Beethoven: Complete Symphonies WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln & Marek Janowski

• Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 - 1827): Symphony No. 1 in C Major, Op. 21:
• 1Symphony No. 1 in C Major, Op. 21: I. Adagio molto - Allegro con brio09:01
• 2Symphony No. 1 in C Major, Op. 21: II. Andante cantabile con moto07:35
• 3Symphony No. 1 in C Major, Op. 21: III. Minuet. Allegro molto e vivace - Trio03:30
• 4Symphony No. 1 in C Major, Op. 21: IV. Adagio - Allegro molto e vivace05:36
• Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 36:
• 5Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 36: I. Adagio molto - Allegro con brio12:12
• 6Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 36: II. Larghetto10:34
• 7Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 36: III. Scherzo. Allegro03:33
• 8Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 36: IV. Allegro molto06:27
• Symphony No. 3 in E-Flat Major, Op. 55 "Eroica":
• 9Symphony No. 3 in E-Flat Major, Op. 55 "Eroica": I. Allegro con brio16:11
• 10Symphony No. 3 in E-Flat Major, Op. 55 "Eroica": II. Marcia funebre. Adagio assai15:23
• 11Symphony No. 3 in E-Flat Major, Op. 55 "Eroica": III. Scherzo. Allegro vivace05:41
• 12Symphony No. 3 in E-Flat Major, Op. 55 "Eroica": IV. Allegro molto10:53
• Symphony No. 4 in B-Flat Major, Op. 60:
• 13Symphony No. 4 in B-Flat Major, Op. 60: I. Adagio - Allegro vivace11:54
• 14Symphony No. 4 in B-Flat Major, Op. 60: II. Adagio09:15
• 15Symphony No. 4 in B-Flat Major, Op. 60: III. Allegro vivace05:41
• 16Symphony No. 4 in B-Flat Major, Op. 60: IV. Allegro ma non troppo06:44
• Symphony No. 5 in C Minor, Op. 67:
• 17Symphony No. 5 in C Minor, Op. 67: I. Allegro con brio07:05
• 18Symphony No. 5 in C Minor, Op. 67: II. Andante con moto10:10
• 19Symphony No. 5 in C Minor, Op. 67: III. Scherzo. Allegro05:21
• 20Symphony No. 5 in C Minor, Op. 67: IV. Allegro10:58
• Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op. 68 "Pastorale":
• 21Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op. 68 "Pastorale": I. Erwachen heiterer Empfindungen bei der Ankunft auf dem Lande11:36
• 22Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op. 68 "Pastorale": II. Scene am Bach10:25
• 23Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op. 68 "Pastorale": III. Lustiges Zusammensein der Landleute05:15
• 24Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op. 68 "Pastorale": IV. Gewitter. Sturm03:48
• 25Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op. 68 "Pastorale": V. Hirtengesang. Frohe und dankbare Gefühle nach dem Sturm08:26
• Symphony No. 7 in A Major, Op. 92:
• 26Symphony No. 7 in A Major, Op. 92: I. Poco sostenuto - Vivace13:45
• 27Symphony No. 7 in A Major, Op. 92: II. Allegretto07:42
• 28Symphony No. 7 in A Major, Op. 92: III. Presto09:21
• 29Symphony No. 7 in A Major, Op. 92: IV. Allegro con brio08:29
• Symphony No. 8 in F Major, Op. 93:
• 30Symphony No. 8 in F Major, Op. 93: I. Allegro vivace e con brio08:29
• 31Symphony No. 8 in F Major, Op. 93: II. Allegretto scherzando03:52
• 32Symphony No. 8 in F Major, Op. 93: III. Tempo di menuetto04:21
• 33Symphony No. 8 in F Major, Op. 93: IV. Allegro vivace07:05
• Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, Op. 125 "Choral":
• 34Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, Op. 125 "Choral": I. Allegro ma non troppo, un poco maestoso14:25
• 35Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, Op. 125 "Choral": II. Molto vivace14:00
• 36Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, Op. 125 "Choral": III. Adagio molto e cantabile13:05
• 37Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, Op. 125 "Choral": IV. Finale22:34
• Total Runtime05:40:22

Info for Beethoven: Complete Symphonies

Maestro Marek Janowski and the WDR Symphony Orchestra present a new recording of Beethovens complete symphonies, the ultimate symphonic oeuvre in all thinkable respects. Bold as they still sound to modern ears, one easily imagines how Beethovens contemporaries were completely swept away by the scope, sheer force and adventurous nature of his symphonies. With this integral recording, Janowski and the orchestra finish a project that started with an acclaimed rendition of the 5th and 6th symphonies, released in 2019. The boxset design is inspired by the idea of organic form, an ideal that Beethovens contemporaries frequently associated with his symphonies, and which presupposes a resemblance between the structure of his symphonies and the growth of plants and trees. This idea has been visually translated by using close-up photographs from Karl Blossfeldts Art Forms in the Plant World (1928). These early twentieth-century images emphasize the timeless modernity of Beethovens symphonies, celebrating an extraordinary oeuvre that prospers until this very day. Marek Janowski is one of the most celebrated conductors of our times, and enjoys a vast PENTATONE discography, including complete recordings of Bruckners symphonies and Wagners mature operas. This is his third PENTATONE collaboration with the WDR Symphony Orchestra, one of the most established radio orchestras of Germany.

WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln
Marek Janowski, conductor

Marek Janowski
has been artistic director of the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin since 2002, and was offered a lifetime position by the orchestra in 2008. In 2005, he was also appointed musical director of the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande in Geneva. Between 1984-2000, as musical director of the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, he led the orchestra to international fame as the leading French orchestra. In addition, he had been artistic director of the Gürzenich Orchestra in Cologne (1986-1990), the Dresdner Philharmonie (2001-2003), and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte Carlo (2000-2005).

Marek Janowski receives regular invitations to guest-conduct from leading orchestras world-wide, thanks to his fresh and unusual insights into works which tend to be underestimated, or apparently over-familiar. He is in demand as guest conductor through- out the world, and works in the USA on a regular basis with the Pittsburgh Symphony (where he holds the Otto Klemperer Guest Conducting Chair), the Boston and San Francisco Symphony Orchestras, and in Europe with the Orchestre de Paris, the Orchester der Tonhalle Zurich, the Danish National Symphony Orchestra in Copenhagen and the NDR-Sinfonieorchester Hamburg.

Marek Janowski was born in Warsaw in 1939, but grew up and was educated in Germany. He has accepted positions as general music director in Aachen, Cologne, Dusseldorf, Hamburg, Freiburg im Breisgau, and Dortmund. Since the late 1970’s, he has appeared regularly at all the major opera houses world-wide, including the Metropolitan Opera New York, Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich, San Francisco, Hamburg, Vienna and Paris. More than 50 recordings – most of which have received various international prizes – including many opera recordings and complete symphonic cycles over the past 35 years have demonstrated the special mastery of the conductor Marek Janowski. To this day, his complete recordings (1980-83) of Richard Wagner’s tetralogy Der Ring des Nibelungen with the Staatskapelle Dresden is consid- ered one of the most musically interesting ever to have been made of this work. Major recording projects have already been completed in Berlin, including Brahms’ Ein deutsches Requiem and the recording of Henze’s complete symphonies.

Booklet for Beethoven: Complete Symphonies