For the committed record-buyer, the selection of Beethoven symphonic cycles in the current cat-alogue is deliciously inviting: so many exciting, individual perspectives—enough, in fact, to keep one happily comparing and contrasting for years. But for the Beethoven-lover who wants just one reliable Beethoven cycle in his collection, this is almost certainly bad news. So, if Klemperer, Furtwangler, Toscanini, Bernstein, Norrington or Harnoncourt are contentious or overly idiosyncratic, which way do you turn?
In the past, there have been good, relatively un-controversial stereo options: Wand, the 1963 Karajan and indeed Masur's first cycle—also with the Leipzig Gewandhaus, and also on the Philips label. But Karajan-allergy seems to be as widespread as ever, and Wand's latest Eroica RCA, 10/91) has shown that he is capable of still deeper insights. As for the old Masur—well, it surprises me, but there do seem to be legions of listeners for whom only DDD will do, in which case this new set looks like a strong contender.
In many ways the new Masur Beethoven is very like the old—though not in the sound-quality, which is on the whole brighter and clearer; problems with recessed details (trumpets, drums and piccolo) in Symphonies Nos. 1 and 5 don't seem to have been repeated in the later recordings. Tempos and tempo-relations are on the whole very similar. I don't remember the old Masur slowing down for the final crescendo in the Ninth's first movement (gripping at first, but I do think the final bars need to return to the main tempo if they're to sound like a satisfying Q. E. D.), but the scherzo-trio relationship (crochet slightly faster in the latter) is about the same. The Adagio feels a little faster, but it's never hurried—it flows, but the phrases all breathe and expand quite naturally.
What does appear to have happened is a general toughening of the manner. Articulation has sharpened, accents become more forceful, rhythms more emphatic; the curve of the phrase is often steeper—has Masur been studying the period instrumentalists? With this goes a feeling of enhanced muscular tension. Only once or twice did I feel Masur might have gone too far: the finale of the Seventh feels a little hard-driven in places—but the coda is tremendously exciting.
No, on the whole I found Masur compelling and invigorating. The Eroica's opening Allegro may take a while to achieve Beethoven's stipulated brio, but it does, eventually, and the dynamism of the coda is further enhanced by the remarkable clarity of the textures—so often with Masur, every strand in the orchestral writing is clearly audible, and yet there never seems to be any difficulty in focusing on the leading line. Technical blemishes are rare—the woodwind-strings intonation clash at the start of the Allegretto of No. 8 was a disappointment, especially given the violins' elegant phrasing—and the fact that the rest of this performance is so involving.
Does Masur's Beethoven lack anything important? Well, tenderness doesn't always seem to be his strong point—though the violins' phrases at the opening of the Pastoral's ''Szene am Bach'' (how beautifully Masur points the accompanying triplets!) and a very telling clarinet solo in the Fourth's Adagio immediately rush to mind to contradict that. The playing is often expressive, and yet there are passages in which I feel that Masur is a little too objective: The Eroica Funeral March impresses, but I'm not sure that everyone will find it very moving. The drive and eventual blazing energy of the Ninth's choral finale set the hairs on the back of the neck prickling, but is 'uplifting' quite the word? I was certainly pleased to hear the solo quartet sung so cleanly—but is it visionary; does one really hear the beating of 'gentle wings'?
Not quite, but then how many performances get even this near? On balance, my feelings about this set are positive. And while it is, as I said, relatively uncontroversial on the whole, there are valuable new perspectives. Not only does Masur observe the restored scherzo-plus-trio repeat in No. 5, he shows better than most why it has to be there. The only major complaint is about the presentation—if these aren't the ghastliest cover pictures ever imposed on a Beethoven set, I'll eat my complete Klemperer. On the cover of the Ninth, Beethoven looks as if he's just been embalmed—and not too professionally either.'