Today is the last day of my 162-day project.
(That’s nearly six straight months, to you and me.)
It would be foolhardy of me to claim I didn’t learn anything, or that I didn’t enjoy myself. Once again, I learned a lot. And I had fun doing it.
So these 162 days were time well spent.
To all who stopped by (from 11 different countries!) to read my blog entries, thank you. I appreciate your time.
I’ve encountered American conductor David Zinman (1936- ), Tonhalle Orchester Zurich, and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 in D minor eight times previously, on…
Day 18. Rating: “Meh!”
Day 36. Rating: Almost “Huzzah!”
Day 54. Rating: “Huzzah!”
Day 72. Rating: “Meh!”
Day 90. Rating: “Meh!”
Day 108. Rating: “Meh!”
Day 126. Rating: “Huzzah!”
Day 144. Rating: “Meh!”
That’s five “Meh!” and three “Huzzah!” ratings – and that’s if I count the “Almost Huzzah!” as a full-on “Huzzah!”
From what I remember, my biggest beef with Maestro Zinman is his propensity to super-charge the tempo to the point of irritating, at best.
Let’s see how it goes in today’s performance.
Beethoven wrote his symphonies in four parts (except for the Sixth, which is in five). The time breakdown of this particular one (Symphony No. 9 in D minor), from this particular conductor (Zinman, at age 62) and this particular orchestra (Tonhalle Orchster Zurich), at this particular time in history (Recorded December 12 & 14, 1998) on this particular record label (Arte Nova Classics – no web site or Wiki entry available) is as follows:
I. Allegro ma non troppo, un poco maestoso………………….13:35
II. Molto vivace………………………………………..12:11
III. Adagio molto e cantabile……………………………..11:31
IV. Finale (A)…………………………………………….13:10
IV. Finale (B)…………………………………………….12:58
Total running time: 72:34
My Rating:
Recording quality: 4 (very bright, almost brittle; could be the all-digital recording; timpani miked very loudly)
Overall musicianship: 4 (very fast tempo, right from the start; sounds like a different symphony from all others when it’s sped up like this)
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, plus the essays are technical and academic in nature)
How does this make me feel: 3 (“Meh!”)
I don’t like it.
Movement I was as fast as the word breakneck was coined to describe. It was ludicrously fast. Do you remember the Woody Allen movie Take the Money and Run?
The pace at which these musicians were playing reminded me of Woody Allen playing the cello in the marching band, desperately trying to play and catch up at the same time.
Movement II didn’t seem as fast as Movement I. But it was faster than many other performances I’ve heard. It was too fast for my tastes.
Beethoven’s music sounds best to me when the notes have longer spaces between them. When the music can breath, it sounds both deeper and weightier. More majestic.
When Zinman performs it sounds like an exercise in trying to see who can play Beethoven the fastest.
On top of a tempo I found too speedy, this is recorded very brightly – too much top end.
This is great for the vocal parts. The voices are crystal clear. But they have a tendency to be piercing. It’s like the claims of “Loudness War” regarding CD mastering. Everything is pushed way up. (Or, as Deep Purple vocalist Ian Gillan remarks to his sound man on the band’s classic album Made in Japan, he wants “Everything louder than everything else.”
Plus, there are essentially six movements in this performance – Movement IV offers three separate parts. Not sure why. I’m sure if I read the dry booklet I’d find out.
I’m sorry. I can’t recommend this performance, nor will I listen to it again.
“Meh!”
And that concludes my 162-day project.
I wish it could have ended on a more upbeat note. But it is what it is.
In the next few days, for those interested, I’ll compile a Top 5 list of my favorite conductors and CD box sets.
If y’all never return to my project to read that last post, I’ll wish you well now – and leave you with this:
Beethoven rocks.