My listening post today is the same as it was yesterday.
Same lake view.
Same gray skies.
Same cat tower, only – this time – sans chat.
There’s one major difference: The conductor and the orchestra.
Today, I find myself listening to French-American conductor Pierre Monteux (1875-1964), the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6 in F major.
I have encountered Maestro Monteux five times previous to this morning, on…
Day 14. Rating: “Huzzah!”
Day 32. Rating: “Meh!”
Day 50. Rating: “Meh!”
Day 68. Rating: “Huzzah!”
Day 85. Rating: “Meh!”
What will today’s performance bring?
Let’s find out!
Beethoven wrote his symphonies in four parts (except for the Sixth, which is in five). The time breakdown of this particular one (Symphony No. 6 in F major), from this particular conductor (Monteux, at age 84) and this particular orchestra (Boston Symphony Orchestra), at this particular time in history (August 8, 1959) on this particular record label (Memories Reverence) is as follows:
I. Allegro ma non troppo………………………………………..11:57
“Awakening of cheerful feelings upon arrival in the country”
II. Andante molto mosso………………………………………..11:45
“Scene by the brook”
III. Allegro…………………………………………………………………4:57
“Merry gathering of country folk”
IV. Allegro…………………………………………………………………..3:12
“Thunderstorm”
V. Allegretto……………………………………………………………..9:03
“Shepherd’s song: Happy and thankful feelings after the storm”
Total running time: 40:14
My Rating:
Recording quality: 4 (conspicuous tape hiss, lots of ambient noises, including coughing, sneezing, and shuffling, almost too-bright top end)
Overall musicianship: 4 (seems to be a slightly brisker tempo than other performances to date)
CD liner notes: 0 (no liner notes – boo! hiss! – not even time indications: how long is each track?)
How does this make me feel: “Meh!”
This is an interesting recording of what probably was an interesting performance.
I think I may have mentioned Nigel Tufnel before. Nigel’s amps went to 11. Nowhere else to go from there.
That’s kind of like this recording.
It seems like it’s been pushed to 11. So when Maestro Monteux gets to those favorite passages of mine, his orchestra is already playing loudly – made even more so by the recording – so there’s nowhere to go. The oomph is missing. The soft-to-loud ratio is out of whack.
Movement II is better than Movement I because, as a typical Andante, it’s slower and quieter anyway. But there’s still that annoying tape hiss with which to contend.
Movement III also suffers from two things: (1) a tempo that seems too fast, and (2) ambient noises and tape hiss. So when the orchestra quiets I can hear people shuffling, even breathing. When the orchestra kicks in again, it seems really loud. Also, and I’m just noticing this, the solo instruments in the third movement sound tinny, almost like toy replicas of their real selves. I don’t know if that’s because of the way it was recorded, the age of the recording, the tempo, or some other problem I can’t identify.
Movement IV is nice. The “Thunderstorm” is obvious. But, again, it’s sounded like a rain storm from the first second it began. That’s how loud the tape hiss is. Sounds like a steady, gentle rain. That’s great if I’m taking a nap and it actually is raining. Nothing more soothing that naps during rain showers.
But when I’m listening to a symphony, “rain showers” are annoying.
Movement V is more of the same. I find myself listening more to the tinny instruments, the tape hiss, and the ambient sounds than I do the music itself.
Overall, this is an interesting performance, and an historic recording. But it’s not one I’ll ever hear again.
I wish I could rate this more highly. But, I can’t.
“Meh!”
Hey Bill! I’m really enjoying your evaluations so far. Do you have any plans of a summary of your ratings of the different composers and symphonies once the 162 days are over? I was thinking of something like a post summarizing which conductors’ symphonies got which ratings and which one was your overall favorite recording of each symphony.
Hi Anton,
Thank you for stopping by. And thank you for your kindness.
That’s a great idea! I’d considered it, but then forgot about it. You brought it back to my attention.
I think I’ll do it.
Do you have a favorite conductor and/or orchestra?
And, a really big follow-up question: Do you think I should do another 162 days with Beethoven? Or go from Beethoven to the Mozart 225 box set to listen to everything Mozart composed after I finish this leg of my year-long project?