[log in to unmask] writes:

>The report I just received is that it's not the BPO but the Berliner
>Staatskapelle. Here is what one e-source said to try to get me to buy it:
>
>   "Seldom have Beethoven's works been performed so well, by such
>    a strong ensemble, with modern recording technology.  Owing a
>   slight stylistic debt to Wilhelm Furtwangler, Barenboim delivers
>   an expressive and powerful, yet thoroughly original, Beethoven
>   cycle that is already garnering critical acclaim." ...

Bought it, heard it, traded it.

There's no accounting for taste.  The performances were strong, sensitive
and on the slow side (which I tend to like).  However, none of it got me
to the edge of my seat or seemed to touch me very deeply.  (That may be
me rather than Barenboim . . . I don't know.)

The studio recording lacked bloom and space.  I tend to like to listen for
the "hall."  I love Vienna Sofiensaal (spelling?) or other recordings that
give me the illusion of spaciousness, with air around the sound.  This
recording struck me as congested and claustrophobic.  I know it is
state-of-the art; perhaps they could have tried a different venue?

I also thought that the layout on 6 CD's, with no overtures to fill, was
extravagant (the Pastorale is on one CD, takes up just over 45 minutes);
surely they could have given us more music or cut the price of the set?

Jim Saunders
Portland, OR USA