Ludwig van BEETHOVEN (1770-1827)
Symphony No 5 in C minor, Op 67 (1808) [33:34]
Symphony No 6 in F, Op 68, Pastoral (1808) [39:30]
WDR Symphony Orchestra/Marek Janowski
rec. 24-29 September 2018, Kölner Philharmonie, Germany
PENTATONE PTC5186809 SACD [73:04]
Marek Janowski’s approach to Beethoven—and we’ve had plenty of opportunities to assess it over the years—privileges structural clarity and Classical proportion over romantic turbulence. Some find this refreshing. Others miss the fire.
His new Pentatone coupling of the Fifth and Sixth Symphonies with the WDR Symphony Orchestra won’t settle that argument. These are performances of considerable intelligence and precision, recorded with Pentatone’s customary sonic excellence in Cologne’s Philharmonie. The orchestra plays beautifully—really beautifully, with warm strings and burnished winds that never turn glossy. But something’s missing, and that something matters.
The Fifth begins with those four notes that have launched a thousand interpretations. Janowski takes them at face value: clear, forceful, nothing exaggerated. The tempo for the opening Allegro con brio feels moderate rather than driven—he gives us the “con brio” but holds back from the brink. Everything is audible. The counterpoint in the development section emerges with textbook clarity. You can follow every strand, admire the architecture, appreciate Beethoven’s craft.
What you don’t get is the sense of inexorable fate that Furtwängler conjured, or the white-heat intensity of Carlos Kleiber’s legendary album. Janowski’s second movement flows gracefully enough, though the variations lack a certain… I want to say “surprise,” but that’s not quite it. They’re well-shaped, properly weighted, yet somehow predictable. The scherzo has proper propulsion—the horns call out clearly in the trio—but when we arrive at that famous transition to the finale, with the timpani tapping away while the strings creep upward, the tension doesn’t accumulate as it should.
The finale itself presents the central problem. Janowski maintains his chosen tempo with admirable discipline, and the WDR players execute the tricky passages with polish. But this is supposed to be a breakthrough into light, a victory hard-won. Here it feels more like a well-organized procession. The return of the scherzo material is nicely managed—you can hear every detail of that remarkable passage—yet the ultimate triumph sounds oddly muted.
Pastoral suits Janowski’s temperament better. His refusal to sentimentalize serves this symphony well. The “Awakening of cheerful feelings on arrival in the countryside” unfolds with natural ease, though perhaps too much ease—there’s little sense of the psychological release Beethoven must have felt escaping Vienna’s confines. The “Scene by the brook” benefits from the WDR’s lovely winds; the bird calls at the movement’s close are delicately done, if a touch literal.
Where this rendition really succeeds is the storm. Janowski builds it carefully, layer by layer, and the orchestral playing here catches fire in ways it doesn’t elsewhere. The timpani and low strings have genuine menace, the winds shriek appropriately, and for once we sense real drama. The transition into the shepherd’s thanksgiving emerges organically—this is the finest stretch of music-making on the disc.
But even here, the final movement settles into something too comfortable. Beethoven’s gratitude should feel profound, even overwhelming. Janowski gives us contentment instead. Pleasant, certainly. Deeply felt? Less certain.
The recorded sound deserves mention—spacious, detailed, with superb dynamic range. Pentatone’s engineers have captured the Philharmonie’s warm acoustic without blur. You’ll hear things in these scores you might have missed before.
Which brings us back to the essential question: is clarity enough? For Janowski, it usually is. He’s carved out a respectable niche with this approach, and his Beethoven cycle has its admirers. But these symphonies—especially the Fifth—demand more than transparency and good taste. They need urgency, risk, the sense that something profound hangs in the balance.
This is Beethoven for listeners who want to understand the music’s architecture rather than be shaken by its revolutionary force. There’s a place for such performances. Just not, for this listener, at the top of a very crowded field.
