CDs and DVDsBeethoven, Symphonies No. 3 & No. 8The Bremen Sound?

The Bremen Sound?

Paavo Järvi Conducts Beethoven's Third and Eighth Symphonies - CD review for the Stuttgarter Zeitung »Up to now, what Paavo Järvi and the Hanseatic City-based Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie do with Beethoven has not been dubbed the ›Bremen Sound‹, although Bremen could use some good headlines. But this recording is simply sensational. Although it is quite possible that Sir Roger Norrington, with his vibrato-free sound ideal and his insistence on Beethoven's metronome markings, was not without influence on the thirty years younger Paavo Järvi, the interpretation by the Estonian conductor and the spirited Bremen orchestra, which is technically just as polished as Norrington's Stuttgart recordings, gives off even more sparks, particularly in the ›Eroica‹ score, and fans the flame that is concealed there more strongly. With a small string section and sharply accentuated winds, the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie storms through the two not exactly rarely performed works with such alertness and curiosity, it is as though they were being played and heard for the first time. You may argue about historically informed performance practice as long as you like, but one thing is certain: with Järvi and his Bremen musicians you can imagine what a spectacular affront Beethoven's symphonies must have been to listeners of his day. And how tremendously exciting they still are! We are waiting impatiently for the next installment.« Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphonies No. 3 and 8. RCA / Sony BMG 8869/006552 KULTURCHRONIST - 28 OCTOBER 2006

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