A bad performance

[fpb]

I just heard what purports to be a recording of Claudio Abbado conducting the Berlin Philharmonic in Beethoven's Third Symphony, the Eroica. I say purported because I have trouble accepting that such a well-regarded composer and conductor could deliver himself of such a bad performance. The first and last movements, especially, were merely frenetic, over-fast and undignified, which robbed them of the whole heroic attitude that is the heart of the music. Beethoven's music can be galumphing and boisterous, especially in his jocose moods, but you should never forget the dignity at its heart; he should thunder, not scream. It started badly, with the famous two opening chords passed by so fast that one had the impression they did not matter, and ended badly, with the close - which, to be fair, always risks being merely frenetic - done at the speed of a carnival dance, and the closing chord going by as fast as the opening one. And it may be only my perception that the brass section was louder and more prominent than it needed to be, drowning woodwind and strings (and it is the string section that is the heart of the Beethoven orchestra), but whether it was or not, it did not add to my enjoyment. I hope the recording was mislabelled, and if it was not, I am really disappointed with my fellow Milanese, Claudio Abbado.