Recordings of Ludwig van Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 in D minor number in the hundreds, and there's little reason to get excited about yet another, unless it's a rendition by Franz Welser-Möst, a dynamic Austrian conductor who can be relied on to do something interesting with this masterpiece. Sure enough, this live version with the Cleveland Orchestra and Chorus is well worth hearing for the controlled excitement of the performance and the direct power of the music, and Welser-Möst's interpretation is remarkable for its ...
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Recordings of Ludwig van Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 in D minor number in the hundreds, and there's little reason to get excited about yet another, unless it's a rendition by Franz Welser-Möst, a dynamic Austrian conductor who can be relied on to do something interesting with this masterpiece. Sure enough, this live version with the Cleveland Orchestra and Chorus is well worth hearing for the controlled excitement of the performance and the direct power of the music, and Welser-Möst's interpretation is remarkable for its steady build-up to an Ode to Joy that impresses through direct expression and emotional urgency. Along the way, one may notice that the sound is a little heavy and out of focus, and the orchestra's tone colors aren't as sharp as some other contemporary releases (for instance, the exceptionally sharp reproduction in Bernard Haitink's concert recording on LSO Live, which is stunning). But after a little accommodation for this minor audio problem, it's easy to follow the playing and feel...
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