Ivan Fischer’s Beethoven Seventh surely ranks with the best among recent performances. The first-movement introduction isn’t too slow, and the allegro is a delightful romp full of arresting wind detail. The Allegretto stands among the most beautifully paced and balanced since Szell’s. In the Scherzo, Fischer manages a swift basic pace that achieves the minor miracle of never sounding mechanical, while the finale has athleticism and unusual textural transparency at a very lively tempo. All that’s missing from this performance, and it may be a function of the otherwise excellent engineering, is a little extra presence from the horns in the outer movements and from the timpani at the climaxes. Still, it doesn’t get much better.
That said, the couplings are a puzzle. I like the idea of pairing Beethoven with his contemporaries, and the Rossini overture sounds brilliant, but why only single movements from the Weber and Wilms pieces? Either give us complete works, or find another concept that can be accommodated on a single disc. Certainly the Weber could have been included complete, thereby creating an appealing concert experience: overture, concerto, symphony. Fine as the performances are, it’s difficult to see who will want this disc beyond Beethoven symphony specialists, and more’s the pity. [5/22/2008]
