Germany has made many cultural contributions. Perhaps the greatest was Ludwig van Beethoven. The revolutionary from Bonn threw the doors open from the Classical era into the Romantic era. He did this almost singlehandedly with his Ninth Symphony. Since its premiere in May 7, 1824, the Ninth Symphony has served as the soundtrack for military regimes and as a celebration of freedom. It is more event than performance, something to be seen as well as heard.

Recently made available are two history performances of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, recorded 30 years apart. The first is the 1977 New Year's Eve Performance by the Berlin Philharmonic under the direction of Herbert von Karajan. This was the same years Karajan recorded the second of his three cycles. This performance is notable for being released as part of the Karajan Centenary celebrating the conductor's 100th birthday, April 5, 2008.

The second DVD release showcasing Beethoven's Ninth Symphony has the work as part of a concert in honor of Pope Benedict XVI. This is documentation of a papal concert held in the Paul VI Performance Hall at the Vatican October 27, 2007. The concert was presented by the Bavarian Radio Choir and Orchestra conducted by Mariss Jansons. Both DVDs show that Beethoven's Ninth Symphony is as much an event to be experienced as a piece of music heard.

Ludwig van Beethoven
Beethoven Symphony No. 9
Berlin Philharmonic, Herbert von Karajan
EuroArts
2008

Audio and video technologies have evolved at light speed since the late 1970s when this concert was captured. In spite of this evolution (or because of it) this video cleaned up nicely. The picture is analog-to-digital sharp and the sound is close and powerful. Add to this a performance by the foremost orchestra in the world, The Berlin Philharmonic, conducted by the most famous living conductor, Herbert von Karajan, and this release seamlessly glides into the essential category.

Herbert von Karajan (1908 – 1989) conducted the Berlin Philharmonic for 35 years, succeeding the equally famous Wilhelm Furtwängler in 1955 where he was named artistic director for life. Karajan (along with American Leonard Bernstein) looked like the proper conductor: lithe, virile, shock of magnificent grey hair flying as he conducted in his overtly callisthenic style.

It is obvious the maestro took seriously his conducting when driving the Ninth Symphony bus. There is a certain star-alignment that occurs when a German Orchestra performs the greatest piece of music by a German composer and the performance is directed by a conductor with that shared experience. That alignment exists in this video performance from New Year's Eve, 1977.

The symphony performance can best be described as a controlled hurricane, executed with Teutonic precision. Karajan physically drives the orchestra in the performance, which is crisp and sharp. The sonics are captured and reproduced in such a way that the listener feels as if he or she is among the instruments. The opening tremolo in the first movement is so well defined that the listener can readily hear the un poco maestoso that accompanies the Allegro ma non troppo marking.

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 Honour 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.

This review was first published in Blogcritics.org