My earliest memory of listening to Beethoven’s 7th Symphony was in a music appreciation class at university. The professor would assign a list of pieces that you were to study, and you would go to the record store and pick up copies of each, without any guidance as to performance. My first exposure was the Karajan/Berliner Philharmonic performance, and at that time it was a relatively new recording, having only been released six years earlier. It was the beginning of a lifetime love affair with records, as well as high fidelity. A half decade later a new infatuation was sparked when DGG began releasing the recordings of Carlos Kleiber—first Weber’s Der Freischūtz, followed by Beethoven’s 5th Symphony, and then in 1976 Strauss’s Die Fledermaus and Beethoven’s 7th Symphony. I picked up each new Kleiber recording as it was released, and his Beethoven 7th has remained among my favorite recordings ever since. Along the way, I’ve replaced my early pressing with a pristine promo copy, and I’ve listened to it countless times. It is a good recording, but not without its flaws. The tonal quality of the strings can sound smeared, even harsh, especially when they are called on to produce a sudden increase in level. Indeed, the overall dynamics of the original recording seem a bit limited and I always put that down to the recording or mastering. The soundstage has nothing on a good Decca or EMI recording. So, all in all, a great performance held back by a good but far from remarkable recording and pressing. That said, because of the outstanding performance, I have treasured the recording for close to 50 years. Although my Audio Research preamplifier includes switchable EQ curves, it lacks the Teldec curve appropriate for DGG recordings. Having listened to it with a CH Precision P1, which does have the Teldec curve, it certainly goes a fair way to fixing the string tone and making the music and orchestra sound more lifelike, so I’ve always known there was more to this recording/performance than meets the ear.
The newly released “Original Source” pressing demonstrates that the recording is far better than I’ve ever suspected, based on the original pressing – and that by a huge margin! Many of the shortcomings, some but not all of which are fixed by the Teldec curve, clearly come down to problems in mastering and/or pressing. Only a few minutes into the First Movement it is obvious that the recording has no inherent problems with its string tone. The string sections are no longer spatially and harmonically congealed or tonally tipped up. Now, there is dimensionality to the orchestra, both in depth and height, with space for the instruments to breathe. This is one of the most dance-like pieces of music in the classical canon and with this new mastering, the rhythmic structure, sudden dynamic shifts and modulations finally make sense, adding an infectious excitement to the music. The improved tonal quality and spaciousness of the new pressing is a huge benefit in the beautiful Second Movement, but the biggest surprise comes in the allegro con brio Fourth Movement where the significantly greater dynamics and energetic bass activity make this sound like a different recording, one that’s a world away from the pallid original.
