this 2007 BIS recording once again created model contemporary instrument performances of Beethoven's symphonies. In this coupling of the First and Sixth, Vänskä and his forces use Jonathan del Mar's Neue Urtext Edition for Bärenreiter, a decision that alters hundreds of details of articulation and phrasing. But more significant is the strength, agility, and lucidity Vänskä and the Minnesotans bring to the table. The First is graceful and airy, though with plenty of power, while the Sixth, despite the work's larger dimensions and heavier textures, remains clear and direct. As interpreters, Vänskä and the Minnesotans likewise tend toward the light side. While this may send some older listeners back to their bigger and brawnier Walter and Klemperer recordings, younger listeners may prove more accepting of a leaner and harder but less superhuman Beethoven. BIS' super audio sound is deep and detailed, with a wonderful feeling of air around the instruments.

© James Leonard, All Music Guide

CD 1
Ludwig van Beethoven Composer Symphony No.1 in C, Op.21 Work 25:34 Minnesota Orchestra Orchestra, Osmo Vänskä Conductor
1	1.Adagio molto. Allegro con brio	8:32			$1.49
2	2.Andante cantabile con moto	7:49			$1.49
3	3.Menuetto: Allegro molto e vivace	3:35			$0.99
4	4.Finale: Adagio. Allegro molto e vivace	5:38			$0.99
Ludwig van Beethoven Composer Symphony No.6 in F, Op.68 ('Pastoral') Work 41:18 Minnesota Orchestra Orchestra, Osmo Vänskä Conductor
5	1.Allegro ma non troppo: Angenehme, heitere Empfindungen, welche bei der Ankunft (Awakening of cheerful feelings upon arrival in the countryside)	11:26			$1.99
6	2.Andante molto mosso: Szene am Bach (Scene by the brook)	11:58			$1.99
7	3.Allegro: Lustiges Zusammensein der Landleute (Merry gathering of country folk)	5:13			$0.99
8	4.Allegro: Donner. Sturm (Thunder, storm)	3:38			$0.99
9	5.Allegretto: Hirtengesang. Wohltätige, mit Dank and die Goltheit verbundene Gefühle nach dem Sturm (Shepherds' song. Beneficent feelings with thanks to the Godhead after the storm)	9:03			$1.49