(Movement 4 of 4) Beethoven Symphony No. 6 "Pastorale"

William Steinberg conducting the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra.

ClassicsForTheAges brings you another lost performance! As early as 1952, William Steinberg, a protege of both Arturo Toscanini and Otto Klemperer, was taking the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra to new heights with his greater fidelity to Beethoven's metronome markings.

Steinberg recorded two Beethoven symphony cycles that I'm aware of. None of them ever completely made it to CDs; a few selections appeared on obscure CDs and are no longer available. This cycle, the later of the two, was recorded in the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial on the University of Pittsburgh's campus and preserved in vinyl with the help of Command Classics engineer Enoch Light.

Rather than trying to imitate the other 'great' conductors, Steinberg sets out to craft his own vision of Beethoven's symphonies. His tempos are swift, but not always as fleet as Toscanini's. He maintains a sense of concentration and intensity throughout which rivals George Szell, but has more heart. In many ways Steinberg was one of the finest Beethoven conductors, making it all the more bizarre that nobody ever thought to commit all of these masterful works to CD and give them a much-deserved remastering.

I've managed to acquire the full cycle by ripping the tracks directly from the records, so don't be surprised if you hear static or other distortions at times. I apologize, but it can't be helped.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• classical
• music
• William
• Steinberg
• Beethoven
• symphony
• Pittsburgh
• orchestra
• szell
• Toscanini
• Karajan
• solti
• bohm
• sixth

[cincijazzdrummer]

i wonder can you get this on vinyl

[ClassicsForTheAges]

@cincijazzdrummer Of course, if you can track down a used copy.

But if you're interested in something a bit more convenient, check out the remastered version available at Rediscovery.us. Disclaimer: I'm not associated with them in any way.

[bassbass99able]

whose gonna put the 1rst dislike down?

[meluiz18]

BEAUTIFUL! <3 The power in that storm...and the sun coming out after. Ah, simply heavenly!

Just a note: this is the fourth AND fifth movement :P

[samhill36]

excellent