1001 classical works (The best) IV- 1800-1828

Recording

Title: The Nine Symphonies
Performers: Staatskapelle Berlin
Director: Daniel Barenboim
Year: 1999
Length: 26 minutes

Review

The 8th symphony is a bit of a lull for Beethoven between the exuberance of the seventh and the sheer greatness of the ninth. Still there are things to like here, the aggressiveness of the first movement, the jokey second movement and just the general variety of styles.

The last Beethoven symphonies have all come in quick succession, now we will have to wait a bit for the next one, but Beethoven was really happy with this composition. I don't rally understand why he would cherish this eighth symphony over his previous ones, but hey, I'm not Beethoven.

So another great symphony by the man, but not as great as the last five, in my humble opinion. Maybe as great as the fourth... well they are still all amazingly good, they are symphonies by Beethoven, after all.

Final Grade

9/10

Trivia

From Wikipedia:

Critics immediately noted that the Eighth did not reach the heights of its predecessor, launching a long tradition of complaining that the Eighth Symphony is not something different (more heroic, more emotive) from what it is. However, many listeners seem to be able to enjoy the symphony anyway, and it appears frequently today on concert programs as well as on recordings. When asked by his pupil Carl Czerny why the Eighth was less popular than the Seventh, Beethoven is said to have replied "because the Eighth is so much better."

Again Karajan doesn't disappoint:


Beethoven Symphony No. 8 -- Herbert von Karajan

His Excellency the Honourary Jordanian Consulate | Myspace Video

Recording

Title: Balladen und Lieder
Performers: Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Jorg Demus
Year: 1969,71,82
Length: 34 minutes

Review

From this very good double album of Lieder by Carl Loewe the guys who made the list selected the Ballads as a highlight. That they are, but there are also other good lieder to get from this recording. Still I'll stick to talking about the Ballads.

There are 8 Ballads here, all of which show a pretty interesting range of emotions, Fischer-Dieskau is also pretty great at giving the different emotional intonations to the songs.

I have always been a bit ambivalent about Lieder, they start off by boring me and as they sink in I start liking them, the same happens with Schubert lieder, they need some familiarity to really get under your skin. It is on occasions like this, however that I wish I knew German to understand what exactly is being sung here. But hey, still pretty good music. Loewe is interesting, not as good as Schubert, but we'll get there.

Final Grade

8/10

Trivia

From Wikipedia:

In his lifetime, his songs were well enough known for some to call him the "Schubert of North Germany", and Hugo Wolf came to admire his work. He is less known today, but a number of his 400 or so songs are still occasionally performed.

Hard to find, but here's a Loewe lied: