Intégrale des symphonies

Description

From 1975 to 1985, the American conductor of Swedish origin Herbert Blomstedt led the Staatskapelle Dresden, during which time he recorded this complete set of Beethoven's symphonies as well as those of Schubert. Of Adventist faith, the man, discreet and not media-savvy, was not the type to rush his musicians or the works he conducted. His interpretation of the score was in harmony with his relationship to the orchestra. Neither too rigid nor too flexible, he maintained an unstoppable agogic structure while instilling the necessary breaths for reading and understanding the score. If one were to criticize this complete set for its objectivity that could border on coldness, this single reservation is quickly compensated by a cathedral-like architecture (7th and 9th), the orchestra's sound of unprecedented quality that favors pastel shades over bright colors (Pastoral), and the ability to manage polyphonic developments (not a single measure unjustified) and to advance the discourse (Eroica) through precise and decisive attacks. Emphasis, tenderness, and metaphysics can be found elsewhere (Walter, Kleiber, Karajan, Celibidache). A useful reissue (to be compared with the recent version recorded by the conductor at the age of ninety (Accentus Music), of the same conception but extremely densified. (Jérôme Angouillant)