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.
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1 - lember
Honor? What is the occasion for such of Honour?