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BEETHOVEN, L. van: Canons and Musical Jokes (Schlemmer, Tauber, Weiser, Ensemble Tamanial, Cantus Novus Wien, T. Holmes)
8.574176
Canons and Musical Jokes
One of the least explored areas of Beethoven’s compositions is the miscellaneous sequence of canons, early exercises in counterpoint, mature jokes and jeux d’esprit that he wrote over many years. He composed a two-part canon for the composer Hummel in 1816 and in 1823 one for four voices (written in a tavern) for Count Lichnowsky. He also wrote birthday and Christmas greetings for colleagues and friends, and songs that punned on recipients’ names or poked fun at them.
2.110674 [DVD]
Also Available in Blu-ray (NBD0121V)
Leonore
Beethoven started composing Leonore in January 1804. The subject – the release to freedom of an unjustly imprisoned man by his devoted wife – was part of the genre of ‘rescue operas’ which were very popular at the end of the 18th century. The premiere of Leonore, given before an uncomprehending audience at a time of political upheaval, was a failure and Beethoven responded by shortening the work from three acts to two, which was the version performed in 1806. After further revisions it was to emerge in 1814 as Fidelio. This performance is from Opera Lafayette’s Leonore Project which included a performance of Pierre Gaveaux’s Léonore, ou L’Amour conjugal (available on Naxos DVD 2.110591 and Blu-ray NBD0085V) – the opera on which Beethoven modelled his Leonore
8.579081
Beethoven Recomposed

To mark the 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth, Russian born arranger Paul Struck has arranged two of the composer’s great mid-period chamber masterpieces for soloist and string ensemble. Expanding the sonorities of the ‘Kreutzer’ Sonata – Beethoven’s most important chamber work for violin – allows the sonata’s concertante quality to emerge in a new light. The Cello Sonata No. 3 equally succeeds in conceiving the piano part for ensemble, while exploring fullness of sound and maintaining transparency of texture.
ODE1359-2T
Complete Piano Concertos
Ondine celebrates Beethoven’s 250th anniversary of birth by re-issuing Olli Mustonen’s Beethoven cycle with the Tapiola Sinfonietta. The three volumes were originally released in three separate volumes in 2007-9 as ODE 1099-5, ODE 1123-5, and ODE 1146-5.

Mustonen, described by The Sunday Times as the “living dream of pianism”, is known for delivering fresh and visionary approach to standard works – this is evident in these masterful recordings of Beethoven’s concertos. Mustonen is a particularly fitting exponent for Beethoven’s music as the composer himself was also both visionary and revolutionary in his approach to tradition. The recording of Piano Concerto No. 1 includes Mustonen’s own candenzas. Beethoven’s own Piano Concerto arrangement of his Violin Concerto is also featured – one of Mustonen’s signature pieces.
BEETHOVEN, L. van: Piano Sonatas Nos. 19-22 (Beethoven 32, Vol. 6) (Giltburg)
9.70312
Beethoven 32 • Vol. 6
Piano Sonatas Nos. 19-22
The first five volumes (9.70307–9.70311) of Boris Giltburg’s traversal of Beethoven’s 32 piano sonatas have been received with much acclaim. ‘[Giltburg brings] us closer to the spontaneous feel of a live performance... on this form Naxos’s cycle looks set to be something special.’ (Malcolm Hayes, BBC Music Magazine, on Sonatas Nos. 4–7 / 9.70308). ‘The slow movements, which Giltburg plays without affectation but with all the more sensitive differentiation and intelligence, are very beautiful and gripping (Remy Franck, Pizzicato on 9.70308). ‘The B flat Sonata... typifies what one might hope for in a traversal of familiar repertory by an outstanding young artist: fresh perspective on terrain one thought one knew. (Patrick Rucker, Gramophone, on Sonatas Nos. 8–11 / 9.70309).
BEETHOVEN, L. van: Piano Concerto No. 1 (arr. V. Lachner) / Symphony No. 2 (version for piano trio) (Shybayeva, Animato String Quartet)
8.551431
Piano Concerto No. 1
Symphony No. 2

The first volume (8.551400) with Vinzenz Lachner‘s arrangements of Ludwig van Beethoven’s Piano Concertos for piano and string quintet already showed that this would be quite a special complete recording of Beethoven’s piano concertos—and not just because it is the first recording to present this version for the first time ever. For the second volume, Hanna Shybayeva chose the piano trio version of the second symphony in D major Op. 36 to be added in the arrangement by the master himself. After all, this chamber music arrangement from Beethoven’s pen fits perfectly with those of the piano concertos of later times.
BEETHOVEN, L. van: Lieder, Vol. 1
8.574071
Lieder, Vol. 1
Beethoven’s contribution to the development of German song was significant – he wrote some 90 songs – but it has inevitably been overshadowed by his mastery of orchestral and instrumental music. Unlike mozart and Schubert’s works in the genre, little is known about the composition and performance of Beethoven’s songs, but he is known to have greatly respected Goethe, as his settings amply show, not least in the incidental music to Egmont, from which Freudvoll und leidvoll is taken.
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BEETHOVEN, L. van: Cello Sonata No. 3 / Violin Sonata No. 9 (Beethoven Recomposed)
8.579081
Beethoven Recomposed

To mark the 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth, Russian born arranger Paul Struck has arranged two of the composer’s great mid-period chamber masterpieces for soloist and string ensemble. Expanding the sonorities of the ‘Kreutzer’ Sonata – Beethoven’s most important chamber work for violin – allows the sonata’s concertante quality to emerge in a new light. The Cello Sonata No. 3 equally succeeds in conceiving the piano part for ensemble, while exploring fullness of sound and maintaining transparency of texture.

BEETHOVEN, L. van: Symphonies (Complete) / Overtures / Mass in C Major (Michael Gielen Edition, Vol. 9) (1967-2007)
SWR19090CD
Complete Symphonies
Overtues • Mass in C Major

In 2020, the 250th anniversary of Beethoven's birth, Gielen’s importance as an interpreter of Beethoven’s symphonies deserves to be acknowledged by a separate box set within our edition. For a long time Gielen’s core competence was seen in connection with the Second Viennese School, though right from the start of his career as a conductor he had paid particular attention to the First Viennese School – Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven.

After Hermann Scherchen and René Leibowitz, Gielen was one of the first conductors to take Beethoven’s metronome markings seriously. He took advantage of two invitations from German broadcasting organisations to establish himself in 1970 as the most radical innovator regarding Beethoven interpretations. The 1980 Eroica production with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra was the first for a long time to be based on Beethoven’s metronome markings: these were applied throughout and more consistently than ever before. Little wonder that the recording became quite famous.

The edition also contains the C Major Mass which, until June 2007, was the only important work by Beethoven that Gielen had never performed. The invitation from the SWR ensembles to come to Koblenz for the opening of the 2007 RheinVokal festival was therefore a welcome opportunity to study the piece and give an advance performance in the Konzerthaus Freiburg. This penultimate volume of the Michael Gielen EDITION is as musically interesting as you could hope for.

BEETHOVEN, L. van: Symphonies Nos. 1-9
ODE1348-5Q
The 9 Symphonies
This new Beethoven symphony cycle with Malmö Symphony Orchestra is conductor Robert Trevino’s debut release on Ondine. Trevino is one of the fastest rising young conductors and known for his fresh and vivid interpretations of both standard repertoire as well as contemporary works. Currently Trevino is holding the tenure as chief conductor of the Malmö Symphony Orchestra and as music director of the Basque National Orchestra. After studies with conductors David Zinman, Seiji Ozawa and Michael Tilson Thomas, Trevino worked closely as Leif Segerstam’s assistant before making his debuts with a number of leading symphony orchestras worldwide. These Beethoven symphonies were recorded in connection with a Beethoven festival which was arranged in Malmö, Sweden in October, 2019.

Beethoven’s symphonies, premiered within a span of 24 years, from 1800 to 1824, are among the landmarks of Western civilization. More than any other composer’s orchestral output, Beethoven’s symphonies are a journey into an unanticipated, uncharted and altogether unknown destination.

Robert Trevino is invited by Apple Music to guest curate ‘The Beethoven Effect’ playlist. ‘Beethoven is one of those few composers who maintain an international name recognition, both amongst classical music lovers and with those who have yet to fall in low with our art form. Almost everyone has heard of Beethoven,’ says Trevino. ‘I would like to look both at musical works which must have seriously affected Beethoven's sense of music's role in the world – how it can inspire mankind to do better – and at works from others who have sought to continue his musical journey towards peace, towards love. Listen to this playlist which explores the music Beethoven made and the works he inspired.
BEETHOVEN, L. van: Symphonies (Complete)
SWR19525CD
Complete Symphonies
In recording Ludwig van Beethoven's nine symphonies with the SWR Radio Symphony Orchestra Stuttgart, its principal conductor Sir Roger Norrington presented a summary of his life-long work with the composer's music. He applied the insights of historically informed performance to a modern symphony orchestra.

During the 2002 European Music Festival, Norrington and the Radio Symphony Orchestra Stuttgart set out to prove that a modern symphony orchestra could play the nine symphonies in accordance with the most recent “artistic findings”. Presenting Beethoven's symphonies in the order of their composition was the dramatic concept of this cycle of concerts that is duly captured on these recordings. Since the symphonies were performed at the festival in the order in which they were composed, they are found on the discs in combinations that are unusual, but chronologically accurate.






BEETHOVEN, L. van: Complete Piano Concertos
ODE1359-2T

Complete Piano Concertos
Ondine celebrates Beethoven’s 250th anniversary of birth by re-issuing Olli Mustonen’s Beethoven cycle with the Tapiola Sinfonietta. The three volumes were originally released in three separate volumes in 2007-9 as ODE 1099-5, ODE 1123-5, and ODE 1146‑5.

Mustonen, described by The Sunday Times as the “living dream of pianism”, is known for delivering fresh and visionary approach to standard works – this is evident in these masterful recordings of Beethoven’s concertos. Mustonen is a particularly fitting exponent for Beethoven’s music as the composer himself was also both visionary and revolutionary in his approach to tradition. The recording of Piano Concerto No. 1 includes Mustonen’s own candenzas. Beethoven’s own Piano Concerto arrangement of his Violin Concerto is also featured – one of Mustonen’s signature pieces.



BEETHOVEN, L. van: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 and 2 / Rondo, WoO 6
8.574151

Piano Concertos Nos. 1 and 2 • Rondo, WoO 6
Beethoven’s first two piano concertos share an abundance of lyric and virtuosic qualities. Concerto No. 1 in C major is expansive and richly orchestrated with a sublime slow movement that is tender and ardent, and a finale full of inventive humour. Concerto No. 2 in B flat major marries energy with elegance, reserving poetic breadth for its slow movement and quirky wit for the finale. Also included is the jovial Rondo, WoO 6, which Beethoven originally intended to be the finale of Concerto No. 2.





9.70312

Beethoven 32 • Vol. 6
Piano Sonatas Nos. 19-22
The first five volumes (9.70307–9.70311) of Boris Giltburg’s traversal of Beethoven’s 32 piano sonatas have been received with much acclaim. ‘[Giltburg brings] us closer to the spontaneous feel of a live performance... on this form Naxos’s cycle looks set to be something special.’ (Malcolm Hayes, BBC Music Magazine, on Sonatas Nos. 4–7 / 9.70308). ‘The slow movements, which Giltburg plays without affectation but with all the more sensitive differentiation and intelligence, are very beautiful and gripping (Remy Franck, Pizzicato on 9.70308). ‘The B flat Sonata... typifies what one might hope for in a traversal of familiar repertory by an outstanding young artist: fresh perspective on terrain one thought one knew. (Patrick Rucker, Gramophone, on Sonatas Nos. 8–11 / 9.70309).
9.70311

Beethoven 32 • Vol. 5
Piano Sonatas Nos. 16-18
Boris Giltburg has set out to study and film all of Beethoven’s 32 piano sonatas by the end of 2020. The project started as a personal exploration, driven by curiosity and his strong love of the Beethoven sonatas. These performances display Giltburg’s customary spirit and technical finesse, and also convey the electric atmosphere of the live recording. Volumes 1–4 can be heard on Naxos 9.70307–10.
9.70310

Beethoven 32 • Vol. 4
Piano Sonatas Nos. 12-15
Boris Giltburg has set out to study and film all of Beethoven’s 32 piano sonatas by the end of 2020. The project started as a personal exploration, driven by curiosity and his strong love of the Beethoven sonatas. These performances display Giltburg’s customary spirit and technical finesse, and also convey the electric atmosphere of the live recording. Volumes 1 to 3 can be heard on Naxos 9.70307, 9.70308 and 9.70309.
9.70310

Beethoven 32 • Vol. 4
Piano Sonatas Nos. 12-15
Boris Giltburg has set out to study and film all of Beethoven’s 32 piano sonatas by the end of 2020. The project started as a personal exploration, driven by curiosity and his strong love of the Beethoven sonatas. These performances display Giltburg’s customary spirit and technical finesse, and also convey the electric atmosphere of the live recording. Volumes 1 to 3 can be heard on Naxos 9.70307, 9.70308 and 9.70309.





BEETHOVEN, L. van: Piano Concerto No. 1 (arr. V. Lachner) / Symphony No. 2 (version for piano trio) (Shybayeva, Animato String Quartet)
8.551431

Piano Concerto No. 1
Symphony No. 2
The first volume (8.551400) with Vinzenz Lachner‘s arrangements of Ludwig van Beethoven’s Piano Concertos for piano and string quintet already showed that this would be quite a special complete recording of Beethoven’s piano concertos—and not just because it is the first recording to present this version for the first time ever. For the second volume, Hanna Shybayeva chose the piano trio version of the second symphony in D major Op. 36 to be added in the arrangement by the master himself. After all, this chamber music arrangement from Beethoven’s pen fits perfectly with those of the piano concertos of later times.
BEETHOVEN, L. van: Serenades, Opp. 25 and 41 (Serenade for Ludwig)
CDS7886

Serenade for Ludwig
Flute Chamber Music

Beethoven’s lesser known output includes a series of conventional, tranquil works which followed the standards of the day. Written basically to make ends meet, such works throw light on the everyday activities in the career of revolutionary man, and help us better understand hidden aspects of his genius.

The Serenade in D major for flute, violin and viola was completed around 1797, but it was published as Op. 25 only in 1802. It is, therefore, an early work and one of the lightest and sunniest compositions of Beethoven’s chamber output. The work must have immediately met with success, for about a year later, in 1803, a Leipzig publisher printed a version of it for flute and piano, as Op. 41. In this version, the Serenade is a pleasant entertainment piece, far from the daring language of the composer’s contemporary piano music.

BEETHOVEN, L. van: String Quartets Opp. 132 & 130/133
ODE1347-2D

String Quartets Opp. 132 & 130/133
This new album of Beethoven’s late String Quartets by the prestigious Tetzlaff Quartett offers a fitting tribute to Beethoven’s 250th anniversary year. These monumental works which are given fresh interpretations by the quartet are among the greatest achievements in the history of Western art music written by a composer who had already largely lost contact with the world. When writing his final String Quartets (Op. 127–135) Beethoven was becoming increasingly ill and understood that he would never be able to recover fully. Beethoven had just completed his 9th Symphony when he received a commission to write String Quartets. What resulted was a string of totally unique masterpieces highly individual in their language and unusual in their form.

Praised by The New York Times for its “dramatic, energetic playing of clean intensity”, the Tetzlaff Quartett is one of today’s leading string quartets and has performed at such prestigious venues as Brussels’ BOZAR, Wiener Musikverein, Herkulessaal München, Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw and London’s Queen Elizabeth Hall. Alongside their successful individual careers, Christian and Tanja Tetzlaff, Hanna Weinmeister and Elisabeth Kufferath have met since 1994 to perform several times each season in concerts that regularly receive great critical acclaim.

BEETHOVEN, L. van: Music for Winds - Octet, Op. 103 / Sextet, Op. 71
8.574040-41

Chamber Music
Piano Quartet in E flat major • Six German Dances
In his first decade in Vienna, Beethoven seems to have been preoccupied with music for wind instruments. The best-known example is his Quintet in E flat major, Op. 16, which he arranged at the same time for piano quartet. He also wrote music for dances and settings of folk songs, and reflected the public’s interest in automata by writing for musical clock. The Napoleonic wars were mirrored in Beethoven’s music of the period, especially in his military compositions such as a series of Marches and the Equali, scored for trombones, which were later played at his funeral.



2.110674
Missa Solemnis
Beethoven started composing Leonore in January 1804. The subject – the release to freedom of an unjustly imprisoned man by his devoted wife – was part of the genre of ‘rescue operas’ which were very popular at the end of the 18th century. The premiere of Leonore, given before an uncomprehending audience at a time of political upheaval, was a failure and Beethoven responded by shortening the work from three acts to two, which was the version performed in 1806. After further revisions it was to emerge in 1814 as Fidelio. This performance is from Opera Lafayette’s Leonore Project which included a performance of Pierre Gaveaux’s Léonore, ou L’Amour conjugal (available on Naxos DVD 2.110591 and Blu-ray NBD0085V) – the opera on which Beethoven modelled his Leonore

Also Available in Blu-ray (NBD0121V)
BEETHOVEN, L. van: Missa solemnis (Documentary and Performance) (Bernius) (NTSC)
2.110669
Also available in Blu-ray
Missa Solemnis
Beethoven’s Missa solemnis is the one work the composer admired above all his compositions. It was written for his great patron and friend Archduke Rudolf of Austria at around the same time that he embarked on his Ninth Symphony and as the writer Donald Tovey noted, ‘there is no choral and no orchestral writing, earlier or later, that shows a more thrilling sense of the individual colour of every chord.’ This insightful documentary follows Frieder Bernius on a journey of discovery as he immerses himself in Beethoven’s monumental masterpiece in preparation for a recording.
8.574175

Secular Vocal Works
Opferlied • Lied aus der Ferne • An die Geliebte
Beethoven’s secular vocal works, many rarely heard today, were composed for a variety of reasons. Some were written for marriages, to mark the departure of a friend or to celebrate a name day, while others allude to Masonic imagery or set the words of great literary contemporaries, such as Schiller. The larger canvas of Mehrstimmige italienische Gesänge reflects Beethoven’s studies of Italian word-setting with Antonio Salieri, revealing insights into Beethoven’s achievements during his early years in Vienna.
BEETHOVEN, L. van: Mass in C Major / Vestas Feuer / Meeresstille und Glückliche Fahrt
8.574017

Mass in C Major
Vestas Feuer • Meeresstille und Glückliche Fahrt
The custom of marking the name-day of Princess Esterházy with a newly composed Mass began in the 1790s and for many years was carried out by Joseph Haydn. In 1807 Beethoven was commissioned and responded with his Mass in C major. Coolly received at court, it is a celebratory work of large-scale brilliance. The cantata Meeresstille und glückliche Fahrt is set to Goethe’s poems and contrasts calm with exuberance. In 1803 Beethoven set two numbers from Vestas Feuer, written by Emanuel Schikaneder, the librettist of Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte.





BEETHOVEN, L. van: Lieder, Vol. 1
8.574071
Lieder, Vol. 1
Beethoven’s contribution to the development of German song was significant – he wrote some 90 songs – but it has inevitably been overshadowed by his mastery of orchestral and instrumental music. Unlike mozart and Schubert’s works in the genre, little is known about the composition and performance of Beethoven’s songs, but he is known to have greatly respected Goethe, as his settings amply show, not least in the incidental music to Egmont, from which Freudvoll und leidvoll is taken.





BEETHOVEN, L. van: Canons and Musical Jokes (Schlemmer, Tauber, Weiser, Ensemble Tamanial, Cantus Novus Wien, T. Holmes)
8.574176

Canons and Musical Jokes
One of the least explored areas of Beethoven’s compositions is the miscellaneous sequence of canons, early exercises in counterpoint, mature jokes and jeux d’esprit that he wrote over many years. He composed a two-part canon for the composer Hummel in 1816 and in 1823 one for four voices (written in a tavern) for Count Lichnowsky. He also wrote birthday and Christmas greetings for colleagues and friends, and songs that punned on recipients’ names or poked fun at them.
BEETHOVEN, L. van: Folk Songs (Bohnet, D. Johannsen, Klimbacher, Herzer, Christelbauer, B. Bartos)
8.574174

Folk Songs
George Thomson of Edinburgh, a notable promoter of Scottish music, encouraged settings of his nation’s folk songs. In particular, he found a rich source of arrangements in Vienna, where he commissioned first Haydn and then Beethoven to set a large sequence of poems, including those of Robert Burns and Sir Walter Scott. Thomson envisaged simple works, agreeable to amateurs, but Beethoven found it impossible to compose within such limitations and his settings, which include Irish and Welsh songs, with the accompaniment of strings and piano, have proved perennially popular.


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