This morning, I am listening to American conductor David Zinman (1936- ), Tonhalle Orchester Zurich, and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3 in E flat Major.
Prior to my Beethoven project, I had only vaguely heard of Maestro Zinman.
According to his bio on Wikipedia, “[Zinman] then worked in Maine with Pierre Monteux from 1958 to 1962, serving as his assistant from 1961 to 1964,: which means his pedigree is solid. Maestro Monteux was no slouch.
Interesting.
I first encountered Maestro Zinman on…
Day 18. Rating: “Meh!”
Day 36. Rating: Almost “Huzzah!”
The issues I had with Maestro Zinman’s previous performances I chalked up to the all-digital (DDD) recording sounding too dry, the urtext editions, the orchestra, or…?
I wasn’t sure. They just didn’t win me over, for whatever reason.
Let’s see what today brings.
Beethoven wrote his symphonies in four parts (except for the Sixth, which is in five). The time breakdown of this particular one (Symphony No. 3 in E flat Major), from this particular conductor (Zinman, at age 62) and this particular orchestra (Tonhalle Orchster Zurich), at this particular time in history (May, 1998) on this particular record label (Arte Nova Classics – no web site or Wiki entry available) is as follows:
I. Allegro con brio………………………………………………………………………15:37
II. Marcia funebre: Adagio assai……………………………………………….12:59
III. Scherzo: Allegro vivace – Trio…………………………………………………6:16
IV. Finale: Allegro molto – Poco andante – Presto…………………..10:32
Total running time: 44:44
My Rating:
Recording quality: 5 (sounds flawless, if a bit dry; could be the all-digital recording)
Overall musicianship: 5 (energetic, if a bit safe)
CD liner notes: 3 (a booklet in each CD jewel case; however, the information is a hodgepodge that lacks even running times for each track, as well as total running time for each symphony)
How does this make me feel: 4
As with the last performance (Beethoven’s Second), this one is hard to suss out. It’s certainly well above “Meh!” But I’m not sure it’s “Huzzah!” worthy, either.
I guess this is another “Almost ‘Huzzah!'” performance.
Or is it?
The Scherzo (Movement III) yanks the performance out of the doldrums of the Adagio (Movement II) – and with total kick-ass abandon. It’s like downing a caffeine drink after a nap. The jolt flings eyes wide open and gets the heart pumping.
Love it.
The Finale (Movement IV) is also a delight to experience. It feels like the musical equivalent of Bette Davis’ warning in the Oscar-winning movie All About Eve “Fasten your seat belts. It’s going to be a bumpy night.”
The Finale, under the baton of David Zinman as played by Tonhalle Orchester Zurich, is a bumpy ride, indeed. But not in a bad way; rather, in a breathtaking roller-coaster way. Lots of ups and downs, twists and turns, adrenaline by the bucket full.
Hmmm.
The more I listen to this recording, the more I like it. It is a brisk, crisp, high-energy performance that ends with such enthusiasm that it made me feel like I should rise out of my chair and shout, “Huzzah!”
Which tells me this is more than an “Almost ‘Huzzah!'” performance.
It’s the real deal.
Highly recommended.