Charles Latshaw conducts Beethoven Symphony #7 mvt IV

[josepharchbold]

The speed of this movement is just right. If anything it could be a tad faster. I disagree with those who say that it's too slow.

[pavethemoon]

God dayummm.. Beethoven owns the universe. And yes, this movement MUST be played on crack. No other way.

[TheClassicalist]

really like how you're totally into the music XD

btw, i think the speed is fine, it makes it sound more... emotionally restless, which is part of why i like beethoven's music

[CTFlink]

I love how the sudden brief pauses increases the drama by tenfold, because it makes the contrast between the overwhelming sound and the silence explicit

[vividimaginer]

Mr. Latshaw, you sure are a badass :)

[moonblossom15]

Bravo, Latshaw! I usually like that part a bit slower too, but that performance made a convert of me! I loved the energy!

[HickysBoy]

Too fast. The only weak movement of this otherwise awesome performance. Agree with adamantiaf1 - Klemperer has the keys to the fourth movement.

[aslan2026]

There's a bomb on a bus. Once the bus goes 50 miles an hour, the bomb is armed. If it drops below 50, it blows up. What do you do? What do you do?

I'll tell you what you do you play Beethoven's Symphony #7 mvt IV like that and just keep going! Great job Charles!!

[RileySapphire]

You can't possibly hear the last movement of Beethoven's Seventh and go slow. ~Oscar Levant, explaining his way out of a speeding ticket

[ApocalypticDaemon]

You seem so...happy and content when you conduct. You seem so full of life, and make it flow so smoothly and naturally. You my friend(or not) have great potential.

[xXxKenzixXx]

You can't possibly hear the last movement of Beethoven's Seventh and go slow. ~Oscar Levant, explaining his way out of a speeding ticket

:)

[merlinnerd1017]

nicely done...suprisingly, i like this movement better than the 9th. the 9th movement doesn't have the same magic as this one.

[Springeragh]

Definitely my favourite of the whole symphony (which is my favourite or maybe second favourite of all Beethoven's). If you have or can find a full score I advise you to look through it. It's absolutely brilliant, and actually contains a rare example of ƒƒƒ in Beethoven's music.

[perfectictus]

Well done!

Bit fast for my liking, but as my teacher (the great Peter Stark) says "the older you get, the faster you get, I spose you want to get to the pub sooner".

Couple of wierd mistakes as far as the rhythmic details go, but thats neither here nor there.

Tuning is relativly good.

Keep at it!

Matt

[EnglishEfternamn]

Tempo is perfect, my recording of this which I got on iTunes sounds just like it, and anyone with ears knows it is no easy task for anyone to play this movement. I've done so, my orchestra played this at our Winter concert just two weeks before last Christmas. Maybe that's why it seems so wintery to me (I miss Christmas!). The 1st Violin part (which I played) is so hard you have to PRACTICE it much slower to get it right.

[OdetoJoy9]

Great! I love this Symphony too. Especially this movement-you've done a terrific intepretation. I am hoping to become a conductor one day-I love music so much. Beethoven is my favorite. It seems that in every note and every measure, there is such feeling and emotion that only he could produce: he writes of Mankind's sufferings, joys, and love! That's why he is my favorite.

[Spartakino]

I think the tempo is correct ! ....i recommend to see Carlos Kleiber with Concertgewau Amsterdam ...bravo Charles !!

[matt18matt18]

how a human mind could think up that melody is beyond me

[Chazdaspazzzz]

To think Beethoven was almost completely deaf at the time of writing as well...

[pinoyman4790]

That's just awesome, well done.

[adamantiaf1]

I personally like the 4th movement to be a bit slower. There have been two conductors who's done just that...Bernstein's final concert and klemperer. Your version is very typical, fast that is, but nicely done.

[clatshaw]

Adamantiaf1--- thanks for your thoughtful comment.

To me, the genius of this movement is its relentlessness. Several times, Beethoven continues to push the orchestra more and more, well beyond what seems the musical breaking point. (Example, measure 319 to 465 is ALL forte and above, with many "sempre piu forte" reminders) That sort of hysteria is exactly what I'm after. Conductors of the older germanic tradition, like Furtwängler, certainly had less tolerance for hysteria! :)

[emtube]

Well, if you listen to Furtwängler's many performances of Beethoven's 9th, I think you will find him more hysterical than any well-known conductor today! Also, Toscanini went for speed in this "Symphony of the Dance" as in much other repertoire. No need to compare to other conductors, though--it is important you form your own consistent and comprehensive interpretation and communicate it to others, which I think you are doing!

[emtube]

Posted the previous comment before listening to the end, oops.

I would have to agree that, while your concept is reasonable, the reality of the technical aspect of performance and acoustic aspect of the hall also need to be considered realistically, and the articulation became somewhat blurred along with loss of detail in the sound latency of the hall. Otherwise, very nice performance!

[thisisastupidusernam]

Actually, I thought it was a tad slow, but that's just me. All in all, a very nice performance; as far as the whole "hysteria" thing, though, I don't think I've heard anyone yet beat Karajan's 1961 recording with the BPO (or maybe it was '62 or '63; I'm not particularly good with dates). By the time he gets to the end of the movement, the orchestra's absolutely flying.

[thisisastupidusernam]

I did really like this one though (sorry to get on here and spend all my comments talking about somebody else - that's just kind of pointless and dumb anyway). Very, very nice.

[Nachtmarchen]

Though not as mushy as the versions that follow, I think the Karajan '62 version isn't just rushed, it's rather terribly bland - it flows too well, it's too smooth. The different, conflicting voices just blur into each other. His earlier mono recording with the Philharmonia is far better (and he doesn't rape the Allegretto's driving rhythm with artificially soft playing either).

[HickysBoy]

@clatshaw I have always felt as Adamantia about the 4th Movement - and for that reason have liked Klemperer the best. Interesting that through the years (50s-60s) he gradually slows it down more and more.

That said I rate this version of #7 on par with Klemperer & Kleiber. While Klemperer is mostly stone-faced, I enjoy the energy displayed by Latshaw and Kleiber when conducting; you can really see what they are doing, their emphasis - it adds significently to the experience for me.

[furtwaengler]

great!!