I am an insane student of Beethoven. You are listening to the symphony that changed his life, his 'third transformation.' When he was losing his hearing and staying at Teplice (Bohemian Grove). There is nothing but amazement here. Nothing but. The symphony performance you are listening to was played a bit slower than I appreciate but I recently attended the performance of the 7th in Amsterdam. It was remarkable.
@@TVGUY333 "a bit" lol the tempo is totally wrong, it changes entirely the character of the piece. What is supposed to be a quasi dance-like feeling sounds here pompous and grotesque.
Although I truly admire Klemperer's talents as a conductor, we must realize this is (to me) the slowest performance by far of the Seventh I have ever heard!
My exact thoughts! I especially don't like what he did with the very famous 2nd movement here. It's marked as Allegretto! Meaning a little fast! He plays it almost Lento - slow - smothering it.
@@egapnala65 Indeed, and his St Matthew Passion. Alas, that legendary "granitic" Klemps magic doesn't translate to his Mahler 7. God knows I've tried, having first owned it as a Classics For Pleasure 2-LP set way back in the 1980s :)
💜Hi Gidi Beethoven’s seventh symphony is one of my personal favorites. It was said that it was Beethoven’s favorite as well. I love the music. Your reaction, well, I would not want you to hold back like that again. You are a sensitive reactor, and we want to see your honest reactions. If you feel like yelling hallelujah, or clapping your hands, or letting that smile out, you should do so. If you have tears come to your eyes, let them fall. It’s all right, because we feel those feelings too. Music does that! Klemperer is considered one of the great conductors of the 20th century. He is especially noted for his performances of the great choral works such as: Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis; Bach’s B minor mass and St. Matthew Passion; Brahms’s German Requiem, etc. Klemperer is also known to provide solid granite-like conducting of these works. Klemperer also has the reputation for rather slower tempos in a lot of his performances. That was quite obvious here in the Beethoven seventh, as I think this is the slowest performance I’ve ever heard. Most conductors take the speed, especially in the last two movements, nearly twice as fast as Klemperer did here. If you heard a faster tempo version of this work, you would be jumping up and down and flying out of your chair, as it makes you want to dance. Klemperer ‘s version is too slow by a lot. For your own benefit and pleasure, I highly recommend that you listen again to another version of the 7th (Bernstein would be one suggestion) and listen to the piece with the proper tempos and see how you feel about that. Thank you 🙏 for bringing this to your listeners!
Actually, when asked which of his symphonies was his favorite, Beethoven (who had composed 8 of them by this time) responded: the "Eroica" i.e., his Third Symphony.
@@davidwahrheit6143 He said the third, later I think the 9th. My own favourites are the 1st and 6th, as total pieces I love virtually every note. I do think the 3rd, 7th and 9th were him building on some similar style in a way. Particularly the 3rd and the 9th.
@@joebloggs396 I know I particularly love the third seventh and ninth, but the others have their charms too. I know that Beethoven did say that the seventh was one of his favorite symphonies and also one of the best. I know that the premiere of the seventh was also played along with the eighth and the seventh got an uproarious response from the large audience. Beethoven himself said the audience was somewhere around 3000 or 4000. Maybe more I forgot the exact numbers.
You can get this problem of slowness with performances of the 6th. The first movement allegro for example is sometimes slowed to luxuriate in the sound in some romanticist way and it takes away the impetus and movement of the music. And you don't need to slow down such pieces to show the detail, you just need the right balance in the sound.
Wagner called Beethoven's 7th 'the apotheosis of the dance'. And by now you will know why a piece in classical music is often called 'a movement' - it moves you both emotionally and physically, and it is in itself a kind of journey.
Yes and that is exactly why the Klemperer interpretation is ridiculously wrong. Beethoven prescribed metronome markings for each movement to make sure his symphonies will be performed with the correct tempo and 90% of conductors don't respect his indications! Going so far away from Beethoven's tempo completely prevents us from perceiving the dancing character of this symphony. It is utterly ridiculous and outrageous that this interpretation is considered as one of the essential recordings of Beethoven's symphonies.
@@Vexalord Absolutely, nearly all of Klemperer's interpretations of Beethoven are a travesty, regards tempo. There is one exception and that is the Missa Solemnis, of which I regard Klemperer to be the finest
Even these ridiculous tempos can't spoil this piece. I was in Ann Arbor in the mid-70's and saw Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra do this piece (he was old and blind at this point) and it was so exciting that I actually passed out at the end because I forgot to breathe. (I was in the student standing room balcony) And good thing I recovered for the second half: Horowitz playing the Rach 3!
Your challenge was hillarious😂. You tried to keep straight face while conducting, but your eyes were so intense showing you were having very tough time, which made me laugh. But as you said, once is enough. It’s OK to be a fan boy. Your wonderful smile makes us all happy and you should know it❤
This is a great symphony, thing is with Beethoven it's really hard to pick favourites 💜 Also glad to see you've reached the "air conducting" stage of classical listening!
Guy, you just brought back memories of me with earbuds and walking my daily walk in the city, spontaneously starting to air conduct some big moment in Bruckner, turning a corner and surprising a gardener or homeowner! Pretty hard to back that one down ;-)
My favourite Beethoven symphony and I do love Klemperer's conducting generally but I find this recording, despite its obvious beauties to be glacially slow. There's not a lot of "dance" in it. I do have it in my collection though.
Disagree, Klemperer is non-pareil in Beethoven. Having said that, one should have several versions of Beethoven's symphonies, of course, and in the 7th I complement my Klempere with Carlos Kleiber (fast enough for you? )🙂 and Schmidt-Isserstedt.
GIDI, it has been a delight to watch you go through your musical pilgrimage. Your channel along with Twosetviolin are a blessing for some of us classical music fans who are alone in their admiration and devotion to this Art form. I too felt that Beethoven is special, even among other classical composers. It is not just in music. There are just some artists whose creations surpasses their peers. The works of Shakespeare, Beethoven, Tolstoy, Milton, Dickens, Michelangelo among others are in the words of Richard Dawkins "Supreme achievements of the human spirit".
Great reaction! Remember, it's okay to smile, even if it's a challenge. Enjoy those emotions that you feel, and don't hesitate to express them facially.
It's not better than the fifth and nineth. The two of them are well above the others. Why is this not one of my favorites from Beethoven? It's because it's slow, except for the fourth movement, which is quite exuberant. Is that the word for it?
Lovely to watch someone discover Beethoven’s symphonies for the first time. (And, by the way, it’s ok to smile: you smiled at all the places!) All Beethoven’s symphonies are great. So too, his string quartets. Some occasional pieces you can take or leave, e.g Wellington’s Victory. Welcome to the wonderful world of classical music. A treasure trove awaits you.
This is also a favorite symphony of mine. The more I listened, the more excruciating this interpretation was for me to listen to. Between the overly slow tempi, the huge cuts, and the bad sonics. GIDI, you will like this even better in a better modern performance at the proper tempi and without the cuts (with the repeats)!
its true that klemperer is famed for slow interpretations. sometimes slow is just plain wrong. i like karajans 7th and require that faster tempo for this piece. but i think this is a good performance nonetheless - its a personal vision of the work that makes one experience the piece differently. and i don't think the sonics are bad. even in the 40s and 50s many classical records had phenomenal sound. do not value too high the value of modern performances. the bar some of these old conductors set was so high. the standard and dazzling brilliancy of klemperer, karajan, szell, stokowski, toscanini, cluytens, wand etc etc etc at their high moments was unfathomable. for me undoubtably this way: th-cam.com/video/RHcB5ffFZJs/w-d-xo.html
@@weewee2169 Your recommended Karajan version is my favourite by far as well. Even better sound than his other ones. Just so much energy and power. I also very much like the 1971 Karajan version. Sadly you can't find it on yt(exept for the ending: th-cam.com/video/PUzi0eXSTmY/w-d-xo.html)
One of the four symphonies that, as a child, made me devote my life to this kind of music this one, Beethoven 6, Tchaikovsky 6 and Schubert 9. I was an absolute Beethoven fanatic for years, only discovering Berlioz and Mahler shifted him (a little) to the side.
Like a lot of people have said, this is a very slow/possibly the slowest version of Beethoven 7. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but not the best for 1st time listening. I would recommend listening to other versions that have a overall faster tempo
Without a doubt my favourite Beethoven Symphony!💜 There are lots of great ones (3, 5, 6, and 9 aren't famous for nothing) but this one is the best one in my eyes.
@@WorldifySanity I am, yes! Hi good to see you here👋👋 I've been following Gidi's content for well over half a year now and I'm loving the opportunity to watch someone fall in love with classical music and the chance to re-discover these pieces through someone else's eyes. Tbh, there are many classial music content creators I follow quite actively (although the only other channel you're likely to find me in the comment section of is the Viola King)
Klemperer was a great conductor, particularly in his recordings with the Philharmonia. His Brahms is also fantastic, especially the 1st symphony and Academic Festival Orchestra. Klemperer was a protege of Gustav Mahler, and also composed, having taken lessons from Arnold Schoenberg. Being Jewish, he left Germany in 1933 in the face of the rise of Hitler. He had a brain tumor removed successfully, but it left him partially paralyzed on one side. A hip injury from slipping on ice forced him to conduct seated thereafter. One time, he fell backward off a stage from his seat, hitting the back of his head. I believe he also suffered from bipolar disorder. He was an anti-romantic, cranky old man with a dry wit. His son Werner became famous as "Colonel Klink" from the American TV comedy "Hogan's Heroes." The Philharmonia was founded by record producer and impresario (entertainment entrepreneur) Walter Legge at the end of World War II to be one of the premier London orchestras, attracting the best musicians, conductors, and soloists. Legge tried to disband the orchestra a couple of decades later, but the musicians rebelled, re-forming as a self-governing organization under the name New Philharmonia Orchestra (which later reverted back to just Philharmonia).
Stop thinking you could. Know it. Knowing is best. Besides that, you should smile more. There's enough gloom on this planet with you adding to it. We need more happiness.
I like this performance very much. Study shows that beethoven in 1812 was able hiaer only low register voices so this performance underline this. This performance is so emotional
What you're saying at around 16:10 is the same thing the famous conductor and composer Leonard Bernstein said about Beet(it's on yt as well, something like 'Bernstein discussing Beethovens 6th and 7th symphonies') and the same thing I think: everything just sounds 'right', as if it 'was phoned in from God', as Bernstein puts it
💜 This is one of the symphonies I have loved since I was a teen. Sure, Karajan's 1962 Beethoven cycle is my favorite, but Klemperer really is interesting to sit with from time to time. Always the "immoralist," as he said of himself, he did amazing things with music, and he did them his own way. Always idiomatically, but somewhat iconoclastically. I actually enjoy his great recordings a little more each time I hear them. His recordings of my favorite Beethoven symphonies--the sixth, seventh, and ninth--really make them sound like the significant works they truly have been to the development of music on the whole. And your challenging yojrself to keep from smiling at the best moments is just delightful to watch. Lol
Have you ever seen the Oscar winning movie The King’s Speech ? This movie is known for very dramatic and brilliant way to use Beethoven’s pieces, which you reacted already including this one. It’s really worth seeing and listening if you haven’t. The opening part of the second movement of this symphony non-diegetically scores the film’s climactic sequence, in which King George VI (the father of Queen Elizabeth II) overcomes his stammer to deliver a radio broadcast to the nation at the outbreak of World War II. And it works beautifully, reinforcing the King’s progression from a nervous start to a confident, flowing delivery with a parallel musical journey. It is said that Queen Elizabeth dropped tears when she watched this scene. Also, second movement of piano concerto no5 “Emperor” is used for the final sequence where King successfully finished his speech and won accolade from all UK nations. This scene, along with the one of the most beautiful melody line among Beethoven’s works, implies he became a true “king” by all means through his tough journey to overcome speech impediment with support and friendship with his speech therapist Logue. This was truly a moving moment.
Given that people getting mad in the comments section, maybe this is a great opportunity to do a vid reacting to a few different recordings? It’ll help people see how much of a difference conductors make and how different the same piece can sound. For Beethoven 7, you’d probably have a good time with Karajan, Bernstein, Gardiner, and Jarvi. You don’t have to do the whole thing again-even just a few minutes of each movement would be awesome. Keep up the great content my dude 🤙🏽
💜 LOL why would you inflict such a thing to yourself? It looks like when the protagonist of A Clockwork's orange is forced to listen to the 9th symphony while watching horrors on a screen. The 7th is my favorite, especially the first movement. The coda of that movement is probably the music that gives me the most euphoria. Klemperer is too slow though. Beautiful but too slow - he removes a bit of the ecstasy of this music.
This is the slowest interpretation of the piece I've heard. Great thing about classical is a different interpretation can almost be like a completely new piece of music.
The second movement is used in the movie Knowing with Nicolás Cage and Rose Byrne. There are no subtitles today. Greetings from Guatemala City in Central America.
First of All, thanks for doing this Full Lenght Reactions in this Genre that i've learned to love so much in the very last years, espacially Ludwig - Just great to See the Joy in the face of strangers that nowadays are open + able to catch the greatness in all this pieces. Also very interesting for me to notice that you go straight in the symphonies - i startet with the hole buch of epic pianoworks of Luddi and i have to say: Daran kommste auch nicht vorbei! ;-P Ich hätte ganz viele Vorschläge für dich was man 1x im Leben gehört haben sollte, bevor man ins Gras beißt..., ich will dich auch nicht zumüllen aber weil es mir schon mehrfach in den Fingern gejuckt hat auch von mir hier eine Empfehlung, 2,3 :-D And i wish you das du die sooo geil findest wie auch ich. Viel Spaß dabei. Und weiter so, schön zu sehen, jeden Tag. Und liebe Grüße aus Trier vom Manni 👋 Anschnallen!: 1) Valentina Lisitsa - BEETHOVEN, "Apassionata", Piano sonata No. 23, F-minor, op 57 on Bösendorfer (empf. to play in 1 straight line and wait 4 the end) (25:57) ;-) 2) Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 5 "Emperor" OP. 73 - Daniele & Mauricio Pollini - Sinfonica de Galicia (44:14) And last but not least 3) Beethoven Sonata #17 OP 31 No. 2 "Tempest" Complete Performance Valentina Lisitsa (23:07) Enjoy Brother ❤
Beautiful piece. My favorite from the Big B. I would advise you to continue with Dvorak's 8th - both symphonies have similar dance-like, optimistic energy in them.
The word we use is 'inevitable'. More than anyone else, LvB's music feels like exactly how it should be, how it MUST be. I must say you have a penchant for idiosyncratic performances. Klemperer is great, especially with the woodwinds, but as someone else also said, this is perhaps the slowest recording of the seventh. This music can be 20 times more exciting at a faster tempo, especially the second and last movements. Klemperer is great for repeat listening, because we get to hear inner workings of the symphony more clearly. But Klemperer does not convey the thrill of the piece completely. Listen to Szell, Bernstein, Karajan or Kleiber to compare how a more 'normal' tempo sounds like.
I am not an expert on music, so I am also not an expert on Beethoven. But my feeling when I listen to his symphonies is always the same: he composed about life, about love and the love of life, they are always about the love of life and feelings... how deeply his music enters my soul... no musician can go that far. Of course, many famous composers in history have been magnificent, incredible... but Beethoven, in my opinion, was a step above the others, maybe also because of those 'others' ;-)
I think he regretted giving descriptions. Beethoven said it's an expression of feeling than painting. Also essential it isn't a slow performance, it must move. Allegros and andantes shouldn't be sluggish.
And btw, as i See it again, a little tip from me, Do it as i Do do and buy you, just 4 fun, a Conduction Baton (Taktstock) - I buyed a Rohema "Beethoven C" Carbonfiber, round about 30 Euros... So much fun and a great way to go deeper in the Conductorperspective ;-)
The Second Movement always gets me now after hearing it on the lawn of the U.S. Capitol for Memorial Day with letters to and from soldiers in war being read. As a whole, I wouldn't say the symphony was overly slow, but there were times, especially in the First, when the tempo did suddenly slow to a noticeable and unfortunate plodding pace instead of flowing as it should.
Superb Reaction, Gidi! And you chose the right version. Klemperer is not fast and flashy like many other conducters but has the correct weight and patience. I want to see and hear more!
It was truly funny how you challenged yourself no to emote just ahead of one of the most spine-tingling and beautiful slow movements of all time! Did a decent job of it, poor guy. :))
That's a awesome video is one of my favorite symphonies by Beethoven can you please listen to Chevalier de saint-George he's a great musican also but sadly he got forgotten.
Tempo in music is a matter of interpretation, it's not defined how fast it should go. But having listened to many recordings of Beethoven's 7th, I'm quite convinced that the composer envisioned a faster tempo than the one from this recording. The music calls for a lively, brisk interpretation. Klemperer is a famous conductor, so he was slower deliberately. He added more accents and orchestral colour as compared to some faster perfomances, but this approach doesn't work that well in this music. I recommend that you record another video with Beethoven's 7th, but with a faster tempo like Szell/Cleveland or Karajan/Berlin, which are only 34 minutes long.
So, two things. First, you're definitely not dumb for saying Beethoven knew what he was doing, especially when you consider her was not able to hear much when he composed this symphony. He *really* had to know, sadly without being able to confirm the beauty he wrote. And speaking of Leonard Bernstein (just watched your reaction to Rhapsody In Blue) , this was the last piece he conducted at Tanglewood Festival, 50 years after he first conducted it as a student, again at Tanglewood. But you bore the incredible weight of this work beautifully
Hey gidi ...this piece have a unique drive ..sadly you can't hear it in this performance...believe me ...i'm probably on of the greatest beethoven fan boys... I really love you' re classical stuff..maybe listen to Carlos Kleiber conducting the Vienna Philharmonic..and dance around like.....❤
Klemperer's style can be on the slow side, and in the first movement I definitely felt that. There seemed to be a long pause from the slow introduction to the allegro as well.
Yes, it is a bit too slow! Try also, Herbert von Karajan or Leonard Berstein. Related to Beethoven's music: you must be able to "breathe" in its rhythm (this is my feeling). If it's too slow, of course, you don't have air, and it doesn't seem right :)
True, Klemperer is slower than others, and this symphony is like an earthquake, specially the last movement. Great problem: ¿which is best, the 5th, the 7h, or the 9th?
Just be yourself. If the music moves you, let it. If I may, a recommendation: the Playful Pizzicato, the second movement from Benjamin Britten's Simple Symphony. Try the English Chamber Orchestra outing, a recording conducted by Britten himself. It's only three minutes long and I think your ears will like it.
Buen video... Pero siempre escuchas versiones muy lentas... no se si en el buscador alemán aparecen solo versiones lentas o también existen las rápidas?
I'm not sure this was the best recording for someone listening for the first time. Movements too slow (would be much more exciting with more properly quick tempi), and maybe modern sonics would have been nicer. It also sounded like big repeats were taken out? A great sin, in my opinion.
Klemperer's interpretation of the 7th is often described as slow, but his rendition of the 2th movement is meditative and melancholic. As I haven't found any of your commentary on classical music played on the organ, I suggest Symphony No-7, 2th movement interpreted by the young German organist Sebastian Heindl : th-cam.com/video/zxV_xJb21f0/w-d-xo.html
It is so slow that it doesn't feel like a dance anymore! When the tempo radically change the character that the piece is supposed to have, it's a misunderstanding of the piece.
Leave Klemperer and Celibidache for later, when you allready know the pieces and styles. These two conductors (especially Klemperer when he was very old) are known for choosing veeery slow tempos that are not standart practice.
How is this a "Try not to smile challenge"? If it really was, you lost. 🙂 And I lost, too: I lost count of how many times you smiled. Allow yourself to be a Beethoven fanboy.
Type me a message why he couldn't be the person he was? To me, he was the absolute best composer who ever lived. To me, there isn't able to be any better than him. All of the symphonies he wrote were better than every other composer. Those first four were amazing, except after he wrote the fifth, not a single composer was capable of surpassing him. As you well know, his crowing achievement was his nineth. The exception to this is that I have a better composition than that. It is Piano Concerto #5 in Eflat major. Its nickname is the Empoper Concerto.
Oh no, why did you listen to this performance... As many other listeners say, this piece is supreme, but this performance is not. Too much too slow. And it is fatal to this symphony. You still have not enjoyed this piece in the true sense.
Klemperer is a great conductor, but this really got too slow. And it isn't just that, he cut off the brass section of the climax of the movement 1, unbelieveble! You should listen to Karajan' version of this symphony one day, he puts a lot energy on that, the climaxes are all in his recording and his andamento is better.
Klemperer’s a great conductor, no doubt, but I find Beethoven conducted by many conductors from older generations tended to play Beethoven pretty slow. Toscanini is a notable exception, in my opinion. Don’t get me wrong: Many modern musicians also play Beethoven too fast, too. But I do generally prefer Beethoven performed at a brisker tempo than Klemperer. My favorite is Carlos Kleiber’s recording with the VIenna Philharmonic.
"Many modern musicians also play Beethoven too fast, too." I have not yet heard a modern performance that goes over Beethoven's own Metronome Markings, which are fast and used to be ignored for decades. So I can't say that I heard one that is too fast.
Con le nove sinfonie di L.v.Beethoven,dove vai caschi bene.! A parte la prima che per me è pericolosissima,ascoltandola in auto mi sono esaltato troppo, patente ritirata per un mese e multa.😢
dont really like the tempo of this recording so had to play on 1.25x Edit: just performed this symphony today (at the right tempo). It was an incredible experience
One of my favorite symphonies... but a terrible recording of it, too slow and far too heavy-sounding. This symphony is really supposed to dance, and that sense is almost completely lost in this recording. A friend of mine once described this recording as "tempo di comatose" and I tend to agree with that opinion. I would recommend listening to Paavo Järvi for this symphony.
Your community is usually very good at recommending to you the right recording for the right work. But Klemperer and Beethoven 7th is a total misjudgement. It's one of Klemperers later recordings, made at a time when old age was getting to the man and his tempi became ridiculously slow. Whoever recommended this recording should be flogged. Klemperers recording is more like a carricature of the work. Recommending a recording of this symphony that is THIS slow is a CRIME. This is perhaps the perfect Symphony, and it deserves to be presented properly. Great recordings of this are: Kleiber, Muti, Paavo Järvi, Szell and Bernstein. Edit: I'd like to add that the reason why I speak out so fiercely against recommending Klemperer of all to a newcomer is because this is the first Beethoven Symphony I ever heard in its entirety at the age of 5. I don't know exactly which recording it was, perhaps Muti, Kleiber's was brand new around that time. And I fell in love so much that I could sing along it by heart. It's one of my desert island pieces. I would give up all other Beethoven Symphonies for it. And it hurts me on a personal level to have someone discover this with a performance that ignores everything that is great about it. Ideally I would not even recommend Szell's recording to a newcomer, as great as it is, because it leaves out multiple repeats. And repeats are not optional in Beethoven's music.
I am the one who requested this. First of all, it was recorded in 1960, long before Klemperer lost it, even by your standard (you said he lost it in his last 5 years, i.e. 1968-1973). Second of all, I recommended this recording because of the sheer energy and clarity. You can't notice them? Stop focusing on the tempo lol
@@andrewhcitlol muddy? I hear all the parts at every point. At what specific point in the performance do you feel the parts to mash up to the point of being muddy and unclear?
@@Sh.moon. Almost every cadence in the first and fourth movements. There's also not nearly enough dynamic contrast in the second movement because it's too heavy from the beginning. Overall I hear very little change in texture, it's all like stuck-together pasta. Clarity means more than just being able to hear the notes.
Now that you have exposed yourself to some of the great symphonic masterpieces, behaps it's time to lighten up a bit. There are so many excellent but shorter, lighhter compositions out there: overtures (Brahms Academic Festival Overture, Mozart's Opera Overtures not to mention, Opera Overtures by Rossini, Mozart, Wagner) Marches by Prokovief, Gounod, Elgar,and, yes, John Phillip Sousa.) Opera arias and ensembles, string quartets and quintets..And when you are really ready to tirn your smiles into laughter you should look into Professor Peter Schickele, an American composer who writes humorous musical parodies ( The Art of the Ground Round.) and who created the the fictional compser P.D.Q. Bach who "wrote" AM ng other things, an opera (The Stoned Guest) an Oratorio (Iphegenia in Brooklyn.) I highly recomemend the Schleptet, the Unbegun Symphony and especially New Horizons in Music Appreciation. Kerp up the great work! And oh yes --Scherzos are playful by nature--you're allowed to smile!
man i adore this symphony! but this performance is really not that good, sorry. *most* of the bits you were confused of were because of the tempo of the performance.
I am an insane student of Beethoven. You are listening to the symphony that changed his life, his 'third transformation.' When he was losing his hearing and staying at Teplice (Bohemian Grove). There is nothing but amazement here. Nothing but. The symphony performance you are listening to was played a bit slower than I appreciate but I recently attended the performance of the 7th in Amsterdam. It was remarkable.
Yes, it was a bit slow but better than conductors on speed. Either tempo affect the entire feel of the piece.
@@TVGUY333 "a bit" lol the tempo is totally wrong, it changes entirely the character of the piece. What is supposed to be a quasi dance-like feeling sounds here pompous and grotesque.
@@Vexalord You're entirely correct. I was being gentle.
This is my favorite symphony. Beethoven captures that rarest and most coveted human emotion--exuberance--like no other artist.
You: "Yeah, I can get through the rest of this without smiling"
Me, knowing the 3rd and 4th movements: You can't.
Although I truly admire Klemperer's talents as a conductor, we must realize this is (to me) the slowest performance by far of the Seventh I have ever heard!
If you think _this_ is slow, you should try Klemp's recording of Mahler's 7th. On second thoughts, perhaps you shouldn't :)
My exact thoughts! I especially don't like what he did with the very famous 2nd movement here. It's marked as Allegretto! Meaning a little fast! He plays it almost Lento - slow - smothering it.
@@ftumschk And yet it works for Bruckner 6th and adds a great deal of majesty to it.
@@egapnala65 Indeed, and his St Matthew Passion. Alas, that legendary "granitic" Klemps magic doesn't translate to his Mahler 7. God knows I've tried, having first owned it as a Classics For Pleasure 2-LP set way back in the 1980s :)
@@ftumschk I do remember not being able to get as far as halfway through the first movement of the Mahler.
Yes young boy , you did it ¡¡¡¡... 51. 57 minutes of your life to hear this amazing musical work of all the times....
💜Hi Gidi
Beethoven’s seventh symphony is one of my personal favorites. It was said that it was Beethoven’s favorite as well. I love the music. Your reaction, well, I would not want you to hold back like that again. You are a sensitive reactor, and we want to see your honest reactions. If you feel like yelling hallelujah, or clapping your hands, or letting that smile out, you should do so. If you have tears come to your eyes, let them fall. It’s all right, because we feel those feelings too. Music does that!
Klemperer is considered one of the great conductors of the 20th century. He is especially noted for his performances of the great choral works such as: Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis; Bach’s B minor mass and St. Matthew Passion; Brahms’s German Requiem, etc. Klemperer is also known to provide solid granite-like conducting of these works.
Klemperer also has the reputation for rather slower tempos in a lot of his performances. That was quite obvious here in the Beethoven seventh, as I think this is the slowest performance I’ve ever heard. Most conductors take the speed, especially in the last two movements, nearly twice as fast as Klemperer did here.
If you heard a faster tempo version of this work, you would be jumping up and down and flying out of your chair, as it makes you want to dance. Klemperer ‘s version is too slow by a lot.
For your own benefit and pleasure, I highly recommend that you listen again to another version of the 7th (Bernstein would be one suggestion) and listen to the piece with the proper tempos and see how you feel about that. Thank you 🙏 for bringing this to your listeners!
Actually, when asked which of his symphonies was his favorite, Beethoven (who had composed 8 of them by this time) responded: the "Eroica" i.e., his Third Symphony.
Well said--you beat me to it! Love Klemperer, but this was way too slow.
@@davidwahrheit6143 He said the third, later I think the 9th. My own favourites are the 1st and 6th, as total pieces I love virtually every note.
I do think the 3rd, 7th and 9th were him building on some similar style in a way. Particularly the 3rd and the 9th.
@@joebloggs396 I know I particularly love the third seventh and ninth, but the others have their charms too. I know that Beethoven did say that the seventh was one of his favorite symphonies and also one of the best. I know that the premiere of the seventh was also played along with the eighth and the seventh got an uproarious response from the large audience. Beethoven himself said the audience was somewhere around 3000 or 4000. Maybe more I forgot the exact numbers.
You can get this problem of slowness with performances of the 6th. The first movement allegro for example is sometimes slowed to luxuriate in the sound in some romanticist way and it takes away the impetus and movement of the music. And you don't need to slow down such pieces to show the detail, you just need the right balance in the sound.
Wagner called Beethoven's 7th 'the apotheosis of the dance'. And by now you will know why a piece in classical music is often called 'a movement' - it moves you both emotionally and physically, and it is in itself a kind of journey.
Yes and that is exactly why the Klemperer interpretation is ridiculously wrong. Beethoven prescribed metronome markings for each movement to make sure his symphonies will be performed with the correct tempo and 90% of conductors don't respect his indications! Going so far away from Beethoven's tempo completely prevents us from perceiving the dancing character of this symphony. It is utterly ridiculous and outrageous that this interpretation is considered as one of the essential recordings of Beethoven's symphonies.
@@Vexalord Absolutely, nearly all of Klemperer's interpretations of Beethoven are a travesty, regards tempo. There is one exception and that is
the Missa Solemnis, of which I regard Klemperer to be the finest
@@jameswiglesworth5004 Agreed - I have that version of the Missa - on vinyl, though; for CD have to be content with Gardiner
Even these ridiculous tempos can't spoil this piece. I was in Ann Arbor in the mid-70's and saw Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra do this piece (he was old and blind at this point) and it was so exciting that I actually passed out at the end because I forgot to breathe. (I was in the student standing room balcony) And good thing I recovered for the second half: Horowitz playing the Rach 3!
Your challenge was hillarious😂. You tried to keep straight face while conducting, but your eyes were so intense showing you were having very tough time, which made me laugh.
But as you said, once is enough. It’s OK to be a fan boy. Your wonderful smile makes us all happy and you should know it❤
Like Lennard Bernstein said so nicely: It seems that Beethoven had an direct telephone connection to heaven“
This is a great symphony, thing is with Beethoven it's really hard to pick favourites 💜
Also glad to see you've reached the "air conducting" stage of classical listening!
Guy, you just brought back memories of me with earbuds and walking my daily walk in the city, spontaneously starting to air conduct some big moment in Bruckner, turning a corner and surprising a gardener or homeowner! Pretty hard to back that one down ;-)
My favourite Beethoven symphony and I do love Klemperer's conducting generally but I find this recording, despite its obvious beauties to be glacially slow. There's not a lot of "dance" in it. I do have it in my collection though.
I agree. Wagner called it "the apotheosis of the dance", but you wouldn't know it from this rendering. It needs more drive and sharp accenting.
Disagree, Klemperer is non-pareil in Beethoven. Having said that, one should have several versions of Beethoven's symphonies, of course, and in the 7th I complement my Klempere with Carlos Kleiber (fast enough for you? )🙂 and Schmidt-Isserstedt.
GIDI, it has been a delight to watch you go through your musical pilgrimage. Your channel along with Twosetviolin are a blessing for some of us classical music fans who are alone in their admiration and devotion to this Art form. I too felt that Beethoven is special, even among other classical composers. It is not just in music. There are just some artists whose creations surpasses their peers. The works of Shakespeare, Beethoven, Tolstoy, Milton, Dickens, Michelangelo among others are in the words of Richard Dawkins "Supreme achievements of the human spirit".
The Seventh is supposed to dance. This performance has lead feet.
Great reaction! Remember, it's okay to smile, even if it's a challenge. Enjoy those emotions that you feel, and don't hesitate to express them facially.
“Capturing the listener’s heart.” You are SO right on…
One of the best symphony of Beethoven.
One of his nine best. Nothing but the best.
Your description about Beethovens sense for timing of the beautiful moments is great
Indeed every single moment is MEANINGFUL in Beethoven's music!
It's not better than the fifth and nineth. The two of them are well above the others. Why is this not one of my favorites from Beethoven? It's because it's slow, except for the fourth movement, which is quite exuberant. Is that the word for it?
Lovely to watch someone discover Beethoven’s symphonies for the first time. (And, by the way, it’s ok to smile: you smiled at all the places!) All Beethoven’s symphonies are great. So too, his string quartets. Some occasional pieces you can take or leave, e.g Wellington’s Victory. Welcome to the wonderful world of classical music. A treasure trove awaits you.
This is also a favorite symphony of mine. The more I listened, the more excruciating this interpretation was for me to listen to. Between the overly slow tempi, the huge cuts, and the bad sonics. GIDI, you will like this even better in a better modern performance at the proper tempi and without the cuts (with the repeats)!
its true that klemperer is famed for slow interpretations. sometimes slow is just plain wrong. i like karajans 7th and require that faster tempo for this piece. but i think this is a good performance nonetheless - its a personal vision of the work that makes one experience the piece differently. and i don't think the sonics are bad. even in the 40s and 50s many classical records had phenomenal sound. do not value too high the value of modern performances. the bar some of these old conductors set was so high. the standard and dazzling brilliancy of klemperer, karajan, szell, stokowski, toscanini, cluytens, wand etc etc etc at their high moments was unfathomable.
for me undoubtably this way:
th-cam.com/video/RHcB5ffFZJs/w-d-xo.html
@@weewee2169 Your recommended Karajan version is my favourite by far as well. Even better sound than his other ones. Just so much energy and power. I also very much like the 1971 Karajan version. Sadly you can't find it on yt(exept for the ending: th-cam.com/video/PUzi0eXSTmY/w-d-xo.html)
One of the four symphonies that, as a child, made me devote my life to this kind of music this one, Beethoven 6, Tchaikovsky 6 and Schubert 9. I was an absolute Beethoven fanatic for years, only discovering Berlioz and Mahler shifted him (a little) to the side.
2nd movement one of the most commonly used classical pieces in Hollywood movies and series TV series….for good reason it’s awesome
Like a lot of people have said, this is a very slow/possibly the slowest version of Beethoven 7. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but not the best for 1st time listening.
I would recommend listening to other versions that have a overall faster tempo
Without a doubt my favourite Beethoven Symphony!💜 There are lots of great ones (3, 5, 6, and 9 aren't famous for nothing) but this one is the best one in my eyes.
Oh hey, you're here too! Haha
@@WorldifySanity I am, yes! Hi good to see you here👋👋 I've been following Gidi's content for well over half a year now and I'm loving the opportunity to watch someone fall in love with classical music and the chance to re-discover these pieces through someone else's eyes.
Tbh, there are many classial music content creators I follow quite actively (although the only other channel you're likely to find me in the comment section of is the Viola King)
Klemperer was a great conductor, particularly in his recordings with the Philharmonia. His Brahms is also fantastic, especially the 1st symphony and Academic Festival Orchestra.
Klemperer was a protege of Gustav Mahler, and also composed, having taken lessons from Arnold Schoenberg. Being Jewish, he left Germany in 1933 in the face of the rise of Hitler. He had a brain tumor removed successfully, but it left him partially paralyzed on one side. A hip injury from slipping on ice forced him to conduct seated thereafter. One time, he fell backward off a stage from his seat, hitting the back of his head. I believe he also suffered from bipolar disorder. He was an anti-romantic, cranky old man with a dry wit. His son Werner became famous as "Colonel Klink" from the American TV comedy "Hogan's Heroes."
The Philharmonia was founded by record producer and impresario (entertainment entrepreneur) Walter Legge at the end of World War II to be one of the premier London orchestras, attracting the best musicians, conductors, and soloists. Legge tried to disband the orchestra a couple of decades later, but the musicians rebelled, re-forming as a self-governing organization under the name New Philharmonia Orchestra (which later reverted back to just Philharmonia).
Stop thinking you could. Know it. Knowing is best. Besides that, you should smile more. There's enough gloom on this planet with you adding to it. We need more happiness.
I like this performance very much. Study shows that beethoven in 1812 was able hiaer only low register voices so this performance underline this. This performance is so emotional
What you're saying at around 16:10 is the same thing the famous conductor and composer Leonard Bernstein said about Beet(it's on yt as well, something like 'Bernstein discussing Beethovens 6th and 7th symphonies') and the same thing I think: everything just sounds 'right', as if it 'was phoned in from God', as Bernstein puts it
💜 This is one of the symphonies I have loved since I was a teen. Sure, Karajan's 1962 Beethoven cycle is my favorite, but Klemperer really is interesting to sit with from time to time. Always the "immoralist," as he said of himself, he did amazing things with music, and he did them his own way. Always idiomatically, but somewhat iconoclastically. I actually enjoy his great recordings a little more each time I hear them. His recordings of my favorite Beethoven symphonies--the sixth, seventh, and ninth--really make them sound like the significant works they truly have been to the development of music on the whole. And your challenging yojrself to keep from smiling at the best moments is just delightful to watch. Lol
Have you ever seen the Oscar winning movie The King’s Speech ?
This movie is known for very dramatic and brilliant way to use Beethoven’s pieces, which you reacted already including this one. It’s really worth seeing and listening if you haven’t.
The opening part of the second movement of this symphony non-diegetically scores the film’s climactic sequence, in which King George VI (the father of Queen Elizabeth II) overcomes his stammer to deliver a radio broadcast to the nation at the outbreak of World War II. And it works beautifully, reinforcing the King’s progression from a nervous start to a confident, flowing delivery with a parallel musical journey.
It is said that Queen Elizabeth dropped tears when she watched this scene.
Also, second movement of piano concerto no5 “Emperor” is used for the final sequence where King successfully finished his speech and won accolade from all UK nations. This scene, along with the one of the most beautiful melody line among Beethoven’s works, implies he became a true “king” by all means through his tough journey to overcome speech impediment with support and friendship with his speech therapist Logue. This was truly a moving moment.
Given that people getting mad in the comments section, maybe this is a great opportunity to do a vid reacting to a few different recordings? It’ll help people see how much of a difference conductors make and how different the same piece can sound. For Beethoven 7, you’d probably have a good time with Karajan, Bernstein, Gardiner, and Jarvi. You don’t have to do the whole thing again-even just a few minutes of each movement would be awesome. Keep up the great content my dude 🤙🏽
💜
LOL why would you inflict such a thing to yourself? It looks like when the protagonist of A Clockwork's orange is forced to listen to the 9th symphony while watching horrors on a screen.
The 7th is my favorite, especially the first movement. The coda of that movement is probably the music that gives me the most euphoria.
Klemperer is too slow though. Beautiful but too slow - he removes a bit of the ecstasy of this music.
This is the slowest interpretation of the piece I've heard. Great thing about classical is a different interpretation can almost be like a completely new piece of music.
The second movement is used in the movie Knowing with Nicolás Cage and Rose Byrne. There are no subtitles today. Greetings from Guatemala City in Central America.
one of the gratest of his time, I lik to hear René Leibowitz to. best regards froom vna. Please continue to introduce "classics" .
First of All, thanks for doing this Full Lenght Reactions in this Genre that i've learned to love so much in the very last years, espacially Ludwig - Just great to See the Joy in the face of strangers that nowadays are open + able to catch the greatness in all this pieces. Also very interesting for me to notice that you go straight in the symphonies - i startet with the hole buch of epic pianoworks of Luddi and i have to say: Daran kommste auch nicht vorbei! ;-P
Ich hätte ganz viele Vorschläge für dich was man 1x im Leben gehört haben sollte, bevor man ins Gras beißt..., ich will dich auch nicht zumüllen aber weil es mir schon mehrfach in den Fingern gejuckt hat auch von mir hier eine Empfehlung, 2,3 :-D And i wish you das du die sooo geil findest wie auch ich. Viel Spaß dabei. Und weiter so, schön zu sehen, jeden Tag. Und liebe Grüße aus Trier vom Manni 👋
Anschnallen!:
1) Valentina Lisitsa - BEETHOVEN, "Apassionata", Piano sonata No. 23, F-minor, op 57 on Bösendorfer (empf. to play in 1 straight line and wait 4 the end) (25:57) ;-)
2) Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 5 "Emperor" OP. 73 - Daniele & Mauricio Pollini - Sinfonica de Galicia (44:14)
And last but not least 3) Beethoven Sonata #17 OP 31 No. 2 "Tempest" Complete Performance Valentina Lisitsa (23:07)
Enjoy Brother ❤
Please react to Bach's Mass in B minor...is one of the greatest piece of art ever ;)
+1
Beautiful piece. My favorite from the Big B. I would advise you to continue with Dvorak's 8th - both symphonies have similar dance-like, optimistic energy in them.
The word we use is 'inevitable'. More than anyone else, LvB's music feels like exactly how it should be, how it MUST be.
I must say you have a penchant for idiosyncratic performances. Klemperer is great, especially with the woodwinds, but as someone else also said, this is perhaps the slowest recording of the seventh. This music can be 20 times more exciting at a faster tempo, especially the second and last movements. Klemperer is great for repeat listening, because we get to hear inner workings of the symphony more clearly. But Klemperer does not convey the thrill of the piece completely. Listen to Szell, Bernstein, Karajan or Kleiber to compare how a more 'normal' tempo sounds like.
gardiner is also great. he always is.
A recording with a faster tempo would definitely be better to listen to!
Don't forget Georg Solti, his interpretation of Beethoven's 7 is at least for me very exciting to listen
🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
💜🎶💜🎶💜🎶💜
Gidi: starts conducting
Me: (massive sigh of relief)"Oh thank god, cancel the ambulance!" 😁🚑
I am not an expert on music, so I am also not an expert on Beethoven. But my feeling when I listen to his symphonies is always the same: he composed about life, about love and the love of life, they are always about the love of life and feelings... how deeply his music enters my soul... no musician can go that far. Of course, many famous composers in history have been magnificent, incredible... but Beethoven, in my opinion, was a step above the others, maybe also because of those 'others' ;-)
You are sooooo right
Nice reaction! Have you heard the 6th symphony? I recommend the Karajan version but there are many others. Very easy to listen to.
Whenever you smile because you enjoy a certain part, it makes me smile as well ❤
Even (or especially) your attempt not to smile made me smile 😊
Nice.
same!
Next one is the 6th. Can’t wait. Please read the name of each movement of the 6th; it’s like a program. And you’ll love it
I think he regretted giving descriptions. Beethoven said it's an expression of feeling than painting.
Also essential it isn't a slow performance, it must move. Allegros and andantes shouldn't be sluggish.
💜💜💜
And btw, as i See it again, a little tip from me, Do it as i Do do and buy you, just 4 fun, a Conduction Baton (Taktstock) - I buyed a Rohema "Beethoven C" Carbonfiber, round about 30 Euros... So much fun and a great way to go deeper in the Conductorperspective ;-)
The Second Movement always gets me now after hearing it on the lawn of the U.S. Capitol for Memorial Day with letters to and from soldiers in war being read. As a whole, I wouldn't say the symphony was overly slow, but there were times, especially in the First, when the tempo did suddenly slow to a noticeable and unfortunate plodding pace instead of flowing as it should.
the 2nd movement one the most beautiful prices ever written
Приятно слушать такую музыку в твоей компании . Вот мой любимый момент 47:25
Superb Reaction, Gidi! And you chose the right version. Klemperer is not fast and flashy like many other conducters but has the correct weight and patience. I want to see and hear more!
It was truly funny how you challenged yourself no to emote just ahead of one of the most spine-tingling and beautiful slow movements of all time! Did a decent job of it, poor guy. :))
If I could make a list of personal preferences among Bettoven's symphonies, it would be 7, 9, 5, 3, and 6 (in this order), and then the rest.
There are other interpretations that go according to what Wagner said about the Seventh: "apotheosis of the dance".
That's a awesome video is one of my favorite symphonies by Beethoven can you please listen to Chevalier de saint-George he's a great musican also but sadly he got forgotten.
Tempo in music is a matter of interpretation, it's not defined how fast it should go. But having listened to many recordings of Beethoven's 7th, I'm quite convinced that the composer envisioned a faster tempo than the one from this recording. The music calls for a lively, brisk interpretation. Klemperer is a famous conductor, so he was slower deliberately. He added more accents and orchestral colour as compared to some faster perfomances, but this approach doesn't work that well in this music. I recommend that you record another video with Beethoven's 7th, but with a faster tempo like Szell/Cleveland or Karajan/Berlin, which are only 34 minutes long.
If the composer has left a metronome marking, the tempo is not a matter of interpretation!
I'd reccomend the George Szell recording of this with the Cleveland Philharmonic
This symphony was created in 1812. The great year for the Europe.
Kudos!!
So, two things. First, you're definitely not dumb for saying Beethoven knew what he was doing, especially when you consider her was not able to hear much when he composed this symphony. He *really* had to know, sadly without being able to confirm the beauty he wrote. And speaking of Leonard Bernstein (just watched your reaction to Rhapsody In Blue) , this was the last piece he conducted at Tanglewood Festival, 50 years after he first conducted it as a student, again at Tanglewood. But you bore the incredible weight of this work beautifully
Hey gidi ...this piece have a unique drive ..sadly you can't hear it in this performance...believe me ...i'm probably on of the greatest beethoven fan boys... I really love you' re classical stuff..maybe listen to Carlos Kleiber conducting the Vienna Philharmonic..and dance around like.....❤
Whoever is recommending Gidi Beethoven performances that are this slow needs to stop. Beethoven’s 3rd and the 7th can sound so much better than this
Klemperer's style can be on the slow side, and in the first movement I definitely felt that. There seemed to be a long pause from the slow introduction to the allegro as well.
yeah it's frustrating. It was the same with Brahms' 4th, butchered by Bernstein.
can't agree more
@@Alix777. are you kidding me?
Yeah, people suggest so many weird recordings for a first-time listen
Yes, it is a bit too slow! Try also, Herbert von Karajan or Leonard Berstein. Related to Beethoven's music: you must be able to "breathe" in its rhythm (this is my feeling). If it's too slow, of course, you don't have air, and it doesn't seem right :)
What's wrong with being a Beethoven fan boy? I am. He's my favorite composer. Niel Diamond is my second favorite.
True, Klemperer is slower than others, and this symphony is like an earthquake, specially the last movement. Great problem: ¿which is best, the 5th, the 7h, or the 9th?
Just be yourself. If the music moves you, let it. If I may, a recommendation: the Playful Pizzicato, the second movement from Benjamin Britten's Simple Symphony. Try the English Chamber Orchestra outing, a recording conducted by Britten himself. It's only three minutes long and I think your ears will like it.
💜
38:17 Gidi when Beethoven
Buen video... Pero siempre escuchas versiones muy lentas... no se si en el buscador alemán aparecen solo versiones lentas o también existen las rápidas?
I'm not sure this was the best recording for someone listening for the first time. Movements too slow (would be much more exciting with more properly quick tempi), and maybe modern sonics would have been nicer. It also sounded like big repeats were taken out? A great sin, in my opinion.
Klemperer's interpretation of the 7th is often described as slow, but his rendition of the 2th movement is meditative and melancholic. As I haven't found any of your commentary on classical music played on the organ, I suggest Symphony No-7, 2th movement interpreted by the young German organist Sebastian Heindl : th-cam.com/video/zxV_xJb21f0/w-d-xo.html
It is so slow that it doesn't feel like a dance anymore! When the tempo radically change the character that the piece is supposed to have, it's a misunderstanding of the piece.
Leave Klemperer and Celibidache for later, when you allready know the pieces and styles. These two conductors (especially Klemperer when he was very old) are known for choosing veeery slow tempos that are not standart practice.
Triple concerto!!!
@@Alix777. whattt?
@@Alix777. I'm afraid of you. I love this concerto as the best of piano concertos (maybe like fifth)
Eargasms
How is this a "Try not to smile challenge"? If it really was, you lost. 🙂
And I lost, too: I lost count of how many times you smiled.
Allow yourself to be a Beethoven fanboy.
I mean this piece 7th symphony conducted by Carlos Kleiber
Type me a message why he couldn't be the person he was? To me, he was the absolute best composer who ever lived. To me, there isn't able to be any better than him. All of the symphonies he wrote were better than every other composer. Those first four were amazing, except after he wrote the fifth, not a single composer was capable of surpassing him. As you well know, his crowing achievement was his nineth. The exception to this is that I have a better composition than that. It is Piano Concerto #5 in Eflat major. Its nickname is the Empoper Concerto.
Why concert halls need mosh pits.
This performance is too slow, its supposed to be fun and quick symphony. I dont know what the conductor was thinking.
What does GIDI stand for?
It’s my nickname from Gedeon or Gideon 😊
Oh no, why did you listen to this performance...
As many other listeners say, this piece is supreme, but this performance is not. Too much too slow. And it is fatal to this symphony.
You still have not enjoyed this piece in the true sense.
Klemperer is a great conductor, but this really got too slow. And it isn't just that, he cut off the brass section of the climax of the movement 1, unbelieveble! You should listen to Karajan' version of this symphony one day, he puts a lot energy on that, the climaxes are all in his recording and his andamento is better.
Please react to one of the great ballet scores (Swan Lake, Nutcracker, Raymonda, La Bayedere…)
Klemperer’s a great conductor, no doubt, but I find Beethoven conducted by many conductors from older generations tended to play Beethoven pretty slow. Toscanini is a notable exception, in my opinion. Don’t get me wrong: Many modern musicians also play Beethoven too fast, too. But I do generally prefer Beethoven performed at a brisker tempo than Klemperer. My favorite is Carlos Kleiber’s recording with the VIenna Philharmonic.
"Many modern musicians also play Beethoven too fast, too."
I have not yet heard a modern performance that goes over Beethoven's own Metronome Markings, which are fast and used to be ignored for decades. So I can't say that I heard one that is too fast.
@@Quotenwagnerianer That's one minefield you don't want to go into!
And pick the right versions, this one was sluggish 😅
Con le nove sinfonie di L.v.Beethoven,dove vai caschi bene.! A parte la prima che per me è pericolosissima,ascoltandola in auto mi sono esaltato troppo, patente ritirata per un mese e multa.😢
dont really like the tempo of this recording so had to play on 1.25x
Edit: just performed this symphony today (at the right tempo). It was an incredible experience
One of my favorite symphonies... but a terrible recording of it, too slow and far too heavy-sounding. This symphony is really supposed to dance, and that sense is almost completely lost in this recording. A friend of mine once described this recording as "tempo di comatose" and I tend to agree with that opinion.
I would recommend listening to Paavo Järvi for this symphony.
Your community is usually very good at recommending to you the right recording for the right work. But Klemperer and Beethoven 7th is a total misjudgement. It's one of Klemperers later recordings, made at a time when old age was getting to the man and his tempi became ridiculously slow.
Whoever recommended this recording should be flogged. Klemperers recording is more like a carricature of the work. Recommending a recording of this symphony that is THIS slow is a CRIME. This is perhaps the perfect Symphony, and it deserves to be presented properly.
Great recordings of this are: Kleiber, Muti, Paavo Järvi, Szell and Bernstein.
Edit: I'd like to add that the reason why I speak out so fiercely against recommending Klemperer of all to a newcomer is because this is the first Beethoven Symphony I ever heard in its entirety at the age of 5. I don't know exactly which recording it was, perhaps Muti, Kleiber's was brand new around that time.
And I fell in love so much that I could sing along it by heart. It's one of my desert island pieces. I would give up all other Beethoven Symphonies for it.
And it hurts me on a personal level to have someone discover this with a performance that ignores everything that is great about it. Ideally I would not even recommend Szell's recording to a newcomer, as great as it is, because it leaves out multiple repeats. And repeats are not optional in Beethoven's music.
I second these recommendations. Especially Järvi's recording, which I think is my favorite.
I am the one who requested this. First of all, it was recorded in 1960, long before Klemperer lost it, even by your standard (you said he lost it in his last 5 years, i.e. 1968-1973). Second of all, I recommended this recording because of the sheer energy and clarity. You can't notice them? Stop focusing on the tempo lol
@@Sh.moon. Clarity? It's muddy too. It's far too heavy, too much of a wall of homogeneous sound at many points.
@@andrewhcitlol muddy? I hear all the parts at every point. At what specific point in the performance do you feel the parts to mash up to the point of being muddy and unclear?
@@Sh.moon. Almost every cadence in the first and fourth movements. There's also not nearly enough dynamic contrast in the second movement because it's too heavy from the beginning. Overall I hear very little change in texture, it's all like stuck-together pasta. Clarity means more than just being able to hear the notes.
why so serious?🙃
This is a rather unconventional version, too slow compare to others. But if you like it, that's good.
Too slow. Tempo is a big deal.
Performance is too slow for my liking
Now that you have exposed yourself to some of the great symphonic masterpieces, behaps it's time to lighten up a bit. There are so many excellent but shorter, lighhter compositions out there: overtures (Brahms Academic Festival Overture, Mozart's Opera Overtures not to mention, Opera Overtures by Rossini, Mozart, Wagner) Marches by Prokovief, Gounod, Elgar,and, yes, John Phillip Sousa.) Opera arias and ensembles, string quartets and quintets..And when you are really ready to tirn your smiles into laughter you should look into Professor Peter Schickele, an American composer who writes humorous musical parodies ( The Art of the Ground Round.) and who created the the fictional compser P.D.Q. Bach who "wrote" AM ng other things, an opera (The Stoned Guest) an Oratorio (Iphegenia in Brooklyn.) I highly recomemend the Schleptet, the Unbegun Symphony and especially New Horizons in Music Appreciation. Kerp up the great work! And oh yes --Scherzos are playful by nature--you're allowed to smile!
The tempi are way too slow
man i adore this symphony! but this performance is really not that good, sorry. *most* of the bits you were confused of were because of the tempo of the performance.
The tempo just butchered it ;_;
Too slow. Karajan Is the best conductor for this Symphony. Or D. Baremboin