7.5 | / 10 |
Users | 5.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.5 | |
Overall | 4.8 |
Music | 100% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080i
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Music: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.0
Music: LPCM 2.0
Both are 48kHz, 24-bit
English, French, Italian, Japanese, Spanish, Korean, Mandarin (Simplified)
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 4.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 5.0 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
Sometimes from the vantage point of passing years, let alone passing centuries, “revolutions” don’t seem all that revolutionary. When we listen to the symphonies of Beethoven with our jaded 21st century ears, they can sound downright quaint and positively traditional at times. And yet when Beethoven burst upon the symphonic landscape in 1801, well attuned ears were probably stunned by the composer’s opening gambit. While there are certainly scores (no pun intended) of examples to the contrary from earlier times, the standard symphonic trope in those days was to start out your symphony with a statement in the key of the symphony, and more often than not that statement began with a tonic major or minor chord. And yet here was Beethoven, ostensibly working in the key of C, opening his symphony with a C7 chord. It was odd enough in and of itself to open with a dominant seventh, but a seventh based on the tonality of the symphony itself? Sheer audacity! And then Beethoven takes the listener on a rather madcap four bar phrase which includes a then-unusual set of chord changes which gets us at last to our real dominant seventh, G7. Except that Beethoven once again pulls the tonal rug out from under our ears and gives us instead a G major triad, with no seventh in sight. That seventh finally appears in the second half of the measure, albeit as a passing tone, but once again the composer completely defies expectations, and the standard musical vocabulary of the day, by taking us on yet another detour to remote tonalities. In fact we don’t even get to something approaching the key of C major until the thirteenth measure of the piece, when the first statement of the primary theme commences at the Allegro con brio score marking. To contemporary ears, none of this sounds particularly unusual or bracing, but to those early 19th century audiences, it must have seemed as if the musical sky were falling, and who knew what was around any cadence’s corner.
Beethoven Symphonies Nos. 1, 2 & 3 arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of C Major and Unitel Classica, with an AVC encoded 1080i transfer in 1.78:1. As with the other releases in this cycle, we're granted a really sharp, nicely saturated looking image which offers a wealth of fine detail in any number of excellent close-ups. Camera coverage is exceptional throughout this release, and directorial choices are very smart, almost always focusing on sections which are the most involved with the musical content of the moment. There are some really lustrous browns and red-browns on this release, including some nicely polished bassoons, and a gorgeous gold flute also makes an appearance. There are a few aliasing artifacts, probably caused by the interlaced source material, but they're extremely transitory and probably won't bother most viewers.
As with the other releases in this Beethoven Symphonic Cycle, Beethoven Symphonies Nos. 1, 2 & 3 features two gorgeous lossless soundtracks, a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix and an LPCM 2.0 stereo fold down. Both tracks are simply beautiful, though I highly recommend the incredibly spacious and inviting DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix if you have the equipment to handle it. Thielemann coaxes such an amazing dynamic range out of this orchestra that it's really mind boggling at times, and the DTS track effortlessly supports everything from whisper quiet winds to the bombastic fury of the tutti orchestra which Beethoven utilizes for his most tempestuous statements. Fulsome strings and warm inviting winds and brass sound simply eloquent on this release, which sports reference quality fidelity and a really lustrous and wonderfully nuanced hall ambience.
As with the other two Blu-rays in this set, Discovering Beethoven, accompanying documentaries for each of the three symphonies, simply sets a new standard for music information in the high definition era. Symphony No. 1 (1080i; 51:34), Symphony No. 2 (1080i; 59:13) and Symphony No. 3 (1080i; 59:39) offer us music historian Joachim Kaiser and conductor Christian Thielemann poring over the ins and outs of these symphonies, relating both historical and musical facts about each of them. Not shy about comparing his interpretations to conducting masters of yore, Thielemann discusses snippets of other conductors' work, including Bernstein, Furtwängler, and Thielemann's own mentor Von Karajan. The entire historical context of Beethoven's era and approach to composition is explored in some detail, and at times there's a virtual note by note analysis of what is going on in each of these iconic works. As I've mentioned in my other reviews of this series, this is like sitting down at a Doctoral Thesis discussion between two extremely learned gentlemen, and Discovering Beethoven is simply unmatched in both its informational and entertainment value.
Classical music lovers have had a lot to celebrate as the Blu-ray era has started to reach its maturity, but there's probably no greater cause for celebration than these simply stunning new releases of the Beethoven Symphonies. Pieces which are heard as often as these are too frequently shunted to almost a "background noise" level by a lot of listeners, no matter how good their intentions may be. What Thielemann and the Vienna Philharmonic have managed to do, perhaps somewhat magically, is to reinvent each of these pieces and make them seem fresh and new. Bolstered by excellent image quality and reference quality audio, and featuring non pareil documentaries, one really couldn't ask for more in any of these releases. As with the other two Blu-rays in this set which have already been reviewed, Beethoven Symphonies Nos. 1, 2 & 3 comes Very highly recommended.
Christian Thielemann / Wiener Philharmoniker
2008-2010
Christian Thielemann / Wiener Philharmoniker
2008-2010
(Still not reliable for this title)
Super Deluxe Edition | Blu-ray Audio
1970
50th Anniversary Atmos Remix / Blu-ray Audio
1973
1985
Limited Deluxe Edition
2021
1995
Atmos Remix / Blu-ray Audio
1977
2021
2019
2020
2019
Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition | Blu-ray Audio
1969
1978-2018
2013
1994
Blu-ray Audio | Limited 50th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition | The White Album
1968
2010-2013
2014-2017
Blu-ray Audio
2003
1970
2017