Page 211 - ASMF Marriner 100 Coverage Book

During rehearsals, he was practical, in the evening he was inconspicuous, and the
critics, who expected grand gestures as a reward for the audience, underestimated him.

Professional musicians, on the other hand, recognized him as a colleague with
extraordinary sensitivity and unwavering humanity. This collection of Beethoven's
symphonies from the 1980s is a testament to his rare combination of perceptiveness
and distinctive style.

By collaborating with the self-select Academy of St Martin in the Fields, a group of
musicians who were fed up with other London orchestras, Marriner was able to put
democracy into practice and strike a well-thought-out balance between big band
partying and theorizing about the period instruments that had dominated the industry
since the 1950s. Listening to his rendition of the Eroica, you will notice that there is a
lack of dogmatic guidance and that the meaning of the music naturally derives from

the logical sequence of notes. The Fourth Symphony is, in my opinion, unsurpassed
for its lyrical flair. The absence of bombast in The Fifth – Fate is positively
refreshing. The sixth gives the impression of an outdated ballroom in a small town. If
you want a masterful twist, look elsewhere. You should have this Beethoven complete
on hand so that you can show your friends how to play a difficult phrase correctly.

If that doesn't make you want to buy the set, there are two more performances of the
violin concerto, one by Marriner's close collaborator and concertmaster of the
orchestra of the Academy of St. Petersburg. Martin Iona Brown and the second by the
young Gidon Kremer, who will perform an outrageously flattened cadenza by the
Soviet dissident Alfred Schnittke – so absurd that I think it is being released on CD
for the first time. You'll need all ten fingers to count the myriad of great concertos that

Schnittke refers to in it. This Beethoven set will not only be a Christmas present. It is
a gift for life.

Marriner Conducts Beethoven: 10 CD Boxset

Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphonie No. 1 & 2
Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphonie No. 2 'Eroica'Ludwig
van Beethoven: Symphonie No. 4 Grosse Fuge
Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphonie No. 5 & 8
Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphonie No. 6 'Pastoral'; 'Consecration of the House'
Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphonie No. 7; Wellington's Victory Op. 91 (Battle
Symphony)
Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphonie No. 9 'Chorale'
Ludwig van Beethoven: Violin Concerto (Iona Brown)

Ludwig van Beethoven: Violin Concerto (Gidon Kremer)
Ludwig van Beethoven: 12 Minuets WoO.7
Ludwig van Beethoven: 12 German Dances WoO.8
Ludwig van Beethoven: 12 Counterdances WoO.14