Hi, friends! I'm excited that next Wednesday, April 26, at 7 pm I'll be presenting my first zoom about classical music: "Shepherds and Peasants: Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony."
I'll be talking about the background of this amazing piece, and I'll be playing a few excerpts.
But I thought you may want to listen to the symphony before you attend the discussion online. I've been listening to as many different recordings as I can over the last several weeks, and decided to choose six sixths. But that proved impossible, because there are just so many great orchestras and great conductors who have offered their interpretations.
So I chose six with a bonus of two! Choose any one or two or...
If you like you can just show up to the presentation, participate in the discussion, and save this list for listening at your leisure after the zoom meeting.
NOTE: Each of the last six videos contain chapters for each of the five movements in the symphony. If you press the words "See More" beneath the video picture, you'll see blue timing numbers that are links to each movement.
Let the listening begin. Enjoy!
SIX GREAT RECORDINGS OF THE SIXTH Maestro Szell at the height of his powers, conducting a lean and lovely version with the great American band in Cleveland!
Beethoven conducted the premiere of the symphony in Vienna in 1808. Here is a classic recording of the modern Vienna Philharmonic under the baton of Pierre Monteux.
It's often said that the Czech Philharmonic has a special way with wind music (something to do with the Bohemian countryside, I suspect). Because the Pastoral Symphony features some of Beethoven's most pungent scoring for woodwinds, this recording led by Paul Kletzki has a special appeal.
This is the recording from which I first learned the piece. The fabulous Dutch players give their all for Eugen Jochum who affectionately shapes and caresses every nuance and phrase.
Back to America for a classic version that first appeared as a budget LP. It's a fleet performance with a lively pace, and William Steinberg brings the musicians of Steeltown home with a glorious reading of the finale.
A more recent recording by a Scandinavian chamber orchestra and conductor. The reduced forces are closer to what would have been the actual size of the ensemble in Beethoven's day, and the excellent engineering gives a transparent sound stage ensuring you can hear inner details of the composer's scoring.
AND TWO BONUS RECORDINGS FOR GOOD LUCK
A lot of people don't know that the great cellist Pablo Casals was also a fine conductor, revered by his pupils and colleagues alike. This live recording from the Marlboro Festival was recorded in a converted barn on the festival's home at a farm site in Vermont. Maybe that gives it a certain bucolic glow.
Stop the presses! I was going to recommend this as a budget CD purchase, but I just found out this recording is out of print and now very expensive. So I created this final YouTube video as Bonus #2. In his last years, Bruno Walter created a series of mellow orchestral recordings with "pickup" bands in NYC and LA. This much beloved account was made with members of the LA Phil and Hollywood studio orchestras.
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