<Translated from Danish automatically>
Odense Concert Hall – Carl Nielsen Hall. It is no longer a secret that the Odense Symphony Orchestra is an excellent ensemble, and that its chief conductor, Alexander Vedernikov, is one of the finest to be found in these latitudes. Nevertheless, it was astonishing how beautifully the conductor and orchestra elevated "the greatest of the greats," as they had chosen to brand Beethoven’s ninth and final symphony. Most of the audience in the Carl Nielsen Hall in Odense would likely have signed off on that sales slogan as they stepped back out into reality on Thursday evening, slightly dazed after 70 minutes of a jubilant experience.
Movement by movement, the symphony unfolded with completely natural tempi, equally far from the leisurely self-indulgence and the hectic forcing that one sometimes hears in less successful interpretations. Vedernikov simply conducted all four movements with the right pulse, attentive to every phrasing, yet also willing to let the symphony flow naturally along like the wondrous river of will and beautiful sound that it is. And the musicians followed him from the very first movement, with tonally beautiful contributions from the horns (not least Tone Sundgård Anker) and a vigilant timpanist (Thomas Georgi) who struck with such force that one could almost see the stern countenance of the older Beethoven before them.
The first three purely instrumental movements lead, as we know, into the long finale with the melody of joy, which many generations later would become the national anthem of Europe. First, it emerges in the deep strings, then it spreads through the entire orchestra in a goosebump-inducing manner, until the bass from the balcony breaks out with his powerful "O, Freunde, nicht diese Töne!" Here in the person of the Russian Petr Migunov, with thundering vocal power but a less than impressive German pronunciation. Strange, as he has made this part his specialty. The three other soloists complemented him well, and tenor Ludovit Ludha set an unusually brisk pace in his golden passage, before the Odense symphonists in the subsequent intense fugue section once again showed what they are made of. Musicians and singers—the Danish National Opera Choir and an expanded Philharmonic Choir—put an effective final touch on a distinguished performance.
Some readers may remember the piano-playing boy Schroeder from the American Charles M. Schulz’s iconic comic strip "Peanuts" (Radiserne). Schroeder is unapproachable to the sharp-tongued Lucy’s infatuation with him, because he lives entirely in his own world, whose motto seems to be: No one above and no one beside Beethoven. On one occasion, he caught a bad cold, allegedly because a Beethoven movement gave him chills of delight. It could have been any of the four movements in Beethoven’s Ninth. And it could have been in Odense.
Source.
Odense Concert Hall – Carl Nielsen Hall. It is no longer a secret that the Odense Symphony Orchestra is an excellent ensemble, and that its chief conductor, Alexander Vedernikov, is one of the finest to be found in these latitudes. Nevertheless, it was astonishing how beautifully the conductor and orchestra elevated "the greatest of the greats," as they had chosen to brand Beethoven’s ninth and final symphony. Most of the audience in the Carl Nielsen Hall in Odense would likely have signed off on that sales slogan as they stepped back out into reality on Thursday evening, slightly dazed after 70 minutes of a jubilant experience.
Movement by movement, the symphony unfolded with completely natural tempi, equally far from the leisurely self-indulgence and the hectic forcing that one sometimes hears in less successful interpretations. Vedernikov simply conducted all four movements with the right pulse, attentive to every phrasing, yet also willing to let the symphony flow naturally along like the wondrous river of will and beautiful sound that it is. And the musicians followed him from the very first movement, with tonally beautiful contributions from the horns (not least Tone Sundgård Anker) and a vigilant timpanist (Thomas Georgi) who struck with such force that one could almost see the stern countenance of the older Beethoven before them.
The first three purely instrumental movements lead, as we know, into the long finale with the melody of joy, which many generations later would become the national anthem of Europe. First, it emerges in the deep strings, then it spreads through the entire orchestra in a goosebump-inducing manner, until the bass from the balcony breaks out with his powerful "O, Freunde, nicht diese Töne!" Here in the person of the Russian Petr Migunov, with thundering vocal power but a less than impressive German pronunciation. Strange, as he has made this part his specialty. The three other soloists complemented him well, and tenor Ludovit Ludha set an unusually brisk pace in his golden passage, before the Odense symphonists in the subsequent intense fugue section once again showed what they are made of. Musicians and singers—the Danish National Opera Choir and an expanded Philharmonic Choir—put an effective final touch on a distinguished performance.
Some readers may remember the piano-playing boy Schroeder from the American Charles M. Schulz’s iconic comic strip "Peanuts" (Radiserne). Schroeder is unapproachable to the sharp-tongued Lucy’s infatuation with him, because he lives entirely in his own world, whose motto seems to be: No one above and no one beside Beethoven. On one occasion, he caught a bad cold, allegedly because a Beethoven movement gave him chills of delight. It could have been any of the four movements in Beethoven’s Ninth. And it could have been in Odense.
Source.
The Great Symphony with the Right Pulse in Odense. Beethoven’s Ninth became a triumph for Vedernikov and the Odense Symphony Orchestra
Peter DüRRFELD, Kristeligt Dagblad, September 9, 2017
