Listening Challenge: Beethoven’s “Eroica”

Bird-Bolts and Cannon-Bullets, No. 29

This week marks our first listening challenge. Here is how it works: I line up four different recordings of a piece of music in a playlist, and we compare them. That’s it; nothing fancy. I will explain why I chose each recording and then open up comments for your responses and preferences.

We are leading off with the warhorse of all warhorses. I decided to start with Beethoven’s Third Symphony in E-flat, Op. 55 (“Eroica”) for several reasons. First, there have been a billion recordings in very distinctive, diverse styles, and so comparisons are potentially really interesting. Second, Dave Hurwitz, whose YouTube channel I featured a week ago, has recently started a series of videos on “reference recordings” of canonical works, and he led off with the Eroica. (That video is embedded in last week’s Bird-Bolts post.) Finally, it’s a very familiar piece, and so making comparisons may be a bit easier than it would with more obscure repertoire. Many consider this their favorite Beethoven symphony. It isn’t my favorite, but I do love it.

The recordings:

1. The reference recording is George Szell’s with the Cleveland Orchestra, as confirmed by Dave (see above). This was also my first recording of the work: when I was a child (fourth grade, I think?) my parents gave me Szell’s complete cycle of Beethoven’s symphonies for my birthday, and I played those LPs endlessly. I still have those records. Szell is known for his disciplined, transparent, balanced recordings that do everything right. But for all of his precision, this is also an exciting performance from beginning to end. If you don’t know this symphony, then Szell is certainly where you should start.

2. In the 1990s, English conductor John Eliot Gardiner’s complete cycle of Beethoven symphonies with the Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique took the classical music world by storm. He took Beethoven’s metronome markings seriously (while they are usually dismissed as unrealistic), and so the first thing that you will notice compared to Szell’s recording is the performance’s sheer speed. Gardiner pushes his players to their limits with his blazing tempos, and for the most part they come through. You may also notice a different orchestral timbre, since this is a recording on historical instruments, which means a thinner string sound with little to no vibrato, along with rounder tones in the brass and winds, and hard sticks on the timpani. Finally, the orchestra is tuned slightly lower. Before tuning was standardized as A = 440hz, each orchestra had its own version of “A” (usually conveniently tuned to the hall’s keyboard), and so period-instrument ensembles tend to tune to around A = 420hz. If you have perfect pitch, this may drive you nuts. The rest of us will be fine with it.

3. At the opposite end of the spectrum in terms of tempo is Otto Klemperer’s recording with the Philharmonia. I’m not sure who said it first, but it’s an old critical chestnut to describe Klemperer’s Beethoven as “carved from granite.” And there is no doubt that this is serious Beethoven, if we consider Gardiner’s interpretation fun Beethoven. One interesting aspect of Klemperer’s recordings, however, is that despite his generally slower tempos, his slow movements never lag and always sound totally convincing to me. Also, Klemperer loved woodwinds, and so they are always forward in the mix, which I appreciate. (By the way, for kicks, you might watch some of his performances on YouTube; I have no idea how the orchestra followed him, so eccentric was his conducting style.)

4. Finally, last but not least, we have a recent recording by Manfred Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. Honeck has learned lessons from the likes of Gardiner and other “historically informed” ensembles, and his tempos are fast, but the orchestral timbre is more traditional. This is live recording, and you can hear see the excitement and spontaneity in the hall. The orchestra is on fire. Not literally.

I love all of these recordings, though I do have a favorite. (I won’t reveal it yet, because I don’t want to prejudice your listening.) In any case, I’m excited to learn what your favorites are and why, so please discuss the recordings in the comments. Perhaps your favorite is not included here. There are many great ones by Walter, Bernstein, Karajan, Mackerras, Wand, Jochum, Klezki, Monteaux, Toscanini, etc., etc. Which would you include in your listening challenge?

Here are links to the playlist on Apple Music and Spotify:

PCF Challenge 1: Beethoven’s Eroica on Apple Music

PCF Challenge 1: Beethoven’s Eroica on Spotify

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The cover of Ashe’s album. I’m afraid she’s going to fall off of that chair.

Rotation Update

This week’s rotation is all new. Leading off are two great pop albums, one relatively recent and one classic. I’ve been playing singer/songwriter Ashe’s Rae album on repeat lately because it’s just so much fun—full of good tunes and grooves. She’s a tremendous talent, and I can’t understand why she’s not a superstar. Listen to the song “San Jose” in good headphones; and “Hope You’re Not Happy” is a new classic of the breakup-song genre. Speaking of superstars, next up is Prince’s Purple Rain. Those of you who have been reading PCF lately will know why this is on the list.

Also featured: a nice selection of Haydn by The Amsterdam Quartet, classic live jazz by Charles Mingus, a new recording of early Sibelius, some medieval drinking music, and more.

Here are the links to The Rotation on Apple Music and Spotify:

The Rotation from PCF on Apple Music

The Rotation from PCF on Spotify

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Featured Grad-Student Post

Our featured graduate student this week is actually a senior undergraduate, Hanh-Nhan Tran, who is taking my graduate course this semester in preparation for next fall, when she will begin the MA program. She writes In Honey’s Company, which this week proposes an interesting queer reading of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight:

Sir Gawain and Lord Bertilak's. . . Courtship?

That’s it for today. I’ll be back later this week with the final installment on Prince and the Icelandic Sagas.

Thanks for reading, from my fancy internet record player to yours.

Photo by Muhammed ÖÇAL on Unsplash