Eric Zuesse comment about Cluytens version of Beethoven Symphonies:
For decades, I considered this set, tied along with Konwitschny’s, to be one of the two best Beethoven 9 Symphonies sets ever recorded; but, as the decades passed, I found myself increasingly preferring this one even over the Konwitschny; and here is why:
First of all, I should make clear that both sets wear better with each successive hearing, and both are monumental and devoid of mannerisms, or of any pretenses or straining for effects. Furthermore, unlike either of the 1950’s & 1960’s Karajan sets (first with the Philharmonia, and then with the Berlin Phil.), both the Cluytens and the Konwitschny sets communicate the deep humanity and warmth of Beethoven, and aren’t at all steely cold. So, that’s a considerable advantage over Karajan’s style.
Ultimately, however, what makes this set the best are two things: First, that the conducting projects both the Germanic and the Belgian (Flemish or ‘Dutch’) cultural backgrounds of the composer (both of which cultures are strongly present in Beethoven’s music); and, second, that at the time when these recordings were made, the Berlin Philharmonic was the world’s greatest orchestra and had the ideal rich and resonant sound for performing Beethoven. By contrast, Konwitschny was strictly Germanic, and the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra was merely a great German orchestra, not the ideal sound for Beethoven, which was the Berlin Philharmonic during the 1950s.
Cluytens in this set introduced himself to the world as an astounding Beethoven conductor, after a career which had previously focused upon French music. This Belgian conductor had unfortunately become typecast as French because he built his career in Paris, but then in the 1950’s he conducted several times at Bayreuth, and soon became recognized as a very great conductor of German music. EMI’s Walter Legge had discovered him (along with Karajan and Klemperer) right after WWII, and mistakenly categorized him as EMI’s French specialist, but after Cluytens’s recognition at Bayreuth, Legge rectified his error by commissioning Cluytens to do this complete Beethoven set. Unlike with Karajan and Klemperer, whose EMI/Angel sets were performed with Legge’s own Philharmonia Orchestra, Cluytens was granted to perform these symphonies with the world’s greatest orchestra at the time, the Berlin Philharmonic. This was before Karajan had had the opportunity to transform this orchestra (after being named in 1956 as the Berlin Phil.’s permanent conductor) into the sleek hard machine they subsequently became. Under Cluytens, they were still the orchestra of Artur Nikisch and Wilhelm Furtwangler, with a deep, resonant and somber tone, which was perfect for Beethoven. Cluytens brought out their fullest glory, before Karajan took over and transformed the orchestra into the cold hard steel machine they subsequently became.
The tone here is golden, but with deeply shaded hues, as if from the forests, with brilliant beams of light shining through — perfect for Beethoven.
Cluytens’s style is perfect for this orchestra, and for Beethoven’s music: Everything noble comes forth to the maximum, with a stunning naturalness and lack of strain. Unlike, for example, Furtwangler, who raced climaxes in order to excite the listener, Cluytens is breathing deeply and steadily in the climaxes just as in the quiet passages, always calm no matter how loudly he is playing. There is a hypnotic effect that is at least the equal of Karajan at his best.
One of the reviewers said that Cluytens was least good on the Ninth, but, to the exact contrary, that was the symphony which I first knew from this set, before the complete Cluytens set was even issued, and I immediately recognized this performance of the Ninth as being among the most noble, radiant, hypnotic, and glorious, in the entire catalog. This recording enabled me to recognize that Cluytens was, without a doubt, one of the greatest of all conductors, and so I eagerly looked forward to hearing his complete set. Another reviewer said that the great orchestral sound here reflected Karajan’s influence; but Karajan had actually just taken the orchestra over at the time, and the sound that you hear on this set reflects the Berlin Philharmonic before Karajan transformed it away from what it had been, which was the world’s greatest orchestra. This set does not reflect the Karajan sound. It is much better than that. Karajan was a very great conductor, but he preferred a hard, steely, sound, and that’s not what you’ll hear on this set, which reflects instead the pre-Karajan Berlin Philharmonic. What had been the world’s greatest orchestra didn’t remain that way under Karajan, who turned it into just another sleek machine. The Cluytens set reflects the Berlin Philharmonic at its pinnacle.
The more that I heard each of these performances, the more that I came to revere each one, and I ultimately concluded that no recorded studio performance of any of these symphonies is better than the performance in the present set. Not only is this set the best ever recorded, but on most of the symphonies, the performance is at least tied with the best ever recorded, and that’s a spectacular achievement.
The First Symphony is as good as Karajan’s Berlin recording of it, but even better in its warmth, which contrasts with Karajan’s coldness. Only Konwitschny matches Cluytens here.
The Second Symphony is as good as Swarowsky’s and as Konwitschny’s, and I prefer all three to Karajan’s two recordings of the work.
The Cluytens Beethoven Third, “Eroica,” is certainly among the greatest in the catalog, along with von Matacic and the Czech Phil., and perhaps even better than any of the other fine recordings of this work, by Karajan-Berlin, Swarowsky, and Konwitschny. Whereas most performances of the Eroica fall apart in the final movement, Cluytens’s interpretation does not; it just keeps the pulse going, strong and steady to the very end.
The Cluytens Fourth is at least the equal of the other great performances of the work, by Swarowsky, Konwitschny, and Karajan-Berlin.
The Cluytens Fifth is likewise on a par with the other great studio recordings of this masterpiece, along with Karajan’s 1946 Vienna Philharmonic recording (which is the most visceral), and Swarowsky’s South German Philharmonic recording (which is the most severe). Cluytens makes the music glow with warmth and deep humanity, nothing at all harsh, but still retaining full monumentality, perhaps the most Beethoven-like of all recordings. As opposed to the wildness of the Karajan-Vienna, or the severe and unwavering tension of the Swarowsky, we have here a grace and civility that don’t diminish this work’s power one bit. There is only one performance that’s probably better than any of these, and it’s the live one by Konwitschny on Weltblick, paired with an equally stunning live Beethoven Seventh. Those two Konwitschny performances are superior even to his superb studio recordings of those two symphonies that are in the complete Konwitschny/Beethoven Symphony set, and his live Beethoven Fifth is everything that anyone could hope for in a performance of this magnificent work. That Konwitchny Beethoven performance is the best ever recorded.
The Sixth, “Pastorale,” is also at least the equal of the other great recorded performances of this work, which are the four recordings of it by Swarowsky.
The Seventh has only one equal: Konwitschny’s live performance on Weltblick. However, others are close behind these two: Leinsdorf with the Rochester Philharmonic, Karajan with the Philharmonia, Konwitschny’s studio recording, and Giulini with the Chicago Sym.
The Eighth is one of the three best, along with Karajan’s 1948 Vienna Phil. recording, and Swarowsky’s.
There are perhaps a larger number of great recorded performances of the Beethoven Ninth than of any other work: Cluytens, Karajan (Vienna 1948), Swarowsky, Konwitschny, Neumann, Matacic, and Bohm (Vienna 1980), might each be considered the best, though each in different ways. I prefer the Cluytens overall, but barely, because it seems to me to have the best combination of monumentality, warmth, and a mystical trance.
Unfortunately, Cluytens got cancer and died at the age of 62, shortly after completing this set. If he had lived an additional twenty years, he would have come to be recognized as one of the greatest conductors who ever lived, and as the supreme master on Beethoven, for whose music he possessed a very special personal affinity. Oddly, French music, on which he had built his reputation, was far less suited to his temperament. His premature death was an immense loss for the musical world, and this set was the pinnacle of his entire career, easily the best complete Beethoven set, even better than Konwitschny’s.
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