the second and third movements are dramatic, particularly in the low stings and horns. Beethoven's dear oboes are very evident here. The finale, surrounding Schiller's An die Freude is powerful and well performed by soloist and chorus. It is grand to listen to this music but it is grander to see it performed. To see it performed by an orchestra founded on the music and directed by a conductor dedicated to it, argues positively for owning this DVD. This is what Beethoven looks and sounds like.

Ludwig van Beethoven, Giovanni Palestrina - Concert in Honor of Pope Benedict XVI
Synphonieorchestrer und Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Maris Jasons (Arthaus Musik, 2007)

Concert in Honor of Pope Benedict XVI is notable for two things: a crack orchestra and conductor perform and the Holy Father himself requested one of the two pieces performed. Add to this that Joesph Ratzinger, Pope Benedict XVI is the first German pope since Pope Adrian VI was elevated in 1523 and that Beethoven's "Ninth Symphony" is on the slate and the listen can only expect good things.

The concert opens with the Holy Father entering the Paul VI Performance Hall in a manner not unlike the President of the United States entering the Congressional Chamber for the State of the Union address. Once the pope was seated, his holiness is addressed by the current Archbishop of Munich and Freising and the director of the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra. The DVD contains an address by the Holy Father and a short documentary, "Götterfunken für den Papst" ("Divine Spark for the Pope").

The music begins with the papal request of Palestrina's "Tu es Petrus", Motet for 6 Voices, sung by the Bavarian Radio Choir under the direction of Maris Jansons. Janson reveals himself as a capable choral conduction, leading the choir through Palestrina's setting of Matthew 16:18-19.

Maestro Jansons immediately take the podium for the symphony. The engineering and sonics are quite outstanding. Impressive as the sound of the Karajan is, Jansons' Ninth Symphony is one for the audiophile ages. His conducted performance is purely organic. The opening tremolo is so clean and clear the listener can hear both the modulating note figure and the scratch of the horsehair on the strings.

Jansons' dynamics are near perfect in this dramatic and exciting performance. The soloists, particularly baritone Michael Volle, are excellent. Where the Karajan performance is a beautiful archival restoration offering the listener an example of the "proper" Beethoven performance, the Jansons' pulls out all the dramatic stops, propelling the work ahead with such a momentum that one expects the orchestra to spin out of control. Jansons keeps the orchestra upright and with the tension of such a high-wire performance produces a superb work of art.