The UNESCO Beethoven Symphony No. 9

Appeals for peace and unity in Europe may ring hollow soon enough but the performance itself bears repetition, unfailingly lucid and rhythmically sprung in the Toscanini mould…The sound-mixing... — Gramophone Magazine, October 2019 More…

Release Date: 14th Jun 2019
Catalogue No: 749604
Label: C Major

Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125 'Choral'

Erin Wall (soprano), Annika Schlicht (mezzo-soprano), Attilio Glaser (tenor), René Pape (bass)
Members of the Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks, World Orchestra for Peace & Würth Philharmonike
Donald Runnicles

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In 2018, marking the exact 100th anniversary of the Armistice ending World War 1, the all-star World Orchestra for Peace gave two UNESCO designated performances of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony. Symbolically one in each of the UK and Germany – for the BBC Proms in London and for the Würth Music Foundation in Künzelsau. Founded in 1995 by Sir Georg Solti to reaffirm, in his words, ‘the unique strength of music as an ambassador for peace’, leading players from the world’s finest orchestras gave this performance at ‘the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month’, 100 years after the guns fell silent in 1918. The performance is preceded by moving words of welcome and introduction from Prof. Würth and Lady Solti, both highlighting the need for brotherhood and joy amongst all nations, as reflected in the words of Schiller’s Ode in the choral finale.

BONUS: Welcome and introductions from Prof. Dr. Reinhold Würth, Charles Kaye (Director/co-founder of the World Orchestra for Peace), Lady Valerie Solti (Patron of the World Orchestra for Peace)

Recording Date: Carmen Würth Forum, Künzelsau – 11th November 2018

Sound Format: BD: PCM Stereo, DTS-HD MA 5.0

Picture: NTSC, 16:9

Subtitles: English, German, Korean, Japanese

Booklet: English, German

Total Running Time: 82 mins (Concert: 70 mins + Bonus: 12 mins)

Reviews

October 2019

Appeals for peace and unity in Europe may ring hollow soon enough but the performance itself bears repetition, unfailingly lucid and rhythmically sprung in the Toscanini mould…The sound-mixing places everything in perspective, as does Runnicles’s unfussy direction. Not every Ninth need storm the heavens.

The UNESCO Beethoven Symphony No. 9

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