Antonello Manacorda describes the Kammerakademie Potsdam’s approach to Beethoven as a ‘merger’ between the worlds of modern instruments and period practice. This is nothing new, of course: Harnoncourt and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe took a similar tack in their Gramophone Award-winning set (Teldec, 11/91). Setting comparisons aside, however, this first volume of Manacorda and the Potsdamers’ projected cycle is quite satisfying in its own right. The smallish string ensemble (26‑28 players) has pleasing heft while allowing the woodwind parts to come through clearly. The strings are judicious in their use of vibrato, yet their tone can convey warmth, too. And while Manacorda adheres to Beethoven’s metronome marks, he doesn’t do so slavishly – note, say, how he allows the Larghetto of the Second to breathe without compromising the sense of gentle forward motion.

I find the muscularity of these performances very enjoyable, although the fortissimos in the introductory Adagio of the Second Symphony are perhaps a bit too percussive. In general, though, the numerous sforzando accents in all three symphonies here have an invigorating punch. Indeed, not only do Manacorda and the orchestra take great care in observing dynamic and articulation markings throughout, they’re also highly sensitive to the music’s essential contrasts of character. Note, say, how in the Allegretto of the Seventh, they highlight the insistent rhythmic tread of the opening and then have the consolatory music of the maggiore section unfold in long-breathed phrases.

The orchestra’s rhythmic assurance is similarly impressive, and especially in the way they bring a sense of the dance to these scores. Try the bubbling Menuetto of the First, for example, or the Vivace of the Seventh (with its delightful hint of rumbustiousness) and especially the Seventh’s third-movement Presto, which is so delightfully light on its feet. (I’m also tickled by the wonderfully rustic buzz in the horn at 3'09" in the same movement’s Trio section.) Why the timpani suddenly drops out (or becomes inaudible) at 1'59" in the finale is a mystery, but that’s my only textual quibble, and it’s a minor one.

The Second and Seventh symphonies were recorded at Teldex Studios, Berlin, in the last months of 2020; the First comes from a live performance in December 2021. Whether it’s the frisson of playing for an audience, an added year of collective experience or both, I discern a tauter ensemble in the First. The finale, in particular, sounds like chamber music writ large. All three recordings are crystal-clear and well balanced. I’m keen to hear the next instalment.