Beethoven - Vladimir Ashkenazy - Symphony No.9 Mvt.4 (3/3)

[ratboygenius]

3 months later and still this is incredible. the chorus singing without reading music is hardcore and inspiring, the soloists more than get the job done, and the orchestra is exhilarating. I'll never get tired of this.

[dofkgodk]

Regrettable that last trumpet

[celtacentauro]

GRANDIOSO....ESTUPENDA INTERPRETACION......CORO EXTRAORDINARIO...REALMENTE....­HERMOSO ESCUCHAR ESTA OBRA.....

[elijahborlaza]

There is absolutely a GOD!

[Lapman95]

Fantastica questa esecuzione

[ratboygenius]

the best beethoven 9 on youtube. in the u.s. that crowd would have jumped to their feet and exploded.

[formerlyaskeptic1]

Quite clean precise singing made a big difference in this note-cluttered movement. Cleanest sounding 4th mvt. I've ever heard so far. Still pretty messy though. Very good gutsy performance.

[sundberg39]

Very good, thank you for posting

[Alecs1950]

Merci parce que tu existe et qu'e que tu veux multiplier la joie dans le monde .Joyeux Noël et tous les meilleurs.Bonne Nuit!

[extremechaser91]

simply the best! :)

[MetalCode]

I got a stiffy

[Rosmai07]

Great work and vocal chorus....

[kevnar]

I love how the guy in the audience just started yelling the moment it was done. Now that's how you know you've moved people's souls, when they can't contain themselves. Awesome!

[KiiimSouza]

simplismente incrível...

a sinfonia é perfeita, a orquestra, os solistas e o coro são maravilhosos, e o maestro é incrivelmente bom.

isso é que é música de verdade...

me arrepiei!

=D

[Adamalgorithm]

I love how the Japanese love classical music. They adopt and value the highest achievements of the Western civilization .

[TokyoFreeze79]

Maki Mori is fucking hot

[sebastianrc]

I love how it starts to grow at 2:05

[eliyaguy]

Ashkenazy is a great and and modest humanist, you can hear it and see it all along this performance, and only a heart made of stone will not melt at his expressions and gestures after last chord

[mercer240]

to the two out of 47,983 peeps who hit the dislike button.....you're lame.

[mrvishal1000]

i just got enlightenment from hearing this epic music by beethoven. thnk you great man!!!!!the world will never forget nor will other planets and of course the universe will dance and be in peace with ur music!!!!!!!!

[zanlixy1]

es geniial

[darnmat]

That was just incredible.... Incredible... Oh my God...

[Gary2837]

@darnmat I agree and I'm not a part of the choir. Simply beautiful; wished I were singing.

[Gary2837]

@darnmat I agree and I'm not a part of the choir (such professionalism). Simply beautiful; wished I were singing. The orchestra is amazing.

[iguarni]

@darnmat No it's not incredible! it was composeb by the greatest music genius ever!

[eng442]

That was divine

[sstuddert]

Alle Menschen Werden Brüder!

[Mozeroscar]

Ashkenazy 9.8, chorus 9.7, orchestra 9.1, soloists 8.9 ... :)

[odinnshred]

Beethoven uses the piccolo very well, perhaps because he was not given a guide for its typical orchestral use (because there wasn't one). My only criticism is that is perhaps used a bit too much in the last 2 or 3 minutes, and it loses its effectiveness somewhat. Although I guess that in Beethoven's time, everybody would be constantly excited by its sound.

[rs000110]

Esta música mostra que a linguagem de Deus é universal. Ainda bem que foi levada ao espaço, ao infinito. Jamais será esquecida. Magnifica, estupenda, sem palavras para este espetáculo.

[theromanpraetorian]

wow nice double fugue at the begining

[kawinga90210]

Is there anything Japanese can't do??? mmm... I love them ....

[sstuddert]

I hope you are joking.

[dave997]

silence filth

[dalethorn2]

Clearly the best performance of this work on Youtube - at the very least, the least idiosyncratic. And the soprano - absolutely amazing - lifts this work to the heavens.

[GusMahler8]

That is a great performance

[yokas90]

I just adore that last part with the choire and all... Magnificent!!! Bravo!!!!

[girardje70]

superbe interprétation une des meilleurs merci

[IloveAlexisBledel689]

Simply mind blowing! Ashkenazy is great!

[acodav87]

es el peje dirijiendo ja ja ja ja!!!

[Cellz69]

jerk, if ur in the orchestra or in the choir you always have the intention that this was the best performance ever.

Dont try to compare a great symphonic orchestra with a group of "talented volunteers"!!!

[lvssymphonic]

um, I attended a performance of this by NMSO@Popejoy Hall,and it was NOT as brilliant as you say. The strings were often out of tune, the chorus sang EVERYTHING SO marcato so that it was just UGLY(roger malone is a nice guy, but this was awful chorus work), and both a tenor AND a bass at TWO different points in the "seid-umschlungen" section cracked SO loud that everyone around me laughed. You heard it all through the theater. Dont be so stuck on yourself, because it was a bland interpretation.

[lvssymphonic]

um, I attended a performance of this by NMSO@Popejoy Hall,and it was NOT as brilliant as you say. The strings were often out of tune, the chorus sang EVERYTHING SO marcato so that it was just UGLY(roger malone is a nice guy, but this was awful chorus work), and both a tenor AND a bass at TWO different points in the "seid-umschlungen" section cracked SO loud that everyone around me laughed. You heard it all through the theater. Dont be so stuck on yourself, because it was a bland interpretation.

[ThaSchwab]

Because the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra is obviously better than the NHK Symphony Orchestra.

[violinist1990]

Don't be so quick to judge...esp. if you've never heard the NMSO, they are AMAZING!!!

[23danb]

I heard the conducter switched from piano to conducting. He did so out of passion, which passion is shown here. I think he did a mighty job!!!!!

[Aberroyc]

Thank you so much for posting. Brilliant in every way.

[Kurkikohtaus]

Actually, the end climax is nothing remotely close to what Beethoven envisioned. He inteded the closing (choral) MAESTOSO to be twice as fast as performed here and as performed in hundreds of other performances. What we have here is the result of a performance tradition dating back to Furtwangler.

Good or not, like it or not, it is NOT what Beethoven intended.

[klimax11]

the freedom of art

[23danb]

i wonder... whose art? Of the composer or of the performer? I'd careful there...

[rusz]

how did you know about it? you've talked to beethoven recently?

[Music2Die4]

You're dead wrong about the Maestoso. It's not supposed to be "presto", like how Leinsdorf did it. When done too fast, the climax and grandeur are totally lost.

[Kurkikohtaus]

Studying the score, looking at Beethoven's mm markings and understanding the classical tradition of tempo relations between slow and fast sections of a given movement ALL indicate that the MAESTOSO is generally performed twice as fast as Beethoven's original intention. If you know the score, it is rather impossible to argue otherwise.

On the other hand, the questions you raise about the "climax and grandeur" are entirely valid. The question then is, how does it sound BEST?

[Music2Die4]

If Beethoven's intention was to rush through that final choral section, he wouldn't have marked it "Maestoso" in the first place. "Maestoso" means "majestic", which does not imply "speed".

[Kurkikohtaus]

"Rush" is a subjective notion, while in the classical tradition, tempo markings within a movement always imply tempo relations. Beethoven reinforces this principle with a mm marking.

The point then REMAINS: what is better, Beethoven's clearly stated intention or the tradition that has developed over the centuries? Perhaps the tradition of playing this almost twice as slow IS better, IS more powerful, IS more satisfying... but it is NOT what Beethoven wrote.

[charmoka]

You are absolutely correct. Solti for example takes that maestoso realllllly slow. It's not as written, but boy does it sound great. On the other hand, there's an Abbado/Berlin version on youtube that is pretty much as written (don't hear that too often!). It's thrilling, too.

[KennYWooD2]

I agree with much of your thinking, but Beethoven's mm markings must be taken with caution. His marking for the Hammerklavier is a prime example. That said, I do agree with you, in that, whether precise or not, the mm marking serves as an intention. What I'm not sure about is your mention of the classical tradition, since Beethoven had long since broken with any such tie by this point.

[greentomo]

yeah, you're right. my teacher said to play majestic, imagine a king walking about his own lofty way, taking his jolly time lol

[Music2Die4]

One of the best finales, ever. The balance and coherence amongst the four singers was impeccable. The end climax had that monumentality that Beethoven envisioned.

[kanon2005]

LOVE!NO.9!

[rams25]

A little of the ultraviolet

[DoctorGradus]

the baritone reminds me of James Woods playing father Merin in Scary movie 2...and the way he swings back and forth.... hahahaha he is hilarious

[Alexias030692]

Magnificent!

[222mozart]

Beethoven.

[IloveAlexisBledel689]

I can't find the words.... so beautiful! great final, thanks for posting!

[Bardiel25]

bueno

[julioanoguera]

espectacular the very best