Building a Collection #50: Beethoven's Symphony no. 7

With recommended recordings

Building a Collection #50

Symphony no. 7 in A major, Op. 92

By Ludwig van Beethoven

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“The concert organized by his friends enjoyed a most brilliant success.  The new compositions by Beethoven were exceptionally well received, particularly the Symphony in A major (the Seventh); the wonderful second movement had to be repeated; it made a deep and lasting impression on me.”

-Composer Louis Spohr recalling the concert of 29 November 1814

We continue with our list of the top 250 classical works of all-time, and at #50 is Beethoven’s Symphony no. 7.  Beethoven himself believed it was one of his best works, and the symphony gained popularity with Richard Wagner famously calling it the "apotheosis of the dance" due to its rhythmic vitality and lively character (full disclosure, when I read that quote years ago I had to look up what the word “apotheosis” means). 

Ludwig van Beethoven 

Because biographical details about Beethoven have been discussed in previous posts, in order to reduce length this post will not get into those details except for the circumstances surrounding the composition of Symphony no. 7. If you would like to read further about Beethoven, there are some marvelous books you may want to explore, including:

Beethoven: Anguish and Triumph by Jan Swafford (2014)

Beethoven by Maynard Solomon (1979)

Beethoven:  The Man Revealed by John Suchet (2013)

Beethoven:  A Life by Jan Caeyers (2020)

Of course there are mountains of resources online about Beethoven and his music, as well as entire institutions and organizations around the world devoted to the study of Beethoven’s life, his letters, and his music.

Symphony no. 7

Beethoven began what would become his Symphony no. 7 in 1811 and completed it in 1812.  The first performance was given on December 8, 1813 at the University of Vienna with Beethoven himself conducting.  By this time Beethoven’s health and hearing were beginning to fail, and his tremendously productive period from 1802 to 1809 was fading in the distance.  Although still composing, Beethoven slowed down and some have speculated that artistic and expressive dilemmas were as much to blame as his health.  During this time Beethoven was transitioning from more heroic and extroverted works such as the Third and Fifth symphonies, to the more inward period which would characterize his late works.  

How to describe his Seventh?  Rhythmic, propulsive, flowing, restless.  Wagner’s famous comment about the dance really has to do with the pointed rhythmic qualities of the work, and the fact that it makes you want to get up and move.  Harmonies and sonorities are raw and elemental with bold accents and a freedom that had not been encountered previously.  As scholar and writer Jan Swafford describes:

“A kind of Bacchic trance, dance music from beginning to end…but the Seventh dances unlike any symphony before:  it dances wildly and relentlessly, dances almost heroically, dances in obsessive rhythms, whether fast or slow.  Nothing as decorous as a minuet here; it’s rather shouting horns and skirling strings (skirling being what bagpipes do).”

Alongside the persistent rhythmic pulse Beethoven infuses melodies and harmonies and shepherds them through different key modulations and textures.  But it is the essentially rhythmic nature of the work that is at its heart and that drives the rest.  There is a visceral quality about it which comes through in the music, along with a feeling of the music rising upward in a free-flowing spirited way.  Yet, it is contained within a tight and finely crafted structure.  It is noted that the joyous, ecstatic first movement is followed by a second movement that is somewhat tragic in nature, momentous, and almost like a funeral dirge with the underlying almost hypnotic pulse.  The juxtaposition speaks to the human realities of life, a significant statement about mortality.  The final two movements return to the good vibes of the first movement with their life-affirming and upbeat moods.  

The symphony is structured in the traditional four movements as follows:

1. Poco sostenuto - Vivace

2. Allegretto

3. Presto

4. Allegro con brio   

John Henken, program annotator for the Los Angeles Philharmonic, briefly describes the symphony:

“The Symphony begins with a long and profound introduction, before kicking into kinetically energized music, which characterizes the entire work and has generated the many allusions to dance that dominate commentaries on it. The introduction predicts the harmonic journeys coming in the rest of the Symphony just as the main body of the movement foretells its rhythmic obsessions, and the startling coda walks the wild side.

The following Allegretto – the work has no really slow movement – has a solemnly welling beauty intensified by counterpoint. It had to be encored at the premiere and was so popular in the 19th century that it often was substituted into other Beethoven symphonies.

The Scherzo is a blazingly fast one, with a much slower Trio section. Beethoven reverses some of the dynamic surprises for the repeated sections and plays additional jokes with the scoring.

Also very fast, the finale picks up the wildness initiated in the first movement and spins it into a breathless but utterly joyful mania, ending with a coda that mirrors the aggressive beast that closes the first movement.”

The Allegretto quickly became one of the most beloved movements from any symphony, and some have called it the finest music ever composed.  NPR radio host Robert Siegel in 2003 commented on the Allegretto on the show All Things Considered, “I love this piece of music.  It’s the second movement, the Allegretto, From Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony.  I’m no music critic, not even a musician, but this music means something special to me, with its theme of struggle and progress, of adversity and ultimate triumph.”

The Allegro con brio finale takes the exuberance even higher, with everything swirling, pounding, and almost reaching a state of delirium.  Reports from the premiere said that while conducting the louder passages Beethoven was seen jumping into the air, waving and spinning his arms and in the quieter passages he almost disappeared behind the podium.  The Seventh was premiered on the same program as Wellington’s Victory, a far inferior work but also a crowd pleaser which Beethoven was commissioned to compose.  Beethoven was annoyed when Wellington’s Victory became the initial sensation with the public rather than the symphony, but eventually this changed and the Seventh was given its full due.  Today it is one of the most popular and most often performed and recorded of Beethoven’s symphonies.

The catalog of available recordings of Beethoven’s Seventh is overwhelming in its breadth and scope.  Like most of Beethoven’s symphonies, there are the never ending conversations about performance styles, tempos, and repeats.  Conductors such as Furtwängler, Klemperer, Knappertsbusch, and others tracing their lineage back to the traditional German style from the late 19th century emphasize melody, harmony, expression, rubato using more deliberate tempos and softer rhythmic accents.  The legitimate argument they have is that their style comes from an era which was actually closer to Beethoven’s time and so the tradition was handed down to them.  

Then you have conductors such as Toscanini, E. Kleiber, Szell, Cantelli, C. Kleiber, and to some extent Karajan and Bernstein, emphasizing rhythm, clarity, more sharply defined accents, and generally quicker tempos.  Of course this is just a generalization, and there is quite a bit of overlap in styles.  An extension of this style is the period instrument movement tied to historically informed performance practice which has led to leaner textures, faster speeds, and even sharper rhythmic accents.  

I am not a purist by any means on any of these approaches, and at the end of the day the real test of a recording is whether it is enjoyable for the listener.  For me, I enjoy recordings of the Seventh which represent various approaches and styles, with a slight preference for quicker speeds and more sharply defined rhythms and accents. There are hundreds of well played recordings which tread a middle ground with more moderate tempos, moderate dynamic changes, softer rhythmic accents, and a generic sort of sound.  To be honest some of them are quite boring.  

But as we’ve discussed often, this is a subjective exercise and what strikes one listener may not impact another.  In my humble opinion the old Germanic school conductors often don’t bring the necessary impetus to the work for the most effective listening experience.  This is sometimes true of Furtwängler, almost always true of Klemperer (nicely sprung rhythms, but generally too slow and ponderous), and then there is Knappertsbusch (often loses momentum).  Of course there is plenty of room for disagreement here, and there are exceptions too, but if you are going to record the Seventh you need to inject it with life.

On the other hand, taking too much of a strict approach to rhythms and rubato can lead to performances which are a bit cold and lacking in warmth.  I believe Toscanini’s recordings of the Seventh suffer from this, whereas Szell, Reiner, Cantelli, and both Kleibers lean in this direction.  This also applies to some of the period instrument recordings where style is to use less rubato, less vibrato, quicker tempos with less flexibility.  So this is also a risk of the more modern approach.

There are many, many good to great recordings of the Seventh.  All of the recordings below are at least in the good range, and worthy of hearing.  Some are my own sentimental choices, some are classics, some are pleasant surprises, and some are just solid library choices.  My choices span a variety of styles, so I hope everyone will find some recordings they like.

I don’t have any “essential” choices, as that seems too arbitrary with so many excellent recordings, so I have included all of my favorites under the recommended heading.  The recordings under the “notable” heading are all good to very good and also deserve consideration.  A few of the historical recordings I have listed have compromised sound, but are on the list for artistic and performance reasons.  If the limited sound is off putting to you, skip ahead to the others.  As always I have listed recordings chronologically under each heading by the year recorded.            

Recommended Recordings

Critics are divided about the legacy of legendary conductor Arturo Toscanini.  On the one hand the supporters say he was peerless in his discipline in getting to the heart of what the composer wrote and that he was way ahead of his time in terms of emphasizing rhythmic and dynamic clarity.  Detractors say he was merely an orchestral manager and metronomic beat director, and did not know how to interpret the music and create phrasing.  It is true his approach was the antithesis of the old, traditional Germanic approach in the first half of the 20th century but he also brought a freshness and vitality to Beethoven in particular.  His 1935 recording with the BBC Symphony Orchestra is the finest of his many recordings of Beethoven’s Seventh, recorded at Queen’s Hall in London and now available on the ICA Classics and Andromeda labels (the Andromeda remastering is far superior). Toscanini’s phrasing is more flexible than it would become later in his NBC recordings, and there is less severity in his control of the orchestra.  But all of the positive assets Toscanini brought are still there, the clear textures, the rhythmic drive and excitement, and the building of tension.  The sound is still not great, but considering it is from 1935, it is acceptable.  Definitely worth hearing.

Along with the recording above, Toscanini’s 1936 recording with the Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra of New York (later shortened to the New York Philharmonic) remains a truly indispensable recording of the Seventh.  Available most recently on the Naxos label, this recording is often identified by critics as the greatest Seventh ever recorded.  I’m not prepared to say that, but it is certainly a compelling example of Toscanini’s art.  Like the BBC recording above, Toscanini was a bit more flexible than he would become later, but we still hear the trademark emphasis on rhythm and correct tempi.  Moreover this Seventh finds the Maestro urging the players to use a singing tone even with shorter notes, and so there is also an uncompromising commitment to lyricism.  Toscanini does not merely push things faster for the sake of speed but rather he tries to be faithful to Beethoven’s own tempo indications (at times impossibly fast) while also bringing out the rich melodic invention.  There is a consistent background hiss, but you get used to it after a while, and if you can tolerate the sound this recording pays great dividends.    

The great Dutch conductor Willem Mengelberg was born in the Netherlands to German parents, and he became famous for his performances of Beethoven, Brahms, Mahler, and Strauss with the Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam.  Mengelberg was an interesting conductor, encouraging his players to use portamento liberally (portamento is when the player slides from note to note).  The other thing he did was change tempos frequently, not always to the betterment of the music.  The frenetic and unpredictable quality of his style could be maddening to the critics.  However, when it worked he was among the greatest conductors of the century.  This is the case in his live 1940 recording of the Seventh with the Concertgebouw, which is really my favorite of the historical recordings.  The Allegretto is unforgettable for me.  Mengelberg emphasizes the drama and is not afraid to elongate or shorten passages if he feels the need.  Climaxes are powerful and bass heavy, there is no feeling of lightness here (if that is your thing).  But Mengelberg avoids ponderousness or other extremes, and the music is allowed to flow in what feels like an organic way.  In this way he is at the opposite end from Toscanini’s more disciplined approach, but the genius of the Seventh is that different approaches can be equally effective.  Fair warning the recording has limitations and some distortion, but good enough to hear why Mengelberg was so revered.         

In my mind the undisputed master of Beethoven conducting was German conductor Wilhelm Furtwängler, and it remains a pity that he didn’t like recording and that our existing recordings don’t fully capture his true genius in my opinion.  Most critics and reviewers cite his wartime recordings as being his best or most urgent readings, though sometimes I think that might be the listener reading too much history into the music.  I admire rather than love Furtwängler’s recordings of the Seventh, as he seemed to make it a darker and less viscerally exciting work than I generally think of it.  But this is not a drawback, rather it is a unique and revealing interpretation which adds to our overall understanding of the piece.  Furtwängler is most similar to Mengelberg in style, varying tempos he feels the music needs, and building tension better than any conductor I’ve heard.  His finest recording is his wartime Seventh from 1943 taken down live in Berlin with the Berliner Philharmoniker, now on Deutsche Grammophon. As usual, Furtwängler gets deeper inside the music than almost anyone else and if the tempos are slower and the ensemble less polished than with modern recordings, the payoff is tremendous if you stay with it and carefully listen to how he shapes the sound with an organic sense of phrasing and timing.  I am also a fan of his live 1954 recording with the Vienna Philharmonic on the Orfeo label (which has marginally better sound), but it is this earlier one that I recommend.

I have long held that George Szell’s complete set of the Beethoven symphonies with The Cleveland Orchestra is one of the finest sets ever recorded, and the 1959 Seventh from that set is one of the highlights.  To be clear, Szell is from the Toscanini school when it comes to Beethoven and his style is disciplined, controlled, tightly wound and sprung, and precise.  There is no room here for flights of fancy, lyrical interludes, or spontaneous changes in tempos or dynamics.  What Szell does bring is adrenaline, excitement, drive, and a vision of Beethoven storming the heavens.  Szell excels in getting the orchestra to perform at the highest level, and the dance-like qualities are brought out particularly well.

Now for a somewhat sentimental choice for me in the recording that introduced me to the symphony by German conductor Joseph Keilberth and the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra.  Recorded in 1961, it was on the Teldec label which is now under Warner.  Keilberth was from the more traditional German conducting camp, so you can expect a straightforward reading with middle of the road tempos.  But it is exceptionally played and recorded, and Keilberth generates a lot of excitement by leaning into phrases and rhythmic accents.  This is a solid choice if you are looking for a recording without eccentricities, but Keilberth also avoids being dull.  I fell in love with this music because of this recording, and so I know it is effective.

Another recording I love is from 1961 with a young Colin Davis leading the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra on EMI (now Warner).  This was Davis’ first recording of Beethoven’s Seventh and in my estimation it is his best.  Recorded at Abbey Road Studio 1 (the Beatles later used Studio 2), the sound is a bit top heavy and edgy at times, but there is an infectious energy about the performance I don’t find in Davis’ other recordings of this work.  The reading is passionate with great forward momentum in the outer movements, but also doesn’t miss the lyricism in the Allegretto and inherent in the melodies.  A very enjoyable recording, highly recommended.

Herbert von Karajan recorded the Seventh commercially at least four times, but the account from the early 1960s with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra on Deutsche Grammophon is the finest.  By the time of this recording in 1962 Karajan had plenty of experience with recording Beethoven and it was before he began being obsessed with creating beautiful, smooth sounds in the 70s and 80s.  His complete set of the Beethoven symphonies this Seventh comes from is widely considered one of the best overall sets of the symphonies, and the Seventh is appropriately presented as an epic, larger than life symphonic landmark.  The sound is big, the strings are burnished, the brass are forward, tempos are moderate to quick, and Karajan shapes phrases intelligently.  Recorded in the warm and resonant acoustic of the Jesus-Christus-Kirche in Berlin, this captures Karajan and the BPO at the height of their game.  Listening to it again I felt  goosebumps, and this is from someone that is not a big Karajan fan.  Highly recommended.

Sir Geog Solti’s reputation has suffered since his death in 1997 mostly because of critics that stereotyped most of his performances and recordings as being bombastic, loud, unsubtle, and unlyrical.  Although unfair as a generalization, there is some truth to the criticisms.  But we must not forget his legendary and acclaimed tenure with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra brought some outstanding recordings.  One of these is his Seventh from 1975 with the Chicagoans recorded by Decca and aided by the acoustic of the Medinah Temple in Chicago.  Solti’s conception is essentially serious, dynamic, and weighty and this works well for the Seventh.  The great brass of the CSO are allowed to come through brilliantly, and the strings generate warmth and energy.  Solti would go on to record all of the Beethoven symphonies again in Chicago later in digital sound, but the Seventh from that set is inferior to this one.  Solti’s earlier Seventh in Vienna has some nice qualities, but doesn’t reach the heights of this one.

Despite his reclusiveness and aversion to the media, Austrian-American conductor Carlos Kleiber put down some of the best recordings of all-time.  His Beethoven Fifth from the 1970s in Vienna is one of the greatest recordings of all-time, and the Seventh from that album with the same Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra is also highly recommended.  Recorded in 1976 by Deutsche Grammophon, Kleiber directs a reading of uncompromised energy, rhythmic precision, and discipline.  It is exciting and moving, and definitely captures the dance-like qualities of this symphony in the best possible way.  What you won’t find here is a lot of charm or lyrical feeling, although the Allegretto is sensitively played.  Sound is in excellent late analog.  

As great as Kleiber’s Vienna Seventh is, it may be eclipsed by his live account from 1982 with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra in Munich on the Orfeo label.  The Allegro con brio finale from Munich, at least for me, is the most exciting and propulsive on record.  With this account Kleiber is more spontaneous than in Vienna which brings more rhythmic freedom and the whole performance comes across as less micro-managed.  The trademark Kleiber qualities are still there in abundance, and while it might be seen as somewhat hard-driven, for the Seventh this is exactly what is needed.  The sound is excellent given the live recording, although I find it unbelievable how long it takes for the applause to begin at the end and how little applause there is…hard to believe they were listening to the same performance.  

Finally with Kleiber again is a video of him directing the Seventh with the Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam from a live concert in 1983, available on the Philips/Unitel label but also available on YouTube.  In some ways this is the best of Kleiber’s three recordings recommended here, and I found it interesting to watch him conduct.  He seems to be having a great time too, smiling throughout much of the performance.  And why not when you have the fabulous Concertgebouw playing for you?  Many of the same qualities are present in this one as far as rhythmic precision, marginally quicker tempos, and a high level of energy.  Similar to the Munich account, there is more warmth and flexibility than on the Vienna recording.  The sound is good, though perhaps not quite as detailed as the other two above.  But all three recordings are indispensable in my view, as Kleiber understood the Seventh so well.

The Seventh from the outstanding complete set of Beethoven symphonies by Nikolaus Harnoncourt and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe is one of the highlights of the set, recorded in 1990 for Teldec (now Warner).  Harnoncourt uses modern instruments (with the exception of natural horns), but you can definitely hear the period practice influence in the general lack of vibrato, the quicker tempos, and sharper accents.  I have great respect for Harnoncourt as an artist, even if some of his late career recordings have a lot of idiosyncrasies.  But what I like here is the transparency and liveliness Harnoncourt achieves with a slightly smaller band, the rhythmic alertness throughout, and the fresh vision.  At the same time there is more heft than some of the period instrument recordings.  So it’s the best of both worlds and I return often to this recording because it made a strong impression on me when it was first released and it still does.

Perhaps one of the more controversial recommendations, at least in my own mind, is the inclusion of Claudio Abbado’s 2001 recording of the Seventh from his second complete set of the Beethoven symphonies with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra on Deutsche Grammophon.  Recorded live in concert at the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome, this is from the second complete set Abbado recorded in the space of only two years with the BPO.  The story goes Abbado was in some ways dissatisfied with the first Berlin set from the studio, and so he wanted another go at it on tour in Rome.  By this time Abbado had adopted some practices from the historically informed movement, creating performances which were lighter on their feet with less vibrato, and more classically structured with quicker tempos, but still with the weight and full sonority of the BPO.  Late in 2001, not long after this recording was made, I saw the BPO on tour live in concert with Abbado playing Beethoven’s Fifth and Sixth at Symphony Hall in Boston.  I remember being very impressed with the precision, control, tight ensemble, and power of the BPO and this recording of the Seventh has the same characteristics.  There is more flexibility and more feeling in the Rome set, and especially in the Seventh the speeds are not as extreme.  The Allegretto moves along quicker than usual, but it is so well done.  The finale is quick without going off the rails, with crisp articulation and great rhythmic impulse.  Abbado was criticized for changing his style to fit the prevailing tide, but I admire that he committed to a new vision of this music and I think it works superbly.  The sound is detailed and vibrant.

The late Australian conductor Sir Charles Mackerras recorded two complete Beethoven symphony sets, and the latter of the two was made with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra in 2006 on the Hyperion label.  The Seventh from this set is especially effective with Mackerras directing a vital and ebullient performance.  The bass line is particularly prominent, timpani use hard sticks, and vibrato is minimized (but not eliminated).  I should caution that occasionally the orchestra is explosive in sound, almost too much so, and this is true of the entire set (recorded at Usher Hall in Edinburgh).  The sound is extremely detailed and animated, and the whole picture is placed very forward.  Mackerras, like Harnoncourt, uses a smaller orchestra with primarily modern instruments but encourages the use of historically informed practices.  Mackerras is completely convincing in communicating the originality, energy, and sheer joy of this music.

The late Dutch conductor Bernard Haitink made several recordings of Beethoven’s Seventh, but it is his final live recording with the London Symphony Orchestra in 2006 on the LSO Live label that I am recommending.  Listening to it again I am struck by how fresh it sounds, with Haitink employing some historically informed practices such as less vibrato, quicker tempos, and sharper accents.  Haitink was never known for rocking the boat or for being particularly adventurous in his style, which is one reason this performance is so noteworthy.  This is still the LSO, so there is plenty of weight.  But at the same time it is light on its feet and wonderfully alert to all the rhythmic and dynamic changes.  Some of Haitink’s recordings are downright boring, but I saw him conduct several concerts in Boston (always Brahms, he was a truly great Brahms conductor) and he was much better live.  So this live Seventh does full justice to the work with horns blazing, rhythms precisely articulated, and tempos pushed while still being well under control.  I believe this is one of the finest recordings Haitink made in his long and accomplished career.     

In terms of transparency, the 2008 recording by British oboist and conductor Douglas Boyd and the chamber sized Manchester Camerata on the Avie label is one of the best.  You can tell the ensemble is smaller, but they use modern instruments giving the sound a bit more fullness.  I remember being very impressed when I heard this recording years ago, and going back to it confirmed that it deserves to be recommended.  Boyd played oboe for the acclaimed Chamber Orchestra of Europe, so he knows a thing or two about playing Beethoven with a chamber sized group.  The approach he takes to the Seventh is sharply accented with plenty of assertiveness, and yet Boyd tightly controls affairs leading to a satisfying experience.  This is vivid music-making that truly “dances” and provides rhythmic clarity and lots of expression. 

A similar approach is taken by Belgian harpsichordist and conductor Jos Van Immerseel and his Belgian period instrument band Anima Eterna (a group Immerseel founded in 1987 and has directed ever since) on a recording made in 2008 on Zig Zag records.  This Seventh is a rollicking one with captivating dance rhythms and accents, and great energy throughout.  Again, transparency and clarity are paramount, but Immerseel is even more adventurous than Boyd above in terms of imaginative phrasing and expression.  This piece works stunningly well for Anima Eterna as they take Beethoven at his word with metronome indications and just let the music flow.  Tempos are fleet but never over the top or out of control.  The whole performance has an infectious quality and it is extremely well recorded.

The 2008 recording of the Seventh by the Minnesota Orchestra and their long-time Finnish conductor Osmo Vänskä (Vänskä is now Conductor Laureate) is on the BIS label as part of their complete Beethoven cycle.  I am not a Super Audio CD listener as I don’t have the equipment, but I have been told the entire set is one of the finest recordings for SACD.  For the rest of us we have to settle for the exceptional sound reproduction by BIS.  Performance wise this is one of the best symphonies from the set with sensible tempos, incisive articulation, and lots of energy.  If Vänskä is just a shade unemotional, it works well in the Seventh because he emphasizes the work’s essentially rhythmic lines in such an engaging and satisfying way.  The sound is very well balanced and detailed, and I can’t recall a recording where I could hear the bass part as well.  Vänskä also coaxes playing of character and distinction from the Minnesotans, and he shapes things a bit more than Boyd and Immerseel above.  This is particularly true in the Allegretto which is beautifully done.  The brass, woodwinds, and strings are all beyond reproach.  Hearing this again makes me want to go back and listen to the entire set once more as this is certainly one of the best versions of the Seventh around.  

The complete Beethoven set by Italian conductor Riccardo Chailly and the Gewandhaus Leipzig issued on Decca in 2011 was widely praised and reappraisal finds it still sounding great.  The Seventh from the set possesses many of the same assets as others on the recommended list:  great sound, sharply defined phrasing and rhythms, medium to quick tempos, marginally less vibrato, and a good deal of clarity and transparency.  Chailly has the benefit of the Decca engineering which brings an additional level of warmth to the sound.  But make no mistake Chailly achieves a lean and assertive sound from the Leipzig orchestra, one of the world’s great Beethoven orchestras.  This is nowhere near a “romantic” reading, but Chailly finds room to put his own stamp on this essentially modern and classically shaped approach.  Not dissimilar to Vänskä above, even small details can be heard well, and Chailly still encourages quite a bit of expressiveness given the quicker speeds.  Altogether a winning effort.

Once upon a time the Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields was one of the most recorded ensembles in the world with their long-time director, the late Sir Neville Marriner.  After a period where the ASMF fell off the map a bit, they recorded Beethoven’s Fourth and Seventh symphonies in 2012 for Sony with their music director American violinist and conductor Joshua Bell.  The Seventh from the album is superb, marrying the modern instrument, more traditional sound of the ASMF with a forward-looking approach from Bell.  Rhythms are propulsive but controlled, entrances are crisp and well-defined, and the energy is spirited and unflagging.  Once again in keeping with modern recordings of this work, this Seventh is more classically structured, eschewing any faux sentimentality or romanticism.  I was astonished by just how much I liked this recording when it was released, and I feel the same way about it now.  Recommended.

The late Latvian conductor Mariss Jansons was a protégé of Herbert von Karajan, and in his later years with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra he shared his mentor’s obsession with the smoothness and beauty of sound.  This didn’t always lead to great results, but in the case of Jansons’ complete Beethoven set (on BR’s own label) the results were excellent.  The Seventh from the set was recorded in 2012, and has wonderful thrust and lift.  While in a more traditional mold, Jansons dipped his toe into the period performance waters in some places where he felt it would benefit the performance.  The symphony is given a larger than life treatment with big sound, and yet there is no lack of forward momentum or lyrical feeling.  Rhythms are sprung nicely, details abound, and Jansons builds tension more than usual.  The sound is a bit resonant, but overall sounds terrific.

Austrian conductor Manfred Honeck’s tenure with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra has been quite productive and they have produced some outstanding recordings.  One of those is their account of the Seventh from 2014 on the Reference label.  Boasting Reference’s typically excellent sound, Honeck directs a wonderfully dynamic and detailed reading which is traditional in the use of modern instruments.  But Honeck also streamlines things in choosing moderate to fleet tempos, rhythms are rigorously delivered, and the horns and woodwinds are outstanding.  Honeck recalls Toscanini’s way with the symphony in the best sense where it is communicated directly and energetically with a good deal of thought about phrasing.  It is paired with the Fifth which is also given a memorable reading.

Many critics still rave about Swedish conductor Herbert Blomstedt’s first Beethoven cycle recorded between 1975 and 1980 with the Staatskapelle Dresden, available on various labels over the years.  As a cycle I would agree it is one of the great ones.  However, in terms of the Seventh specifically I favor Blomstedt’s more recent 2015 recording with the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig on the Accentus label (part of Blomstedt’s second complete set of the Beethoven symphonies).  For one thing the sound is better, warmer, and more realistic.  But more than that Blomstedt’s style on the later version reflects a similar approach to Chailly, Haitink, and Rattle where leaner textures are favored and speeds are faster.  What Blomstedt brings to the table is overall a greater flexibility than others in terms of dynamics and phrasing reflecting his deep understanding and appreciation of the music’s flow and his faithfulness to the score.  Blomstedt has made some of his finest recordings in recent years, and this is one of them.

Speaking of Sir Simon Rattle, his complete cycle with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra from 2016 on the BPO’s own label is quite good and probably one of my favorite things he recorded in Berlin.  His earlier cycle with the Vienna Philharmonic began to show Rattle’s progression toward using more period practices, and this development continues with this newer set.  One of the persistent criticisms of Rattle over the years is his tendency to focus too much on specific passages or phrases,  at the expense of others or indeed the big picture.  Truly this is what many conductors do, but at times with Rattle his choices haven’t always worked well.  Happily I don’t hear any of that here as Rattle allows the BPO to sing out and play like the best orchestra in the world.  There is less intervention by Rattle than usual which leads to a performance which has more freedom and personality.  Again, like many modern performances, there is limited vibrato, quicker speeds, more transparent textures, and sharper rhythmic accents.  But the level of execution is so high it is astounding at times.  The sound is also very good.

Baroque violinist and conductor Andrew Manze has successfully navigated a transition to conducting large, modern instrument ensembles in recent years with several outstanding recordings to show for it.  One of those is his recording of the Seventh with the NDR Radiophilharmonie of Hanover, Germany, put down in 2019 on the Pentatone label.  Manze also employs period practices, so we hear the lean and taut sound from the strings, sharp and rasping brass, quicker tempi, and rhythmic precision.  The fuller string sound from using modern instruments lends power and weight.  But in terms of interpretation Manze has few eccentricities and pretty much stays true to Beethoven’s indications.  Everything feels natural and is allowed to flow.  The Allegretto doesn’t linger, and Manze keeps things moving along but also saves time to shape phrases appealingly.  The outer movements are invigorating, especially the finale which is taken at a very fast clip with no loss of focus or detail.  There is excitement and precision to spare, and I find it irresistible.  

The talented composer and conductor Thomas Adès recorded a complete Beethoven cycle with the superb chamber group Britten Sinfonia in 2019 on the Signum label.  I remember being impressed when I first listened to the set a few years ago, as I suppose I expected something far from the path.  But Adès leads a fresh and engaging performance of the Seventh, even leaner and more inflected than Manze but equally effective.  Modern instruments are used with period informed practices, similar to others on this list.  The excellent Britten Sinfonia infuses the music with depth and personality in addition to the sheer excitement they create.  It is an intense and driving vision of the work, rather unrelenting in its rhythmic pulse, but climaxes and tuttis are clear and concise.  The sound is top-notch, if on the dry side.

If you are keen to add a period instrument performance of the Seventh to your collection I would recommend the 2021 recording by Le Concert des Nations and their Catalan director Jordi Savall.  Their entire Beethoven symphony cycle has been widely acclaimed, and indeed it is fresh and provocative.  Their Seventh brings new insights and personality to the symphony, and it is as though listening to the work anew.  The recorded sound is quite close (perhaps due to the somewhat over-reverberant acoustic), but we can hear the truly period characteristics of the instruments:  the strings have a nasal and astringent quality, the brass are raw and abrasive (in a good way), and the woodwinds have an earthy sound.  The clarity, texture, and blend of the orchestra are a wonder to hear, quite impressive, despite one or two places where the orchestra is not entirely in sync (the end of the first movement being one place).  The rhythmic pulse Savall establishes feels consistently right, and unlike many period performances he avoids a “clinical” sound where lines are too clean.  What I mean is there is an excitingly “rustic” feel to the performance which is a visceral joy to hear.  One small caveat, the timpani is at times too pronounced (for my taste) but I got used to it after a few listens.   

Other Notable Recordings

As I mentioned the recordings below are all good to very good, and for some listeners they may be solid recommendations.

Concertgebouw Orchestra / Erich Kleiber (Decca 1950)

New York Philharmonic / Bruno Walter (Sony 1951)

NBC Symphony Orchestra / Arturo Toscanini (RCA 1951)

Boston Symphony Orchestra / Pierre Monteux (Unchained 1952)

Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra / Paul van Kempen (Universal 1953)

Chicago Symphony Orchestra / Fritz Reiner (RCA 1955)

Philharmonia Orchestra / Otto Klemperer (Warner 1955)

Philharmonia Orchestra / Guido Cantelli (Warner 1956)

Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra / William Steinberg (Warner 1957)

Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra / André Cluytens (Warner 1958)

Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra /  Karl Böhm (DG 1958)

Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra / Ferenc Fricsay (DG 1960)

Orchestre de la Suisse Romande / Ernest Ansermet (Decca 1961)

Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra / William Steinberg (DG 1963)

New York Philharmonic / Leonard Bernstein (Sony 1964)

London Symphony Orchestra / Antal Dorati (Mercury/Universal 1964)

Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra / Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt (Decca 1969)

Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra / Karl Böhm (DG 1972)

Staatskapelle Dresden / Herbert Blomstedt (Brilliant 1975)

New Philharmonia Orchestra / Leopold Stokowski (Decca 1975)

Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra / Rafael Kubelik (DG 1976)

Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra / Leonard Bernstein (DG 1978)

Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra / Karl Böhm (Orfeo 1980)

Philharmonia Orchestra / Vladimir Ashkenazy (Decca 1984)

The Philadelphia Orchestra / Riccardo Muti (Warner 1988)

London Classical Players / Roger Norrington (Warner 1989)

NDR Symphony Orchestra / Gunter Wand (RCA 1989)

Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra / Wolfgang Sawallisch (Warner 1992)

Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique / John Eliot Gardiner (DG 1994)

Philharmonia Orchestra / Christian Thielemann (DG 1996)

Swedish Chamber Orchestra / Thomas Dausgaard (Simax 2000)

Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra / Sir Roger Norrington (SWR 2002)

Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra / Sir Simon Rattle (Warner 2002)

Chamber Orchestra of Europe / Nikolaus Harnoncourt (ICA 2003, released in 2021)

Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen / Paavo Järvi (RCA 2004)

Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra / Gustav Dudamel (DG 2006)

Philharmonia Baroque / Nicholas McGegan (PB 2008)

Netherlands Symphony Orchestra / Jan Willem de Vriend (Challenge 2011)

Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique / Sir John Eliot Gardiner (SDG 2012)

Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal / Kent Nagano (Sony 2014)

Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra / Andris Nelsons (DG 2017)

Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra / Lahav Shani (Warner 2019)

WDR Symphony Orchestra / Marek Janowski (Pentatone 2019)

Kammerakademie Potsdam / Antonio Manacorda (Sony 2020)

Irish Chamber Orchestra / Jörg Widmann (Alpha 2020)

Freiburger Barockorchester / Gottfried von der Goltz (Harmonia Mundi 2020)

Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra / Kirill Petrenko (BPO 2020)

MusicAeterna / Teodor Currentzis (Sony 2021)

We’ve made it to the end!  As always thank you for your readership.  Join me next time when we cover #51, Claude Debussy’s evocative tone symphony La Mer.  See you then!

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Notes:

Cahill, Greg. Beethoven’s 7th Symphony Allegretto:  Greatest. Music. Ever. Strings December 2013. Online at stringsmagazine.com.

Cummings, Robert. Joshua Bell Conducts Beethoven. Review online at classical.net.

Grove, Sir George (1962). Beethoven and His Nine Symphonies (3rd ed.). New York: Dover Publications. pp. 252. OCLC 705665.

Henken, John. Beethoven Symphony no. 7. At-A-Glance. Los Angeles Philharmonic. Online at https://www.laphil.com/musicdb/pieces/4038/symphony-no-7.

Hopkins, Antony (1981). The Nine Symphonies of Beethoven. London, Seattle: Heinemann, University of Washington Press. ISBN 978-0-295-95823-1. OCLC 6981522.

Landon, H.C. Robbins. Beethoven: His Life, Work, and World. Thames and Hudson, New York 1992. Pg. 174.

Osborne, Richard. Beethoven Symphonies 4 & 7:  Gutsy, powerful, vivid – this Mancunian Beethoven is something quite special. Gramophone Magazine online. Online at https://www.gramophone.co.uk/review/beethoven-symphonies-nos-4-7-3

Pearl, Jonah.  Review: Beethoven – Symphonies No. 5 and 7 – NDR, Manze. Online at The Classical Review. January 30, 2020.

 Swafford, Jan.  Symphony no. 7 in A. Boston Symphony Orchestra program notes. 2005-2006 season. Pp. 45-49.

Walton, Owen. Recording of the Month. Beethoven Symphonies 1-9. Online at MusicWeb International.  

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlos_Kleiber

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willem_Mengelberg

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symphony_No._7_(Beethoven)