Beethoven - Symphony 7 [Davis-Staatskapelle Dresden] Here's the Seventh of Beethoven again, i'm slowly working my way through this box set, the Egmont Overture opened my Blog at the very beginning of the year [1st January 2011], and just a few days before i listened to the Third [28th December 2010], Beethoven's Symphonic oeuvre is large enough to need to dedicate many years to fully comprehend the man, indeed it's a lifelong pursuit, and then there's the Chamber music etc, it never ends.
Colin Davis is an English Conductor, born in 1927, making him 83 today, he made this recording in 1992, a nice accomplished box set of six discs, very nicely housed.
I must admit the opening first movement really thrilled me, it probably has one of the longest intros of any of his works, the woodwind start us off, but the intro gets so long, that you start to feel that 'the intro is the symphony', but then a halt comes to these proceedings [3:31], and a 'new' intro is started!, and you begin to wonder 'are we in for an endless parade of new intros?', an endless tease by Beethoven of the expected that never arrives?, this is one side of the genius of Beethoven, he creates an expectation, and then denies it, but in its place he gives us what we want even more!,
Here's on Carlos Kleiber conducting the first movement on YouTube, and again a great mention should be made of this video, Kleiber is an incredible Conductor, so animated and visually a delight to watch, i love the moment at 4:23, Kleiber goes berserk, but he's so much into it!.
