Credits:

Beethoven (1770-1827)

Description:

The second BSOrec CD from the Bayerische Staatsoper's own label! In this symphony, Beethoven takes the expressive power of the classical orchestra to the extreme. He experiments with each instrument, and the sound depicts his inner struggle against his own destiny. It is also notable in that it is the first recording with Vladimir Jurowski, who has been appointed General Music Director of the theater and Chief Conductor of the orchestra beginning with the 2021/22 season. The Bavarian State Opera had been on lockdown since March 2020 due to the spread of the new corona infection, but the concert recorded here in October 2020 was the first Academy Concert (a subscription concert of the Bavarian State Orchestra) after the theater reopened. The October 2020 concert was the first Academy Concert (a subscription concert of the Bavarian National Orchestra) after the reopening of the theater, so both the performers and the audience must have had special feelings. The program opened with Brett Dean's Testament (orchestral version), which refers to Beethoven's "Heiligenstadt Testament". Dean was inspired by the contents of the will as well as its handwriting and pressure, and composed music full of energy reminiscent of the struggle between creative energy and anguish that welled up in him. Beethoven's works (Razumovsky No. 1, etc.) are quoted throughout.The original work was for 12 viola players, but here it is performed in an arrangement for orchestra. Jurovsky's combination is the Symphony No. 2, which was written at the same time as the "Heiligenstadt Testament. In contrast to the terrible contents of "Heiligenstadt's Will," Jurovski's interpretation of this work is extremely powerful and dynamic, even though it is often seen as a sunny music with little shade of anguish. Jurovsky's early work with Beethoven was multifaceted: with the Age of Invention he studied period instrument technique and ideas, and with the Rundfunk Symphony Orchestra Berlin he worked on Mahler's arrangement. The music is precise in every detail, powerful and intense, as is typical of Jurowski, who has studied and practiced the possibilities of Beethoven's orchestral scores. (1/2) Naxos Japan