''In music that calls for a touch of demon or virtuosity, such as Beethoven's Symphony No. 7,'' says John Holmes apropos of Karl Bohm in Conductors (Gollancz: 1988), ''the smoothness of his conducting lacked tension and the final incandescence was missing.'' I would agree about the lack of tension, though oddly enough, it's in some of the more restrained passages that it seems in shortest supply: the theme of the trio for instance, or the restful second theme of the Allegretto—precisely the places where you'd expect the master-interpreter of the Pastoral to show his strength.
There are, however, moments of something like incandescence: the first movement Vivace develops compellingly, and the crowning horn calls of the coda really shine. It isn't a Seventh to rival the best, but it does offer rewards. The lack of grandeur and blazing intensity in Egmont and Coriolan are surely more deleterious, but Prometheus is pitched just about right: great fun of course, but with more delicacy than usual. The CD sounds good, with a bright clear treble and minimal tape noise.'