{"product_id":"scherchen-beethoven-symphonies-2-and-8-1954-pasc198","title":"SCHERCHEN Beethoven: Symphonies 2 and 8 (1954) - PASC198","description":"overviewfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 18px;\"\u003eBEETHOVEN \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 18px;\"\u003eSymphony No. 2\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 18px;\"\u003eBEETHOVEN \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 18px;\"\u003eSymphony No. 8\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12px;\"\u003eRecorded in 1954\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12px;\"\u003eTotal duration: 52:32 \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003eRoyal Philharmonic Orchestra\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003econducted by \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003eHermann Scherchen\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9review_titlefb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fFanfare Review578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9review_quotefb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fAltogether one of the best Seconds ever. A rightly legendary Eighth, in the best sound ever. Does that sound like a recommendation?578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9review_bodyfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"body\"\u003eYou know the old joke about London buses:\nYou wait all day, then three come at the same time. Hermann Scherchen’s\nearly-1950s Westminster Beethoven cycle, divided between orchestras in\nLondon and Vienna, has not fared well on CD: No. 8 has surfaced a few\ntimes (MCA\/Millennium, DG, EMI), as have later stereo remakes of Nos. 3\nand 6, but the complete mono cycle has been available only in an\nunofficial set on Archipel (itself copied from a rather lackluster\nprevious Japanese release). But in recent months, first a splendid new\nremastering from Tahra comes along, and now what looks like the first\ninstallment of a rival edition from the indefatigable Andrew Rose of\nPristine Classical. Both are first-rate, and far superior to anything\npreviously available. Tahra doesn’t specify its sources, but I’d imagine\nthey’re as close to the original tapes as they could get their hands\non. Tahra’s transfers are a little brighter and quieter; Pristine’s are\nfrom mint U.K. Pye Nixa LPs, and are a little warmer and more precisely\nimaged. In the course of comparative listening I have developed a slight\npreference for the Pristine, but am glad to have both. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"body\"\u003e One notable aspect of Scherchen’s cycle was its\nmarked contrast between the two orchestras: the Vienna State Opera\nOrchestra coming off very much as country cousins to their silken-toned,\nvirtuoso London counterparts, at the time identified for contractual\nreasons by the pseudonym “Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra of London,”\nbut none other than Beecham’s illustrious Royal Philharmonic in its\nprime. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"body\"\u003e The slow introduction to No. 2 immediately\nimpresses by the refinement and pinpoint precision of the playing,\nleading to an Allegro of superb discipline at a very fast tempo—though\nScherchen’s 9:26 was topped by Beecham’s wicked 8:34 with the same\norchestra in 1957 (EMI; neither conductor takes the repeat). The\norchestra digs in with gusto for Scherchen (hear that ff string passage\nin A Minor toward the end of the transition!), finally throwing caution\nto the winds in a coda of truly frenzied abandon. The fabled RPO wind\nplaying is very much in evidence in the slow movement, taken at a real\nlarghetto, much faster than the norm for its time (though Karajan also\ngot the tempo right in his various recordings, starting with the\ncontemporaneous 1953 Philharmonia version). The finale is superbly alive\nto Beethoven’s incomparable wit, with hair-trigger responses at a\nchallenging tempo, which the coda then pushes to a dangerous extreme.\nAltogether one of the best Seconds ever. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"body\"\u003e The Eighth is if anything even more remarkable.\nScherchen’s radical one-in-the-bar rethinking of the first-movement\ntempo created waves at the time, and it is still easy to see why—at 8:\n23 (with repeat) this remains one of the fastest ever. Although Hogwood\n(L’Oiseau-Lyre, 1989) dispatches the movement in 8:00, the feat is less\nremarkable with period instruments; what truly impresses here is the\nexceptional degree of nuance achieved, given the full-size string\nsection and slower “speaking” of modern instruments. (Scherchen in fact\nbroke his own record with the Swiss-Italian Radio Orchestra in Lugano,\n1965, available on Accord—an incredible 7:13, though with inferior\norchestra and bathroom acoustic the result is for the curious only.) The\ndevelopment generates an exceptional head of steam, that extended ff\ncanonic passage pumping like the pistons of some infernal engine. All a\nfar cry from Beecham’s suave urbanity with the same players (1951,\nSony). The dense textures of the Minuet come across as a little\nstring-dominated by today’s standards, but that silken horn playing in\nthe Trio sounds awfully like the great Dennis Brain. Best of all is the\nfinale, dispatched in a jaw-dropping 6:23. Again, what amazes is less\nthe sheer velocity as such (though to this day it has been equaled only\nby Gardiner’s 6:17, with the Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique\/DG,\n1992) but the unstinting edge-of-seat concentration and sheer finesse\nof the orchestra’s response, especially in the many extended quiet\npassages, where crucial gradations from p to ppp really register. A\nrightly legendary Eighth, in the best sound ever. Does that sound like a\nrecommendation?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"body\"\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cspan class=\"bodybigblue\"\u003eBoyd Pomeroy\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch4\u003e\n\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12px;\"\u003eThis article originally appeared in Issue 33:5 (May\/June 2010) of \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12px;\"\u003eFanfare\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12px;\"\u003e Magazine.\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/h4\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9main_samplefb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fsamples\/PASC198.mp3578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_labelfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fProducer's Note578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_typefb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fcontent578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_contentfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f\u003cp align=\"center\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 24px;\"\u003eScherchen's vibrant Westminster recordings remastered\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp align=\"center\"\u003e\u003cem class=\"bodymid\"\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-size: 18px;\"\u003e\"the most exciting thing I have heard on a record for a long time\" - Gramophone\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp align=\"center\"\u003e\u003cem class=\"bodymid\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 18px;\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"body\"\u003eThis has been one of those happy occasions where almost everything seemed have gone well in the recording and LP manufacturing process to create an ideal disc from which to work. The orchestra - The Royal Philharmonic masquerading under a pseudonym for, presumeably, contractual reasons - plays brilliantly and is excellently recorded. The pressing was as close to mint as a record gets after it's had one or two plays, and was very well mastered to begin with.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"body\"\u003eThus after some very minor restoration work I was able to work the XR magic on this recording - which served to lift a couple of decades or so off the perceived age of the recording - then add in some gentle Ambient Stereo processing and sit back and enjoy. It really is a delight from start to finish - in every respect.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"body\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eAndrew Rose\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_cover_thumbnail1_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_cover_thumbnail2_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_cover_download_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_sample1_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_sample2_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_sample3_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_sample4_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_sample5_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_sample6_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_labelfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fFull Track Listing578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_typefb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5ftrack_listing578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_contentfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"bodybigblue\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBeethoven - \u003c\/strong\u003eSymphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 36 \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Recorded September 1954\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"bodybigblue\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBeethoven - \u003c\/strong\u003eSymphony No. 8 in F major, Op. 93\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Recorded 20th December 1954\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"body\"\u003eRoyal Philharmonic Orchestra\u003cbr\u003e conducted by Hermann Scherchen\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIssued as Westminster 12 LP: WL 5362\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp class=\"bodysmallarial\"\u003e Original LP used the pseudonym \"The Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra of London\"\u003cbr\u003e The transcription from UK Pye Nixa Red Label issue WLP 5362\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eransfers and XR remastering by Andrew Rose at Pristine Audio, November 2009\u003cbr\u003e Cover artwork based on a photograph of Hermann Scherchen\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\nTotal duration: 52:32 \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_cover_thumbnail1_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_cover_thumbnail2_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_cover_download_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_sample1_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_sample2_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_sample3_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_sample4_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_sample5_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_sample6_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_labelfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fCover Art578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_typefb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fcover_art578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_contentfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_cover_thumbnail1_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fcovers\/thumbs\/PASC198.jpg578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_cover_thumbnail2_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_cover_download_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fcovers\/PASC198.pdf578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_sample1_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_sample2_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_sample3_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_sample4_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_sample5_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_sample6_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab4_labelfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fHistoric Review578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab4_typefb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fcontent578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab4_contentfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eBEETHOVEN. Symphony No. 2 in D major, op. 36. Symphony No. 8 in F major, Op. 93\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePhilharmonic Symphony Orchestra of London conducted by Hermann Scherchen. Nixa WLP5362 (12 in., 36s. 5d.)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eScherchen's performance of the Finale of the 8th is the most exciting thing I have heard on a record for a long time. Don't miss it! He actually plays it at Beethoven's metronome marking, a speed usually considered impossible, and the result is tremendously exhilarating, the sort of Finale performance that would bring any concert-hall audience to its feet with cheers.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOf course, this could not be brought off without an orchestra of the utmost skill (for even at this speed it is brilliantly played). No lesser collection of players could get away with this or, too, with the Finale of the 2nd Symphony. Who they are, one doesn't know, for there is no orchestra of this name playing publically in London.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBut to return to the music. The whole of the 8th Symphony is played at speeds that are as near as matters Beethoven's, as given in his metronome marks. This gives us a first movement that is faster than we usually hear, and I personally felt uncomfortable as I was listening ; but perhaps this is a matter of what one is used to and one should try to accustom oneself to it. The second movement, with such light and neat playing, is wholly delightful, and the Minuet is extremely alive and alert. This is certainly a performance to be heard, and heard over and over again, for it is full of revealing understanding.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBeethoven gave no metronome markings to his 2nd Symphony, so we lack such precise indications of what he really wanted. Scherchen takes the swift view again, with a slow movement speed that is almost allegretto in feeling. Toscanini and Schuricht play it similarly. Goossens' performance is the very reverse, so much so that even if you prefer a slower speed, I doubt whether you will really enjoy that particular one. Scherchen continues with a delightfully fleet Scherzo and a Finale that is indeed allegro molto.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis is a record as interesting as it is successful in its interpretations, and it is equally distinguished by the wonderful playing. The recording needed some top taken off on my gramophone and the volume turned up fairly high, but it was then very acceptable.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eT. H., \"The Gramophone\"\u003c\/b\u003e, August 1955\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab4_cover_thumbnail1_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab4_cover_thumbnail2_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab4_cover_download_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab4_sample1_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab4_sample2_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab4_sample3_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab4_sample4_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab4_sample5_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab4_sample6_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f","brand":"Pristine Classical","offers":[{"title":"Mono 24-bit FLAC","offer_id":55010065711470,"sku":"uvb1789305863327","price":13.55,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Ambient Stereo 16-bit FLAC","offer_id":55010065744238,"sku":"pnr1789305863328","price":7.66,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Mono 16-bit FLAC","offer_id":55010065777006,"sku":"oel1789305863329","price":9.44,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"320kbps Ambient Stereo MP3","offer_id":55010065809774,"sku":"jwa1789305863330","price":6.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0915\/3986\/5966\/files\/scherchen-beethoven-symphonies-2-and-8-1954---pasc198_1.jpg?v=1789305870","url":"https:\/\/www.harborviewgoods.shop\/products\/scherchen-beethoven-symphonies-2-and-8-1954-pasc198","provider":"My Store","version":"1.0","type":"link"}