With eight down, and just one – albeit the most important one – to go, David Zinman and his Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra have all but completed what is without question one of the most invigorating Beethoven cycles to appear in the last few years. True to form, Zinman takes the latest Beethoven scholarship on board, which in this case includes some novel emendations to the opening of the Second Symphony. A few textual details are worth pondering, all concerning trills. At bar four of the slow introduction (00'13''), a trill is added to the woodwind line; the trilling triplets at 0'30'' are freshly articulated, and at bar 29 (at 1'59''), the trills that alternate between flute and first violins are given fuller note value. Throughout the work, woodwind lines enjoy occasional embellishment (as with other performances in the same series) and the stinging attack of valveless horns adds fibre to the tonal mix. In the scherzo’s rollicking trio, the second string chord of the second section (at 1'54'' and again at 2'17'') is played as the prescribed sforzando, something that very few other conductors think to do (Sir Thomas Beecham excepted).
Both performances are swift, taut and texturally luminous – punchy but never punch-drunk. In the First Symphony’s Adagio molto opening, the bassoon is rightly prominent (at 00'28'') and in the main body of the first movement, at the point where Beethoven marks a dramatic push to fortissimo (at 2'37''), Zinman and his players are quick to respond. The Andante cantabile keeps on the move (as per Beethoven’s instructions), and the timpani make a dramatic feature of their leaps from forte to piano (from 3'42''). The finale opens to a tensely held Adagio, then flies off on dancing feet.
The Second Symphony is similarly vivacious, though in the first movement I would have preferred just a little more weight to the string tone. The Larghetto is played with elegance and a welcome lightness of touch, the finale with real gusto. Both first-movement repeats are observed, metronome markings are honoured and the recordings combine visceral impact with a palpable sense of space. Other versions might offer parallel interpretative virtues (though none are on sale at Arte Nova’s modest price point), but if you fancy Zinman’s light touch and direct manner of interpretation – as I frequently do – then you can hardly go wrong.'