Partly through the use of added reverberation, Michael Dutton uncovers a wider dynamic spectrum from Erich Kleiber’s venerable 1929 Berlin recording of Beethoven’s Second Symphony than can be gleaned from Naxos’ plainer, non-interventionist transfer. It only enhances the numerous executional and engineering drawbacks to which David Hurwitz referred in his review of the Naxos edition (type Q1824 in Search Reviews). However, the 1948 London Philharmonic “Pastoral” is quite similar to the conductor’s joyous, lean, and propulsive mono LP remake with the Concertgebouw Orchestra. If anything, the London recording’s more forward woodwind balances add an extra tinge of rusticity to the mix, as in the Andante’s forest-creature evocations and the third movement’s gorgeously dovetailed solo oboe and clarinet exchanges (Kleiber omits the repeats he observed in his remakes). Decca’s Full Frequency Range Recording is quite vivid and warm for its 1948 vintage. While my preferences ultimately lie with this conductor’s later “Pastoral”, his LPO version is well worth hearing, and not just by Kleiber specialists.
