Beethoven - Symphony No. 8 / Remastered (ref.rec.: Herbert von Karajan, Berliner Philharmoniker)

Album available // Beethoven: The 9 Symphonies by Herbert von Karajan (2024 Remastered, Berlin 1962)
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) Symphony No. 8 in F Major, Op. 93
00:00 I. Allegro vivace e con brio
09:18 II. Allegretto scherzando
13:16 III. Tempo di Menuetto
19:13 IV. Allegro vivace

Berliner Philharmoniker
Conductor: Herbert von Karajan
Recorded in 1962, at Berlin
New mastering in 2022 by AB for CMRR

Symphony No. 8 in F Major, Op. 93 // We can see from Beethoven's notebooks that he began this symphony in the summer of 1812. He was then in Teplitz, Bohemia. Here he met Amalie Sebald, one of the last women he loved, and saw Goethe for the first time. In autumn 1812, he went to Linz, where he completed the symphony in October. In Linz, Beethoven was in high spirits; he felt, he said, "aufgehnöpft" (unbuttoned). Cheerfulness is the basis of this symphony. The light-hearted atmosphere is occasionally disturbed, but the many charming fantasies seem to show that he must have been truly joyful at the time.

The symphony was first performed at the residence of Beethoven's friend and pupil, Archduke Rudolph, but the general public didn't hear it until the following year, on February 27, 1814, when the Seventh Symphony and Wellington's Victory were also on the program. Beethoven was irritated by the general preference for the Seventh Symphony and said, somewhat ironically, that "it was because the Eighth Symphony was superior to it". He himself, however, declared on several occasions that he considered the Seventh to be the best of his works.

With his Eighth Symphony, Beethoven successfully accomplished a task for which he had not previously felt competent: to write a symphony that flows, that is peaceful and harmonious, beautiful and elegant. Many have found it difficult to understand why Beethoven wrote such a simple, easily comprehensible work so late in life. It is also, apart from the First, the shortest of his symphonies. The Eighth was, therefore, seen as a return to an earlier style. The work, however, shows great skill, and the difference between the Eighth Symphony and many of its predecessors lies in the important fact that Beethoven no longer seems to have the slightest need or desire to assert his particular style.

The work was completed in a relatively short space of time, and it was felt that he really hadn't taken it seriously. Berlioz, for example, claimed that the allegro movement had been written "in one go", and he believed that the melody had "fallen from heaven into Beethoven's lap". Beethoven, however, had continued to work on the symphony even after it had been performed and, among other things, increased the coda of the first movement to double its original length.

I. Allegro vivace e con brio. It begins, without any introduction, with a rapid, cheerful and unpretentious theme. The development is unproblematic, clear, natural and perfectly controlled.
II. Allegretto scherzando. Contrary to his habit, Beethoven placed this movement in second place (in his earlier symphonies, the second movement was always slow). The staccato chords played by the wind instruments are said to imitate the beating of the Maelzel metronome; Beethoven also wrote a short choral composition, The Metronome Canon, on the same theme.
III. Ternpo di Minuetto. As the scherzo has already been played, the third movement is a classical minuet in pure Viennese style. A. K. Holland says that the whole symphony has such an "urban" tone that not even the minuet trio has the slightest country flavor. The whole work is "urban rococo".
IV. Allegro vivace. This movement takes off at breakneck speed. It makes sublime use of the orchestra's full potential, brimming with fantasy and gaiety.

Beethoven: Missa Solemnis in D Major Op. 123

[classicalmusicreference]

Album available // Beethoven: The 9 Symphonies by Herbert von Karajan (2024 Remastered, Berlin 1962)
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) Symphony No. 8 in F Major, Op. 93
00:00 I. Allegro vivace e con brio
09:18 II. Allegretto scherzando
13:16 III. Tempo di Menuetto
19:13 IV. Allegro vivace

Berliner Philharmoniker
Conductor: Herbert von Karajan
Recorded in 1962, at Berlin
New mastering in 2022 by AB for CMRR

Symphony No. 8 in F Major, Op. 93 // We can see from Beethoven's notebooks that he began this symphony in the summer of 1812. He was then in Teplitz, Bohemia. Here he met Amalie Sebald, one of the last women he loved, and saw Goethe for the first time. In autumn 1812, he went to Linz, where he completed the symphony in October. In Linz, Beethoven was in high spirits; he felt, he said, "aufgehnöpft" (unbuttoned). Cheerfulness is the basis of this symphony. The light-hearted atmosphere is occasionally disturbed, but the many charming fantasies seem to show that he must have been truly joyful at the time.

The symphony was first performed at the residence of Beethoven's friend and pupil, Archduke Rudolph, but the general public didn't hear it until the following year, on February 27, 1814, when the Seventh Symphony and Wellington's Victory were also on the program. Beethoven was irritated by the general preference for the Seventh Symphony and said, somewhat ironically, that "it was because the Eighth Symphony was superior to it". He himself, however, declared on several occasions that he considered the Seventh to be the best of his works.

With his Eighth Symphony, Beethoven successfully accomplished a task for which he had not previously felt competent: to write a symphony that flows, that is peaceful and harmonious, beautiful and elegant. Many have found it difficult to understand why Beethoven wrote such a simple, easily comprehensible work so late in life. It is also, apart from the First, the shortest of his symphonies. The Eighth was, therefore, seen as a return to an earlier style. The work, however, shows great skill, and the difference between the Eighth Symphony and many of its predecessors lies in the important fact that Beethoven no longer seems to have the slightest need or desire to assert his particular style.

The work was completed in a relatively short space of time, and it was felt that he really hadn't taken it seriously. Berlioz, for example, claimed that the allegro movement had been written "in one go", and he believed that the melody had "fallen from heaven into Beethoven's lap". Beethoven, however, had continued to work on the symphony even after it had been performed and, among other things, increased the coda of the first movement to double its original length.

I. Allegro vivace e con brio. It begins, without any introduction, with a rapid, cheerful and unpretentious theme. The development is unproblematic, clear, natural and perfectly controlled.
II. Allegretto scherzando. Contrary to his habit, Beethoven placed this movement in second place (in his earlier symphonies, the second movement was always slow). The staccato chords played by the wind instruments are said to imitate the beating of the Maelzel metronome; Beethoven also wrote a short choral composition, The Metronome Canon, on the same theme.
III. Ternpo di Minuetto. As the scherzo has already been played, the third movement is a classical minuet in pure Viennese style. A. K. Holland says that the whole symphony has such an "urban" tone that not even the minuet trio has the slightest country flavor. The whole work is "urban rococo".
IV. Allegro vivace. This movement takes off at breakneck speed. It makes sublime use of the orchestra's full potential, brimming with fantasy and gaiety.

Extract from notes in Herbert von Karajan's manuscript: "Once again, the problem of fidelity to the work arises. But what is the meaning of this expression, which has been abused too often and has caused more errors and misunderstandings in musical interpretation than any other? Where does the line lie between arid, petty pedantry in the execution of the score, on the one hand, and total emotional surrender to the work of art, on the other, a surrender that can only be achieved by imposing the most rigorous discipline in observing every nuance of the work? One thing is certain: notes alone cannot reveal the spirit of a work of art. But to read between the lines, you need both absolute respect for the text and the intuitive ability to feel the most secret movements that notes, on their own, are powerless to express. This raises the complex question of dynamics: what is a forte and what is a piano? Is a piano half a forte, a third or an eighth? What sound power does it represent and, even if this can be measured, what effects does this sound produce in two different rooms? Did Beethoven tell us how many decibels a particular passage of the Ninth should have? And how long should a chord vibrate before it reaches the desired length? All these questions - as we can see - don't get us very far; on the contrary, we need to start from fundamental values, which are themselves independent of any individual judgement."

In 1962, Herbert von Karajan had recently taken over the direction of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, succeeding his great historical rival, Wilhelm Furtwängler. This 1962 recording is his first stereo recording of Beethoven's Symphonies. Although stereo had been used experimentally since the 1930s, it wasn't until the late '50s that it began to be exploited commercially. To meet the colossal budget for this project, 100, 000 copies had to be sold. After a year's work between 1961 and 1962, 1 million boxed sets were finally sold worldwide, ensuring Herbert von Karajan's commercial credibility. His name is now identified with Beethoven.

Beethoven: Missa Solemnis in D Major Op. 123

[classicalmusicreference]

Symphony No. 8 in F Major, Op. 93 // We can see from Beethoven's notebooks that he began this symphony in the summer of 1812. He was then in Teplitz, Bohemia. Here he met Amalie Sebald, one of the last women he loved, and saw Goethe for the first time. In autumn 1812, he went to Linz, where he completed the symphony in October. In Linz, Beethoven was in high spirits; he felt, he said, "aufgehnöpft" (unbuttoned). Cheerfulness is the basis of this symphony. The light-hearted atmosphere is occasionally disturbed, but the many charming fantasies seem to show that he must have been truly joyful at the time.

The symphony was first performed at the residence of Beethoven's friend and pupil, Archduke Rudolph, but the general public didn't hear it until the following year, on February 27, 1814, when the Seventh Symphony and Wellington's Victory were also on the program. Beethoven was irritated by the general preference for the Seventh Symphony and said, somewhat ironically, that "it was because the Eighth Symphony was superior to it". He himself, however, declared on several occasions that he considered the Seventh to be the best of his works.

With his Eighth Symphony, Beethoven successfully accomplished a task for which he had not previously felt competent: to write a symphony that flows, that is peaceful and harmonious, beautiful and elegant. Many have found it difficult to understand why Beethoven wrote such a simple, easily comprehensible work so late in life. It is also, apart from the First, the shortest of his symphonies. The Eighth was, therefore, seen as a return to an earlier style. The work, however, shows great skill, and the difference between the Eighth Symphony and many of its predecessors lies in the important fact that Beethoven no longer seems to have the slightest need or desire to assert his particular style.

The work was completed in a relatively short space of time, and it was felt that he really hadn't taken it seriously. Berlioz, for example, claimed that the allegro movement had been written "in one go", and he believed that the melody had "fallen from heaven into Beethoven's lap". Beethoven, however, had continued to work on the symphony even after it had been performed and, among other things, increased the coda of the first movement to double its original length.

I. Allegro vivace e con brio. It begins, without any introduction, with a rapid, cheerful and unpretentious theme. The development is unproblematic, clear, natural and perfectly controlled.
II. Allegretto scherzando. Contrary to his habit, Beethoven placed this movement in second place (in his earlier symphonies, the second movement was always slow). The staccato chords played by the wind instruments are said to imitate the beating of the Maelzel metronome; Beethoven also wrote a short choral composition, The Metronome Canon, on the same theme.
III. Ternpo di Minuetto. As the scherzo has already been played, the third movement is a classical minuet in pure Viennese style. A. K. Holland says that the whole symphony has such an "urban" tone that not even the minuet trio has the slightest country flavor. The whole work is "urban rococo".
IV. Allegro vivace. This movement takes off at breakneck speed. It makes sublime use of the orchestra's full potential, brimming with fantasy and gaiety.

Extract from notes in Herbert von Karajan's manuscript: "Once again, the problem of fidelity to the work arises. But what is the meaning of this expression, which has been abused too often and has caused more errors and misunderstandings in musical interpretation than any other? Where does the line lie between arid, petty pedantry in the execution of the score, on the one hand, and total emotional surrender to the work of art, on the other, a surrender that can only be achieved by imposing the most rigorous discipline in observing every nuance of the work? One thing is certain: notes alone cannot reveal the spirit of a work of art. But to read between the lines, you need both absolute respect for the text and the intuitive ability to feel the most secret movements that notes, on their own, are powerless to express. This raises the complex question of dynamics: what is a forte and what is a piano? Is a piano half a forte, a third or an eighth? What sound power does it represent and, even if this can be measured, what effects does this sound produce in two different rooms? Did Beethoven tell us how many decibels a particular passage of the Ninth should have? And how long should a chord vibrate before it reaches the desired length? All these questions - as we can see - don't get us very far; on the contrary, we need to start from fundamental values, which are themselves independent of any individual judgement."

In 1962, Herbert von Karajan had recently taken over the direction of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, succeeding his great historical rival, Wilhelm Furtwängler. This 1962 recording is his first stereo recording of Beethoven's Symphonies. Although stereo had been used experimentally since the 1930s, it wasn't until the late '50s that it began to be exploited commercially. To meet the colossal budget for this project, 100, 000 copies had to be sold. After a year's work between 1961 and 1962, 1 million boxed sets were finally sold worldwide, ensuring Herbert von Karajan's commercial credibility. His name is now identified with Beethoven.

❤ If you like CMRR content, please consider membership at our Patreon or Tipeee page.

[notaire]

Lebhafte und wunderschöne Interpretation dieser pseudoklassischen doch perfekt komponierten Sinfonie mit gut harmonisierten und perfekt entsprechenden Tönen aller Instrumente. Der zweite Satz klingt echt rhythmisch und auch erfreulich. Im Kontrast klingt der dritte Satz echt elegant und auch beruhigend. Endlich kommt der letzte Satz voller Bewegung und Begeisterung. Der intelligente und unvergleichliche Maestro dirigiert das weltklassige Orchester im relativ schnellen Tempo und mit möglichst effektiver Dynamik. Wunderbar und atemberaubend zugleich!

[barney]

I know of no other recording that whips the 1st movement into shape, like this one. Phenomenal.

[Brooder]

Ahhh...only Karajan had the ability to bring out the energy and gay science of Beethoven's Eighth. Capturing the rapidity of the strings and frenzied rapturous pace. Maestro. ❤

[samroth]

Beethoven's and Gould's (along with Sibelius' fifth) favourite symphony. To not forget...

[ErnestUngureanu]

Pour moi, la MUSIQUE c'est Beethoven.