BEETHOVEN, L. van: Egmont / Ah, perfido / Marches. Naxos 8.557264

• Conductor(s): James Judd
• Orchestra(s): New Zealand Symphony Orchestra
• Artist(s): Obalski, Claus; Pierard, Madeleine

Shortly after completing his breathtaking Fifth Symphony, Beethoven composed incidental music for Goethe' drama, Egmont. While the Overture is well known, the remaining movements deserve no less attention as they chart the tragic course of Count Egmon

Review

"The programmatic overture is rightly an established masterpiece, maybe his best composition in this genre, and James Judd and his admirable New Zealand forces present it in all its glory, rather brisk and dynamic…the Marcia in No. 3 is fresh and attractive…Clärchen’­s deeply-felt death, Egmont’s Melodrama—excellently performed by Claus Obalski—with its optimistic final pages followed by the symbolic Symphony of Victory, which we already know from the end of the overture.

Clärchen’s two songs are another matter. They are fresh and charming and immediately attractive, in particular Die Trommel gerühret! (tr. 2), with its catchy melody and swaggering march rhythm. I have long cherished Janet Baker’s recordings of them on a thirty-year-old Philips record. Madeleine Pierard is lighter and more lyrical, less formidable, but her readings are very attractive and she sings extremely well.

Janet Baker’s is again one of my favourite readings of the mighty Ah! perfido, a grandiose interpretation that not even Birgit Nilsson and Christa Ludwig surpass. Ms Pierard exposes however a dramatic voice with true bite while retaining her beautiful rounded tone. The opening recitative is truly expressive and Per pietà is sung simply and lyrically. Throughout this is a very beautiful reading. This is a singer I hope to hear more of.

The two short marches, contemporaneous with the Egmont music, are rather brash. They were commissioned by Archduke Anton and performed to celebrate the birthday of the Empress. The celebrations took place at a tournament, reason enough for the rather rough quality. Beethoven knew what he was about and called them ‘music for horses’.

Those curious for some not too often heard music by Beethoven can safely invest in this well played disc. There is some fine music from the last act of Egmont, the overture is a masterpiece and one gets some great vocal items in the bargain. The sound quality could hardly be bettered." Göran Forsling MusicWeb International