Beethoven: The 9 Symphonies (CD review)

Eugen Jochum, Concertgebouw Orchestra. Philips Original Masters 475 8147 (5-disc set).

Some years ago, I overheard the manager of a classical record store telling a customer that he thought Eugen Jochum and Karl Bohm were mere "kapellmeisters," routine bandmasters, neither more nor less. I kept out of it, but I couldn't help thinking how differently I felt about these conductors. Both of these men were leaders of great orchestras for something like six decades, and both of them produced recordings that even today are among the best ever made. Jochum, for instance, has never been surpassed in his performances of the late Haydn symphonies, the Brahms Piano Concertos (with Emil Gilels), the Mozart "Jupiter" Symphony, or Carl Orff's Carmina Burana, to name just a few. "Mere kapellmeister," indeed!

To my knowledge, Jochum recorded the complete Beethoven symphonies in stereo three times: First on DG in the Fifties with the Berlin Philharmonic and the Bavarian RSO; then in the Sixties on Philips in the set we have here with the Concertgebouw of Amsterdam; and finally in the Seventies on EMI with the London Symphony Orchestra. I've heard most of these recordings at one time or another, and each of them has its merits. But for this review it's the Philips set were dealing with that includes the complete cycle in a budget-priced box; and while one can often do better buying individual conductors and recordings, this five-disc box is an excellent buy at the price. Granted, the set might not be an absolute and only first choice for most dedicated classical-music fans, but for the avid collector, the curious experimenter, or the casual listener, one can hardly lose.

Everyone will have personal favorites among the Jochum-Philips group, mine being Nos. 4, 8, and 9.  Perhaps because the former two are not among the biggest and most-popular of Beethoven's symphonies, they do not have as much competition; but his Ninth can easily compete with any of the multitudinous performances on record. Be that as it may, I find all of the interpretations wholly enjoyable, musical, lyrical, spirited, and joyous. At the other end of the spectrum, the only symphony in the set I don't think finds Jochum at his best is No. 5. There, he seems to lack the requisite spark, the electricity, the dynamism of several other conductors, like Kleiber and Reiner, for instance.

The First and Second Symphonies, however, are done up in fine style, a bit old-fashioned, maybe, by today's standards, thanks to the period-instruments' crowd, but pleasurable. Jochum's Third is also quite good, appropriately epic in proportion, the energy strong and concentrated. The Sixth is a recording I have long held dear in Jochum's later EMI account, but on direct comparison, there is not much difference except in the very slightly warmer EMI sound. The interpretations are loving, flowing, tranquil, and unhurried, and they still bring much joy to the heart. In the Seventh, Jochum continues his affection with the music, a light touch bringing out the dance rhythms nicely. Finally, there is Beethoven's crowning jewel, the Ninth, in which Jochum may not sound quite as composed  or as radiant as he did in his later EMI recording yet produces an intensity that is evident in every note.

Jochum made these recordings between 1967 and 1969, just a few years before Philips began opening up the Concertgebouw sound to its fullest and richest degree. So don't expect as much of the rich, ambient bloom the orchestra enjoyed in many of Bernard Haitink's recordings of the Seventies and Eighties. Otherwise, there is a sweet naturalness to the Jochum sound, maybe not as smooth in the strings or as deep in the bass as we find in the very best audiophile discs, but good enough. Which is to say there is nothing wrong with these recordings. In fact, they sound better than many new digital efforts, and in the "smaller" symphonies like Nos. 1, 2, 4, and 8, especially, they are superlative. What's more, I compared these new masterings to the individual CDs that Philips issued some years earlier in their low-priced "Concert Classics" series, and I found these newer discs sounded smoother and plusher to me. Imagination? Probably. There is no indication Philips remastered them. In any case, this is a fine set at any price.

Adapted from a review the author originally published in the $ensible Sound magazine.

JJP