Osmo Vänskä – described as ‘an exemplary Beethoven conductor, it's hard to think of anyone better at present’ (Andrew Clements in The Guardian) – has chosen to open his Beethoven cycle with Symphonies No.4 and No.5. The Fourth was on the program during the orchestra’s 2004 European tour in performances that were very warmly applauded by the critics: the Vänskä/Minnesota interpretation ‘bristled with energy and displayed a muscular, finely honed ensemble’ and ‘proved that the possibilities of the modern-instrument approach are not exhausted yet’ according to the British music press, and a German reviewer was struck by the symphony’s Finale (‘one could not imagine it played more vivaciously and grippingly’) as well as ‘the immensely rich’ dynamic contrasts of the performance as a whole – qualities that certainly are brought out in the Surround Sound version on the present disc.

Symphony No.5 in C minor, Op.67
5. I. Allegro con brio 7'32
6. II. Andante con moto 9'31
7. III. Allegro 4'44
8. IV. Allegro 10'38


EAN 7318599914169

Editor's Choice, Gramophone March 2005

10/10 and Disc of the Month (February 2005) Classics Today.com and Classics Today France.com

Orchestral CD of the Month, BBC Music Magazine, March 2005

10/10/10 ’Empfehlung’, Klassik Heute.de