Symphony No. 9 In D Minor, Op. 125 "choral"

Dowd, Edith; Bernard, David; Park Avenue Chamber Symphony; Kontes, Brian; West Point Glee Club; Sampson, Kristin; Schutza, Cameron; Young New Yorkers' Chorus; New Amsterdam Singers

After Recursive Classics's successful launch recording with David Bernard and the Park Avenue Chamber Symphony - the world premiere recording of the new edition of Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring, and Bartok's Concerto for Orchestra - comes the blazing follow-up with the same forces - Beethoven's Symphony No. 9. This recording was produced just prior to Bernard's and the Park Avenue Chamber Symphony's performance of this symphony at Carnegie Hall, which was praised by Paul Pelkonen of Superconductor: ''Mr. Bernard's pre-sentation of the Ninth was taut and dramatic, evidence of close rapport between the conductor and his players.'' The Stravinsky/Bartok recording was called by Gramophone, ''committed and forceful...(with) thrilling moments'' (they also published an interview with David Bernard). Fanfare wrote of Bernard's conducting, ''(it is) marked by a strong sense of the music's structure, an outstanding feeling for orchestral texture and phrasing, and a dynamic rhythmic propulsion tha tmakes itself felt even in quiet passages.'' And Alan Young of lucidculture praised Bernard's Lincoln Center performance of The Rite as, ''a transcendent performance...with Bernard conducting from memory, segues were seamless, contrasts were vivid and Stravinsky's whirling exchanges of voices were expertly choreographed.'' Audiophile wrote, ''The recording provides an opportunity to hear into this icon of 20th century music...no detail was lost, and Bernard leads...an affecting performance. Local guys make really good.''

Price: $27.98