Beethoven-Symphony No. 9 (Daniel Barenboim) (DVD-Audio) (2000) (NTSC)

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General		Extras
Category	Music	Booklet Notes-Beethoven's Works In Their Time Featurette-Barenboim on DVD Discography-Also Available Credits
Rating
Year Of Production	2000
Running Time	66:32
RSDL / Flipper	No/No	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	1,2,3,4,5,6	Directed By	Daniel Barenboim
Studio Distributor	Warner Vision	Starring	Berliner Staatskapelle
Case	DVD-Audio Jewel
RPI	$32.95	Music	Ludwig Van Beethoven

    This is part of a set of the complete Beethoven Symphonies released on DVD-Audio. All the symphonies are performed by the Berliner Staatskapelle conducted by Daniel Barenboim.

    Of all of Beethoven's nine symphonies, none of them can surpass the sheer scale, grandeur and majesty of the famous No. 9. Indeed, it became the model of the "ultimate" symphony, which others like Brahms, Schubert, and Mahler would strive to emulate.

    Indeed, this symphony breaks much new ground, not least of which is sheer duration. The fourth movement alone is perhaps nearly as long as the entire duration of some of his earlier symphonies, and the entire symphony can last anywhere from 60-90 minutes, with about 70-75 minutes being the "norm."

    Urban myth has it that the 9th symphony was indirectly responsible for influencing the playing time of the Compact Disc as we know it today. According to legend, the disc specifications originally called for 60 minutes of playing time, but this was increased to 74 minutes to allow the 9th symphony to fit onto one disc.

    The symphony itself certainly does not sound like preceding Beethoven symphonies - a dramatic and bombastic first movement leads to a reversal of roles between the second and third movements - the second is a fast paced scherzo (though not entitled as such) that seems to give a foretaste of Rossini's operas, and the third is a very sentimental and lyrical piece that I can imagine will make an old British colonel quiver his whiskers as he sips his whiskey and struggles to staunch a flow of tears in a dark corner of the clubroom!

    However, it is the fourth and final movement that rightly demands the most attention. Opening with a loud fanfare, an extended cello recitative toys with melodies from the preceding movements before introducing the by-now familiar "Ode To Joy" theme. Another fanfare arrives, and the cello is replaced by a baritone solo recitative that now introduces the words to the Schiller poem on which this movement is based. We are then introduced to the other soloists as well as a full choir in an ambitious orchestration combining drama, subtlety, beauty and joy.

    Although by some accounts the first performance was dreadfully under-rehearsed and full of mistakes, there is a touching anecdote of Beethoven (who conducted the first performance even though he was by then almost totally deaf) not realising after the performance ended how much noise the enthusiastic audience was making, until he was induced to turn around by one of the soloists - it was only then that he realised how much the audience had enjoyed the work, and the audience also then realised how profoundly deaf he was.

    So, what did I think of this performance? It is a very creditable account, and certainly one containing many aspects that I liked. Like Barenboim's performances of the other Beethoven symphonies, I would have preferred the tempi to be a touch faster, but in the case of the 9th, the additional drama and detail more than make up for the slightly slow pacing. Was it my imagination, or were there some fluffed notes in the second movement? However, the beauty of the third movement soon calmed me down, and the fourth movement was every bit as majestic as I remembered it.

Video

    The video content on this disc is in full frame NTSC. Each song is accompanied by musician credits, a set of photos and lyrics. The disc starts with a rather annoying (especially if you are trying to use the disc without a video display and wondering what is happening) video intro which is basically a slideshow of various stills.

    Whilst the music is playing, a set of 16 stills (images of various paintings related to Beethoven, and facsimiles of manuscripts) are selectable using the page keys on the player.

Audio

    The DVD-A section contains an MLP 96/24 5.0 track, and the DVD-Video section contains a Dolby Digital 5.0 track. No stereo tracks are available.

    The multi-channel mix focuses most of the music on the front left and right channels, with the centre channel used as filler and the rear speakers used for hall ambience.

    I've always felt that Beethoven's 9th symphony is one of the hardest torture tests for any recording or sound reproducing equipment. The work mixes some very soft and delicate passages right next to some extremely loud moments, and the last movement can be very densely textured, containing many orchestral instruments mixed in with a full choir but with distinct parts for each of the soloists that cannot afford to be drowned by the other players.

    Naturally, I was keen to find out what advantages a modern multi-channel high-resolution recording can bring in terms of greater clarity to the performance and the ability to reproduce all the nuances of the work when performed live in a concert hall.

    I am happy to report that there is much that is noteworthy in this recording. I can certainly hear more cues and subtle details, particularly the timbre of various stringed instruments, and the spread of attacks of various brass instruments are reminiscent of some of the details that I have previously only heard in live performances. Also, the recording handled both soft and loud passages with equal aplomb, and without sacrificing either delicacy in the soft notes or the dramatic impact of the loud ones.

    The soundstage is appropriately open and deep, and does not collapse even during the loudest passages. Finally, in the final movement, the voices of the soloists come through clearly even in the densest passages and I felt I could almost distinguish individuals in the choir.

    However, I felt that the recording still lacks the last 0.1% of detail that one can only get from a live performance - I felt the kettle drums sounded ever so slightly muffled, and lacked some of the highlights of real drums. However, this is a very minor fault, and overall I would say this is a very believable and credible recording.

    The Dolby Digital 5.0 track in comparison is acceptable but does not fare too well. Encoded with a dialog normalization of +4dB, it sounds louder than the corresponding MLP track but loses in terms of finesse and subtlety. In contrast, the orchestra in Dolby Digital sounds very heavy handed, with none of the nuances that so enticed me in the MLP track. Needless to say, the rendition of the final movement results in a very flat, "wall of sound" perspective.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

    Most of the fairly scanty extras are available on both the DVD-V and DVD-A sections of the disc. However, the DVD-V section does not contain audio excerpts from other Teldec titles - only the album covers.

Booklet

    This is a 20 page booklet containing black and white photos, track listing, a short essay on the work by Andreas Richter (in English, French, German), DVD-Audio operating instructions, and production credits.

Menu

    Full frame and static.

Notes - Beethoven's Works In Their Time

    This is a set of 8 stills (English, German and French versions available) presenting a set of trivia/facts about historical events, other works of art and other Beethoven compositions surrounding the creation of compositions featured on the disc.

Featurette - Barenboim on DVD (3:49)

    This is a short featurette on the Barenboim Beethoven symphonic cycle now available on DVD-Audio. It is presented in full frame and Linear PCM 48/16 2.0. It features Daniel Barenboim at the recording studio waxing lyrical about the wonders of high resolution surround sound on DVD-Audio, accompanied by behind the scenes footage of the orchestra rehearsing. In addition, the recording producer Christoph Classen also says a few words about the new medium being a "brave new frontier" etc.

Discography - also available

    This features album covers and short selections from other DVD-A titles available in the Teldec catalogue, including:

• Carl Orff: Carmina Burana, The London Philharmonic, Zubin Mehta
• Johann Strauß in Berlin, Berliner Philharmoniker, Nikolaus Harnoncourt
• Mahler: Symphony No. 2 (Resurrection), Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Zubin Mehta

Credits

    This is a set of two stills containing production credits.

    This title is identical across all regions.

    Continuing the cycle of Beethoven symphonies available on DVD-Audio, this title contains Symphony No. 9, also known as the "Choral" symphony. Daniel Barenboim conducts the Berliner Staatskapelle in a performance that is detailed and clear, but probably a tad too slow for me.

    The MLP 5.0 audio quality is excellent. The Dolby Digital 5.0 audio quality is acceptable. There are no stereo tracks.

    Extras include a short featurette.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall