Beethoven: Symphony No. 6, Schubert: Symphony No. 5 / Böhm, Vienna Philharmonic Orch.

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
For many music lovers, this is the most purely beautiful performance of Beethoven's most purely beautiful symphony ever recorded. The playing of the Vienna Philharmonic is the last word in gorgeousness--the woodwind chords chime with such purity that they practically glow with an inner light. But it's not a self-indulgent interpretation at all: the storm rages as violently as anyone has a right to expect, and Karl Böhm keeps the music moving along impulsively, always highlighting the symphonic strength of Beethoven's musical argument. What makes the recording even more special is a Schubert Fifth with exactly the same qualities. Someone at DG clearly knows where the treasures are buried. A great disc. --David Hurwitz

Beethoven: Symphony No. 6, Schubert: Symphony No. 5 / Böhm, Vienna Philharmonic Orch., Music, Ludwig van Beethoven, Franz Schubert, Karl Böhm, Wiener Philharmoniker, Classical, Classical Composers, Classical Music, Romantic Symphony, Symphonic

Average customer rating:

A Superb Beethoven Pastoral, and a Very Good Schubert Fifth!

This is the One

absolutly one of the best Pastoral ever recorded!

Karl Bohm's Pastoral Perfection.....

Lots to admire here, but not a first or only choice!

Beethoven: Symphony No. 6, Schubert: Symphony No. 5 / Böhm, Vienna Philharmonic Orch.

Manufacturer: Deutsche Grammophon
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B000001GQL
Release Date: 1996-05-14

Tracks:

Symphony No. 6 In F Major 'Pastoral', Op. 68: Awakening of Cheerful Feelings upon Arrival in the Country
Symphony No. 6 In F Major 'Pastoral', Op. 68: Scene by the Brook
Symphony No. 6 In F Major 'Pastoral', Op. 68: Merry Gathering of Country Folk
Symphony No. 6 In F Major 'Pastoral', Op. 68: Thunderstorm
Symphony No. 6 In F Major 'Pastoral', Op. 68: Shepherd's Song: Happy and Thankful Feelings after the Storm
Symphony No. 5 In B-Flat Major, D. 485: 1. Allegro
Symphony No. 5 In B-Flat Major, D. 485: 2. Andante con moto
Symphony No. 5 In B-Flat Major, D. 485: 3. Menuetto. Allegro molto - Trio
Symphony No. 5 In B-Flat Major, D. 485: 4. Allegro vivace

Amazon.com

For many music lovers, this is the most purely beautiful performance of Beethoven's most purely beautiful symphony ever recorded. The playing of the Vienna Philharmonic is the last word in gorgeousness--the woodwind chords chime with such purity that they practically glow with an inner light. But it's not a self-indulgent interpretation at all: the storm rages as violently as anyone has a right to expect, and Karl Böhm keeps the music moving along impulsively, always highlighting the symphonic strength of Beethoven's musical argument. What makes the recording even more special is a Schubert Fifth with exactly the same qualities. Someone at DG clearly knows where the treasures are buried. A great disc. --David Hurwitz

Customer Reviews:

A Superb Beethoven Pastoral, and a Very Good Schubert Fifth!.......2007-07-18

This reading of Beethoven's Symphony Number 6 (Pastoral) is simply one of the finest ever turned in by anyone. I had this album on LP many years ago, and, of course, many other Beethoven 6's, also. And, so today, with compact discs, perhaps 30+ copies.

Whenever ANYONE asks me about Beethoven's Pastoral for a recommendation I immediately refer this one (if it is for just the 6th). It has never been bested, IMHO, for transparency, and also for the myriad of colors that Bohm draws out of the Vienna Philharmonic...simply one of the very very best. I have certain recordings that "signify" what I feel Beethoven really meant to convey, and I always go to C. Kleiber's 5th and 7th, Bohm's 6th, Schmidt-Isserstedt's 9th, Bernstein's 3rd, Walter's 2nd, 4th, 8th, and Klemperer's 1st.

The Schubert 5th is also a very good reading, probably bested by Beecham, but nevertheless worthy, and, like a bonus beside the lovely Pastoral, which is certainly worth the price of the disc alone.

-----
(As a side, the very best cycle available is Solti, Chicago...the FIRST (ADD) cycle, NOT the second (DDD). It's hard, because there are trade-offs between symphonies, but dollar for dollar the best, overall, is this grand old set.)

This is the One.......2007-07-02

I had heard other recordings of Beethoven's 6th symphony but it wasn't at the top of my "favorites" list until I heard this one conducted by Karl Bohm. Also consider, instead, the boxed set of the complete Beethoven Symphonies, conducted by Bohm, (available on Amazon) which contains an outstanding version of the 5th among others.

absolutly one of the best Pastoral ever recorded!.......2007-03-10

Wordless to describe. Just listen to it and feel the music without any of your prejudice.

Karl Bohm's Pastoral Perfection............2006-11-21

For aficionados of Beethoven's 6th, one would be hard-pressed to find an interpretation better than this. This is the 6th as is was meant to be played, beautifully articulated throughout with a second movement that is a pure delight. There are no surprises with this 6th--it is a straight-forward reading, but what we have come to expect with Bohm and what the Germans call "werkteau" or "faithful to the original"--no doubt of that.

Bohm and the Vienna Philharmonic via jure divino have a definite approach and interpret perhaps Beethoven's most loved symphony with a sense of freshness, warmth, and energy that can hardly be duplicated. The transfer and the recording on DG Originals is a textbook example of everything that makes a recording such as this both a rarity and a treasure. The Schubert 5th is equally inspired and entirely convincing, but I will return to Bohm's Beethoven's 6th time and time again to enjoy my favorite piece of classical music.

Lots to admire here, but not a first or only choice!.......2006-05-13

This is one of those "legendary" recordings that makes me wonder if it's only me who's unable to fully grasp its virtues. Which is why I read through all the reviews here, and I must say, they all make sense to me, one way or the other.
The stubbornly slow and rigid tempos are something to admire and allow for plenty of detail that otherwise might go unnoticed, and yet, is a Pastorale that makes it possible for one to read a book or check upon one's e-mails ideally paced?
I also agree with other reviewers here that the 2nd movement is made to sound or rather "feel" similar to the 1st, which I find, to say the least, surprising - is so little contrast among the first two if not three movements really what Beethoven had in mind? On the other hand, I am sure many listener's will find the leisurely "walking pace" of the 2nd movement "Scene by the Brook" to be of singular serenity.
Orchestral precision is truly fine, especially in terms of details, and the Viennese lean-texturedness is just at the opposite side of the spectrum than Karajan and his Berliners (at his later worst, not his earlier best). Winds and strings, although the former do not necessarily have more "glow" (as David Hurwitz seems to be claiming) than in other top recommendations (see further below), are certainly worthy of praise.
The recording has always been somewhat bass-shy, so much so that the concentration on Bohm's "plastic (pliant?) middle voices" (as one German critic said in 1972) becomes, well, inevitable. It's still well-balanced enough and nicely transparent, but a more physical bottom end might even have improved one's view of the interpretation, hard to tell. The "Storm" of the 4th mouvement nonetheless sounds very believable. The last movement, however, would definitely have profited from bass making itself heard as well as felt.
Having said that, I fully agree with everyone saying the Pastoral should not sound impressionistic, but that its purpose is to express "Empfinden", i.e. the feelings or joy connected to being in the countryside. What I get in Bohm's is primarily peace of mind, per se admirable enough, but is that all there is to this? There is no shortage of other top recordings such as those by Walter (both, the Columbia boasting fine stereo sound), Cluytens/BPO (1955 mono, but don't make the silly mistake to overlook it as a result!), Leibowitz/RPO (awesome stereo sound by the legendary Kenneth E. Wilkinson is a definite plus, especially in the Chesky remastering!), Szell/Cleveland, even Karajan's 1963 BPO version (admittedly just the first version I got to know as a child) all seem to prove the contrary. And yet, naivity and simplicity does equal beauty in places. Bohm may not be for everyone, but I won't disagree with anyone who loves this. To refer to it as THE first choice or an only one, well, that I simply can't.
Certainly this is the finest remastering of these recordings (I like Bohm's Schubert, to which similar comments would apply as to the Pastoral, i.e. again, I like it yet better livelier, with greater contrast, more flexible tempos - and Beecham's elegance maybe?) to date.
Having said all this, these interpretations are worth knowing and the coupling would make it a nice present to a classical music newbie.

Greetings from Switzerland, David.

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