Robert Peters wrote:

>The first recordings I listened to intensely now were Furtwanglers,
>Giulinis and Zinmans recordings of Beethovens 9th. And Zinman left
>me totally unmoved. Too quick, too soft, too boring. Now is Zinman
>really weak or is it only me? In my collection he wont make the grade.

Robert, it's not only you.  I have the Zinman set of Beethoven Symphonies,
and I am extremely impressed with most of them, but the 9th is my least
favorite.  My appreciation of these performances has in some cases
required an open mind, which has reaped great rewards, but I haven't
been able to get past the ultra fast tempo in the third movement of
the 9th.  My impression was that little was gained, and much was lost.

Nevertheless, I'd have to be very short on space to get rid of it (i.e.
if I had it as a single instead of part of the set).  At worst, it offers
an alternative point of view to enhance my appreciation.

About the Zinman Beethoven: (I realize that this was discussed in a
previous thread.) The orchestra is amazing.  They play some of the music
unbelievably fast, and make it sound easy.  For the most part I like the
faster tempos, even in the slow movements.  The skillful and inciteful
adoption of HIP takes me back to the time of Beethoven (or so I imagine)
more than any other performances I've heard.  You really hear the Haydn
in these performances, e.g.  the hard mallet for the timpani and the
fast tempo in the Marcia Funebre in the Eroica.  This set turned me onto
Zinman, and everything I've heard since by him has impressed me very
much (with some exceptions, i.e.  the 9th).  I feel that he expresses
the meaning behind the notes, plus he brings out tremendous rhythmic
vitality.

Mike Leghorn
Evanston