Day 35: Symphony No. 2 in D Major (Wand)

I’m back at my “office” of New Beginnings restaurant and my Mexican chicken omelette with enough hot sauce to make my eyes water. To me, it’s the only way to enjoy food – if it stings and burns. This early in the morning, I need waking up like that. My listening fare today is Gunter … [Read more…]

Day 34: Symphony No. 2 in D Major (Szell)

Today’s performance of Beethoven’s Second is courtesy of George Szell (1897-1970) and the Cleveland Symphony Orchestra. It was recorded on Friday, October 2, 1964, in Severance Hall. (I know it was Friday, even though the liner small print on the back of the CD sleeve doesn’t provide that information, because I Googled it.) If you … [Read more…]

Day 33: Symphony No. 2 in D Major (Rattle)

My office this morning is at a restaurant-chain-that-must-not-be-named, known for its signature Light Roast coffee (when the pot actually has some in it!). As soon as I finish this, I will pack up and go to the office where I’m working on a screenplay and a book project. For now, though, I watch people meet, … [Read more…]

Day 31: Symphony No. 2 in D Major (Konwitschny)

My office this morning is a table in the back of Bagel Beanery, the purveyor of the largest, tastiest bagels in Grand Rapids (for whatever that’s worth). So, as I sip my Breakfast Blend coffee, and munch on my Dill Havarti bagel (toasted with plain cream cheese), I listen to German conductor Franz Konwitschny (1901-1962) … [Read more…]

Day 30: Symphony No. 2 in D Major (Klemperer)

In this Beethoven project, I first encountered German conductor Otto Klemperer (1885-1973) on Day 12. If you want to know some of Klemperer’s background (including his famous actor son), let your mouse do the walking over to that entry. This morning, I’m listening to him conduct Beethoven’s Symphony No. 2 in D Major. How does … [Read more…]

Day 29: Symphony No. 2 in D Major (Karajan)

I enjoy listening to Austrian conductor Herbert von Karajan (1908-1989) back to back like this, especially comparing his two most prized Beethoven cycles: 1963 and 1977. Although a reader’s poll on the Talk Classical site, indicates most of those who responded preferred Karajan’s 1963 cycle by a margin of more than two to one, I … [Read more…]

Day 27: Symphony No. 2 in D Major (Jochum)

My “office” this morning is a D&W grocery store with a Starbucks inside. I’m in the dining area. A Coke machine taunts me, albeit in vain, from the opposite wall. I don’t drink soda (or pop as we call it) all that often. When I do, it doesn’t come from a machine in a grocery … [Read more…]

Day 26: Symphony No. 2 in D Major (Haitink)

This morning, as I munch on my Asiago bagel (toasted dark!) with plain cream cheese, and sip my quickly cooling Light Roast coffee at a restaurant-chain-that-must-not-be-named, I listen to Dutch conductor Bernard Haitink wave his baton before the London Symphony Orchestra, inwardly smiling smugly to myself knowing that I will be ticking off an item … [Read more…]

Day 25: Symphony No. 2 in D Major (Furtwangler)

Two years ago (2016-2017), I experienced a musical exploration of Bruckner’s nine primary symphonies from the perspective of some two dozen conductors. Somewhere along the way (probably when I got to the “F” letter of the alphabet), I discovered Wilhelm Furtwangler (1886-1954). I was immediately taken with the historic nature of the recordings and wanted … [Read more…]

Day 24: Symphony No. 2 in D Major (Cluytens)

This morning’s conductor of Beethoven’s Sympohony No. 2 in D Major is the Belgian-born Frenchman Andre Cluytens (1905-1967). The orchestra is the Orchestre Philharmonique De Berlin, also known as the Berlin Philharmonic. And I am bored to tears. Seriously, this recording and this performance are not even close to engaging me. It sounds as flat … [Read more…]