The program also included the patriotic work Wellington's Victory, exalting the victory of the British over Napoleon's France. In Beethoven's address to the participants, the motives are not openly named: "We are moved by nothing but pure patriotism and the joyful sacrifice of our powers for those who have sacrificed so much for us." The work was premiered with Beethoven himself conducting in Vienna on 8 December 1813 at a charity concert for soldiers wounded in the Battle of Hanau.
īeethoven's life at this time was marked by a worsening hearing loss, which made "conversation notebooks" necessary from 1819 on, with the help of which Beethoven communicated in writing. After the 3rd Symphony, and possibly the 5th as well, the 7th Symphony seems to be another of Beethoven's musical confrontations with Napoleon, this time in the context of the European wars of liberation from years of Napoleonic domination. Indeed, this is really 1 of those rare performances that convince you from start to finish that this music cannot be heard more vivid, dramatic & true, & it can only happen with a genius conductor like Carlos Kleiber.When Beethoven began composing the 7th symphony, Napoleon was planning his campaign against Russia. This is the most electrifying performance of Beethoven’s 7th I have ever heard!! It has much more spontaneity & drive than Kleiber’s studio recording with the VPO & it is even more exciting than his concertegebouw performance from 1984 (DVD only). The 1 prominent individual who stands out is the eccentric weaving the wand who, on this day, created a giant human rhythmic machine consisting of musicians who played well beyond expectation. Simply, the group acts in the best interest of the group. This recording exemplifies aspects of musical art that are fading away…restraint, instinct, support, congruence, breath & fire. This is an excellent sonic representation of how an orchestra as a whole, playing together, is the greatest instrument in the world. The qualities this Kleiber 7th exudes has that others don’t is: supreme energy & dynamics, beautiful sound quality (with some usual live audience sounds), &, best of all, an orchestra pumping on 12 cylinders playing as one. This is quite an interpretation & so powerful that I cannot listen to anything else afterward…I’m done for the day, ain’t nothing else gonna top it. My previous favorite 7th was the old mono Toscanini on vinyl….not anymore. I cannot listen to another Beethoven 7th the same way again. Kleiber the specialist buries the competition with this performance.
I’m not gonna dig too deep here, I lack eloquence & the other reviewers have summed it up pretty well, but this is the Beethoven 7th that decimates all. I was stunned, riveted, moved to spiritual awe. This has got to be that moment for these musicians, my god – the quality & attention to listening, response to one another is so incredible, each instrument becoming 1 with the whole. I saw Beverly Sills interviewed & she said that it was truly perfect for her only once. I forgot for a moment that it’s a recording of Beethoven’s 7th & just marveled at the fierce passion of true artistry married to mind-bogglingly precise craft.
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