Catalogue

Summary:

“Its chief quality is its massive sense of energy. Beefy without being bloated, Boyd’s interpretation is particularly good at sustaining momentum in fast movements” ★★★★ – The Times

“This rather small-scale performance of Beethoven’s masterpiece is given stature by Boyd’s approach, fierily dynamic rather than monumental, and some splendid choral singing” ★★★★ – BBC Music Magazine

“Boyd balances the instruments with care and trusts Beethoven’s metronome marking … [his] conducting reflects an awareness of magnitude. He doesn’t plane jagged edges or reduce vehemence (the finale’s recitatives, played as required, explicitly foretell the narrative), yet finds space for the flexibility to express feeling where necessary…Here, then, is a cohesive, powerful but unpretentious interpretation of the Ninth from a musician of high promise” – Gramophone

“The main advantage [of the small string section] is that, instead of an obfuscating wall of string sound, there’s a more open landscape…[Boyd’s] tempos tend towards the brisk, removing, in the opening movement, a measure of gravitas, but replacing that with other qualities. He makes the most of the big moments and the chorus is tumultuously joyful” – The Sunday Times

Manchester Camerata concludes its acclaimed Beethoven cycle, appropriately with the composer’s final Symphony, the glorious Ninth. Like the previous releases in this cycle these live recordings capture the spirit and freshness of these remarkable, genre-busting works, as well as the excitement, atmosphere and energy of the chamber orchestra under Douglas Boyd, the ensemble’s Music Director for 10 years.

Manchester Camerata has become one of the finest, most innovative chamber orchestras in the UK, and Douglas Boyd has proven to be an eminent Beethovenian. Conducting the composer’s Fidelio at the 2009 Garsington Opera Festival, The Times (London) noted “his grasp of Beethovenian idiom” and “pungent underlining of orchestral detail”, praising the musical performance as “sublime and exultant”.

Tracklist:

LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN (1770–1827)

Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, Op. 125 ‘Choral’
1. I Allegro ma non troppo, un poco maestoso (14:38)
2. II Molto vivace (13:23)
3. III Adagio molto e cantabile (13:14)
4. V Presto – “O Freunde, nicht diese Töne!” – Allegro assai – Allegro assai vivace: alla Marcia – Andante maestoso – Adagio ma non troppo ma divoto – Allegro energico – Allegro ma non tanto … Presto (23:18)

Total duration: 64:58

Rebecca von Lipinksi, soprano
Anna Grevelius, mezzo-soprano
Peter Wedd, tenor
Roderick Williams, baritone 

Manchester Camerata
City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra Chorus
Douglas Boyd, conductor

Recorded live in concert at The Bridgewater Hall, Manchester, January 2011
Produced by Andrew Keener