On the front cover of this recording of Ludwig van Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 in D minor, "Choral," Berlin Classics has drawn no attention to the artists and that's a shame, because
Franz Konwitschny and the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra deserve great credit for this compelling 1960 performance, and their names should be featured prominently as a selling point, even if this is a budget CD.
Konwitschny was a respected conductor of the symphonic repertoire, and though he lacked the reputation of a
Walter, the prestige of a
Furtwängler, or the star power of a
Karajan, he was as capable as any conductor of shaping Beethoven's music into sublime expressions of beauty, terror, and cosmic grandeur. Furthermore, the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, which
Konwitschny rebuilt after World War II, had a special sympathy for this music, as is apparent in its precision in details, its natural phrasing, its richness of tone, and its potent force in climaxes. Add to this the stirring and remarkably accurate singing of soprano Ingeborg Wenglor, alto Ursula Zollenkopf, tenor
Hans-Joachim Rotzsch, bass
Theo Adam, and the Leipzig Radio Choir, and this performance has to be judged as one of the most interesting and persuasive to be preserved from the mid-twentieth century. Although this is an analog recording that has some slight traces of tape hiss and occasional passages of distant sound, it is enjoyable for its clarity and warmth and should not be a problem for experienced listeners.