CD REVIEW: Beethoven Symphonies No. 3 and 8

Here's a review from SA-CD.net of the SACD version of Paavo and the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen's recording of Beethoven's Symphonies No. 3 and No. 8, released by BMG Japan last May.

Beethoven: Symphony No. 3 "Eroica", Symphony No. 8
Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen
Paavo Jarvi (conductor)
BMG (Japan): BVCC-34139

Review by Daland June 15, 2006 (4 of 4 found this review helpful) Performance: Sonics (MC):

An excellent recording in every way - bold, brilliant, full-blooded and exciting. The tempi are on the brisk side, but not too much so. Paavo Järvi allows the music to breathe and displays a keen sense of the long line - so crucial in the Eroica. His attention to detail never interferes with his overall conception. His reading of the Eighth Symphony is, if anything, even more thrilling. The orchestra, made up of 40-odd players, responds to the manner [sic] born, the woodwind and horns being especially notable. I find it quite astonishing that a relatively small outfit can sound so heroic.

Sonically, this recording can hardly be bettered. There is transparency, brilliance and a real sense of space (in marked contrast to the Vänskä SACD featuring the same two symphonies). This is hardly surprising as the recording project was in the hands of Polyhymnia International.