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Why doesn't Charles Dutoit conduct more Beethoven??There happens to be Dutoit performance of the 4th movement of the Beethoven 7 on YouTube, and my only gripe about the performance here is that it's too fast in tempo (although that's a complaint I have with most performances of this particular movement). The thing is, however, unlike most "fast" performances, at least the inner structure of the music isn't compromised, which is what this work is all about.
You should listen to both this performance and the Kleiber, and you'll see why I think Kleiber's Beethoven 7 is vastly overrated. When the final movement sounds "rushed", with the inner structure and "pulse" of the music compromised, to me, it sounds more like an orchestral showpiece than a work uniquely Beethoven.
Follow Ups:
let's just say you prefer dutoit's 7th,and leave it at that.kleiber's 7th is in a class by it self,just as your opinion.
jim buck
Love it. And I think the tempo is partly why. You should hear Dutoit's Apollo (Stravinsky) too. Wonderful music maker.
Watching this rehearsal clip, I think this guy's tempo is dead-on. And I mean dead-on. The music takes on added character. Previn seems to be driving home that "inner structure" which makes this music. There is a unique rhythmic character in this composition that I say has never been duplicated.
one of the most under appreciated conductors out there.
He'll have 4 years to shine now in Philadelphia.
It would be like an NFL team losing Peyton Manning and then snagging Tom Brady.....My big concern is like with Riccardo Muti, Dutoit's demand for perfection might clash with the Orchestra players' desire for artistic freedom.
I've never been a fan of Muti but I really like Dutoit. One of my top 2 or 3 favorites of the current big name conductors.
Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique
Prokofiev: Symphonies Nos. 1, 3 5
Prokofiev: Romeo & Juliet Suites
Shostakovich: Symphony No.5
Beethoven: Symphonies Nos. 7 & 9
Tchiakovsky: Symphony No.5
Mahler: Symphony No.1
Debussy: La Mer
Stravinsky: Le Sacre de Printemps
Stravinsky: Petrushka
Scriabin: Symphonies
Muti recorded the full Beethoven Symphony cycle with Philly..... I think it could be out-of-print, however.I love Muti's Beethoven 6, but his Beethoven 7 sounds too much like Kleiber and Karajan....
The disgusting thing is I don't recall Dutoit recording a Beethoven cycle with any orchestra. It seems like every conductor does one or two amongst them that are not so hot (save for maybe Furtwangler, one of only few who get the Ninth mostly right), but I think Dutoit is capable of producing as solid of a cycle as anyone I've heard. (I did notice Dutoit didn't have a score in front of him in that YouTube clip. So apparently, he's very familiar with at least that one Beethoven work.)
"I've never been a fan of Muti but I really like Dutoit. One of my top 2 or 3 favorites of the current big name conductors.What are some of your favorite Muti recordings?"
Muti has maybe done the best of the recent Mahler Ones that have come out. I also remember a nice Mussorgsky/Ravel "Pictures" as well....
I was in Philly when Muti led the Orchestra, and I saw them do a very impressive Schumann 2 and Beethoven 6 when I attended the old Academy of Music. (I attended four concerts total, and none were disappointing.) What struck me was a precise yet smooth character. In spite of the gripes, I thought this was a dynamite combination.
Dutoit has worked regularly with the Orchestra for like 15 years, so the two have a long working history.
Either that, or the Philadelphia has a LOT of oriental players in its ranks now.
What blows me away is the sound Dutoit got out of that orchestra. Had he stayed there, I would have proclaimed the NHK Symphony (?) as the biggest sleeper in concert-dom.
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