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Symphonies nos. 2 & 3 (Complete Symphonies Vol. 4)
Ludwig van Beethoven

Jan Willem de Vriend / The Netherlands Symphony Orchestra

Symphonies nos. 2 & 3 (Complete Symphonies Vol. 4)

Price: € 14.95
Format: SACD hybrid
Label: Challenge Classics
UPC: 0608917253221
Catnr: CC 72532
Release date: 24 November 2011
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Label
Challenge Classics
UPC
0608917253221
Catalogue number
CC 72532
Release date
24 November 2011

""There is a lot in the sonics and basic approach to Beethoven in this disc that may serve that later work very well.""

Fanfare, 01-11-2016
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Artist(s)
Composer(s)
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About the album

A refreshing new recording of the Beethoven symphonies (volume 4), through the eyes of conductor Jan Willem de Vriend and his orchestra. De Vriends name as a symphonic conductor is emerging fast now in the music world, and this first volume of the Beethoven series is a fine musical signature, with which he and his musicians perpetuate themselves. In the linernotes with this CD we can read: I heard your ballet yesterday and it pleased me very much!", so said Haydn to Beethoven in 1801, to which Beethoven replied: O dear Papa, you are very kind; but it is far from being a Creation. Haydn was surprised and almost insulted by this remark, and he retorted;That is true; it is not a Creation and I can scarcely believe that it will ever become one.

According to William Kinderman, this anecdote; about Beethovens ballet The Creation of Prometheus; is very plausible and also quite typical. It shows Beethovens predilection for plays on words. Haydn’s great oratorio The Creation had recently had its first performance, and it is telling that the two composers agreed that the ballet was "far from a Creation. According to Kinderman, the Prometheus ballet is a creation myth in its own right, but it is actually the music of the Eroica that personifies the Promethean stature and that can be seen as the creation

The myth of the Titan Prometheus as it was used by the Italian dancer and choreographer Salvatore Viganò and Beethoven in the ballet was not entirely in accordance with the Greek original. In the version of Viganò and Beethoven, Prometheus shaped human civilisation: he was a philosopher and teacher, not a victim who spent many years chained to a rock. Prometheus sculpts two creatures from clay and gives them the fire he has stolen from the gods, thus animating them. It is the only way to impart knowledge and culture to his creations (i.e. mankind). Unfortunately, Prometheus pays for this with his life. But … of course this version has a happy ending, thanks to the intervention of the god Pan, who brings him to back life. Prometheus is then praised by his two archetypal creations for his heroic deed.

According to Lewis Lockwood, the Prometheus ballet, composed in the winter of 1800-1801, paved the way from the Second to the Third Symphony. It is widely known that the finale of the Eroica uses a theme from the ballet. Kinderman goes one step further, saying that Beethoven also used many other symbolic and dramatic elements from the ballet in this symphony, and not just in the finale.

But back to the Second Symphony. Beethoven composed it during a time of deep personal crisis. His health, and his hearing in particular, was fast declining; he felt isolated and depressed. The situation was so serious that there were times when he no longer wished to live. At least we can deduce this from the famous Heiligenstadt Testament, which he wrote to his brothers (and to humanity) in 1802. He wrote it, putting more or less all his thoughts on paper, and then filed it away. It would not resurface until after his death. The music of the Second Symphony exudes Beethoven’s desire to rise above his personal difficulties (although naturally traces of his misery as well can always be found in his music). Lockwood: “His ability to nurture his creative psyche and protect it from the physical and psychological anguish of his growing deafness is one of the more remarkable features of his life.

Sprankelende vertolking van Beethoven

“A lively approach is taken by de Vriend, and there is a palpable sense of energy in every phrase. − MusicWeb International, mei 2012

Dit album is een verfrissende nieuwe opname van de symfonieën van Beethoven, gezien door de ogen van dirigent Jan Willem de Vriend en zijn Orkest van het Oosten. De Vriends naam is inmiddels wereldwijd bekend en deze Beethovenserie is een mooie muzikale handtekening waarmee de Vriend en zijn orkest zichzelf onsterfelijk maken. Dit is niet alleen een zeer muzikale interpretatie; hij is ook gebaseerd op musicologisch onderzoek en op de kennis van de periode waarin Beethoven leefde. Het is een opname vol energie, waarin elke noot wordt gespeeld met een sprankelende intensiteit.

De Vriend is sinds 2006 chef dirigent bij het Orkest van het Oosten, dat internationaal bekend is onder de naam Netherlands Symphony Orchestra. Tevens was hij tot 2015 artistiek leider en violist van het door hem opgerichte Combattimento Consort Amsterdam. Hij heeft zich sinds het seizoen 2013-2014 volledig gericht op zijn activiteiten als dirigent. De Vriend is gastdirigent geweest bij toonaangevende orkesten in zowel binnen- als buitenland, waaronder het Koninklijk Concertgebouworkest en het Konzerthaus Orchester van Berlijn.




Willem de Vriends Beethoven-Sicht im Spiegel seiner historischen Wurzeln

Auch mit der vierten Folge aus seinem neuen Beethoven-Zyklus wagt Jan Willem de Vriend, zusammen mit dem Netherlands Symphony Orchestra, eine neue Sicht auf diese berühmten Werke. Mit enormer Leidenschaft und großem Engagement taucht er ein in Leben und Werk von Ludwig van Beethoven. Auch bei seiner Arbeit mit dem Combattimento Consort Amsterdam kam er sehr oft mit der Musik von Beethoven und dessen Vorgängern in Berührung. Dabei hat er das Bild jener Zeit gründlich kennengelernt, und mit diesen Kenntnissen kann er jetzt seine Geschichte in der Tat konstruieren.

Artist(s)

Jan Willem de Vriend

Jan Willem de Vriend, designated “a godsend from the Netherlands” by the Neue Zürcher Zeitung, is driven by the pioneering spirit of historically informed perfomance practice. As music director of the Combattimento Consort Amsterdam, which he founded in 1982, he specialised in repertoire of the 17th and 18th centuries, reviving a wealth of rarely heard works through historically informed performances on modern instruments, praised by Gramophone magazine for their “technical finesse and a lively feeling for characterization”. An award-winner for his creative contribution to classical music, Jan Willem de Vriend has more than 50,000 followers on Spotify and is in demand as a conductor around the world, appearing regularly with such orchestras as the Royal Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Residentie Orkest...
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Jan Willem de Vriend, designated “a godsend from the Netherlands” by the Neue Zürcher Zeitung, is driven by the pioneering spirit of historically informed perfomance practice. As music director of the Combattimento Consort Amsterdam, which he founded in 1982, he specialised in repertoire of the 17th and 18th centuries, reviving a wealth of rarely heard works through historically informed performances on modern instruments, praised by Gramophone magazine for their “technical finesse and a lively feeling for characterization”.
An award-winner for his creative contribution to classical music, Jan Willem de Vriend has more than 50,000 followers on Spotify and is in demand as a conductor around the world, appearing regularly with such orchestras as the Royal Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Residentie Orkest Den Haag, Belgian National Orchestra, Tonhalle Zurich, Orchestre National de Lyon, Bergen Philharmonic, Warsaw Philharmonic, the symphony orchestras of Netherlands Radio and Hessischer Rundfunk (Frankfurt Radio Symphony), Melbourne Symphony, Yomiuri Nippon Symphony and Hong Kong Philharmonic. He is Principal Conductor Designate of the Vienna Chamber Orchestra, and Principal Guest Conductor of the City of Kyoto Symphony Orchestra, Principal Guest Conductor of the Stuttgart Philharmonic and Orchestre National de Lille, and former Principal Guest Conductor of the Orquestra Simfònica de Barcelona i Nacional de Catalunya and the Brabant Orchestra.
For the Challenge Classics label, de Vriend and the Netherlands Symphony Orchestra have recorded the complete Mendelssohn symphonies and all Beethoven’s symphonies and concertos with, among others, pianist Hannes Minnaar and violinist Liza Ferschtman. De Vriend’s interpretation of the Symphony No 7 prompted Classic FM to admire “a bounding flair that does real justice to the composer’s capacity for joy”. A further landmark of his recorded catalogue is his complete recording of the Schubert symphonies with the Residentie Orkest Den Haag.
De Vriend’s collaborative spirit is equally evident in his work for the stage, notably with opera director Eva Buchmann and Combattimento Consort Amsterdam. In addition to works by Monteverdi, Haydn, Handel and Telemann, their productions in Europe and the USA have included staged versions of Bach’s ‘Hunting’ and ‘Coffee’ Cantatas at the Bachfest Leipzig, and operas by Mozart, Rossini, Verdi and Cherubini, among them Mozart’s Don Giovanni und Rossini’s La gazzetta, both toured in Switzerland. De Vriend has also conducted operatic productions in Amsterdam (with the Nederlandse Reisopera), Barcelona, Strasbourg, Lucerne, Schwetzingen and Bergen.

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The Netherlands Symphony Orchestra

The Netherlands Symphony Orchestra is based in Enschede, in the province of Overijssel. Performing at an international level, as evidenced by its highly acclaimed CDs and invitations for international tours, the orchestra is firmly rooted in society. Jan Willem de Vriend has been its artistic director and chief conductor since 2006. He will be succeeded by Ed Spanjaard in 2017. Under De Vriend’s leadership, the orchestra has expanded its repertoire to cover music from four centuries. Its use of period instruments in the Classical repertoire gives the orchestra a distinctive and highly individual character. The Netherlands Symphony Orchestra performs amongst others in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Utrecht, Enschede, Zwolle and Deventer. In addition, it has made successful tours of the United States, Spain and...
more
The Netherlands Symphony Orchestra is based in Enschede, in the province of Overijssel. Performing at an international level, as evidenced by its highly acclaimed CDs and invitations for international tours, the orchestra is firmly rooted in society.
Jan Willem de Vriend has been its artistic director and chief conductor since 2006. He will be succeeded by Ed Spanjaard in 2017. Under De Vriend’s leadership, the orchestra has expanded its repertoire to cover music from four centuries. Its use of period instruments in the Classical repertoire gives the orchestra a distinctive and highly individual character.
The Netherlands Symphony Orchestra performs amongst others in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Utrecht, Enschede, Zwolle and Deventer. In addition, it has made successful tours of the United States, Spain and England and it often works with the Dutch National Touring Opera Company. In its home town Enschede, the orchestra builds on a symphonic tradition of more than 80 years, and it is known as one of the most modern and entrepreneurial orchestras in the Netherlands.
The Netherlands Symphony Orchestra created a number of ensembles, such as a chamber orchestra, the Baroque Academy of the Netherlands Symphony Orchestra (BANSO) and various chamber music ensembles. The orchestra’s commitment to expanding its social relevance is also reflected in the large number of projects in which education is a key element.
The orchestra has worked with distinguished conductors, such as its former chief conductor Jaap van Zweden, Vasily Petrenko, Edo de Waart, Claus Peter Flor and Tan Dun. It also has accompanied many celebrated soloists, including Gidon Kremer, Ronald Brautigam, Natalia Gutman, Charlotte Margiono, Jean-Yves Thibaudet and Thomas Zehetmair.

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Composer(s)

Ludwig van Beethoven

Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential of all composers. His best-known compositions include nine symphonies, five piano concertos, one violin concerto, 32 piano sonatas, 16 string quartets, his great Mass the Missa solemnis, and one opera, Fidelio. Together with Mozart and Haydn, he was part of the First Viennese School.    Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of the Holy Roman Empire, Beethoven displayed his musical talents at an early age and was taught by his father Johann van Beethoven and by composer and conductor Christian Gottlob...
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Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential of all composers. His best-known compositions include nine symphonies, five piano concertos, one violin concerto, 32 piano sonatas, 16 string quartets, his great Mass the Missa solemnis, and one opera, Fidelio. Together with Mozart and Haydn, he was part of the First Viennese School. Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of the Holy Roman Empire, Beethoven displayed his musical talents at an early age and was taught by his father Johann van Beethoven and by composer and conductor Christian Gottlob Neefe. At the age of 21 he moved to Vienna, where he began studying composition with Joseph Haydn, and gained a reputation as a virtuoso pianist. He lived in Vienna until his death. By his late 20s his hearing began to deteriorate, and by the last decade of his life he was almost totally deaf. In 1811 he gave up conducting and performing in public but continued to compose; many of his most admired works come from these last 15 years of his life.

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Press

"There is a lot in the sonics and basic approach to Beethoven in this disc that may serve that later work very well."
Fanfare, 01-11-2016

de Vriend takes A lively approach to this music, and there us a palpable sense of energy in every phrase.
Classical CD Reviews, 18-5-2012

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