Beethoven Symphonies No. 3 and 8
Conductor: Osmo Vänskä
Minnesota Orchestra
BIS SACD 1516
Release: 2006
Repertoire:
Symphony No. 3 in E-flat major, Eroica
Symphony No. 8 in F major
The second disc in the Minnesota Orchestra's Beethoven symphonies cycle features Music Director Osmo Vänskä and the Orchestra in performances of Beethoven's Symphonies No. 3 and 8. Recorded by Swedish-based BIS Records, the new album is part of a five-year, five-disc project to record the complete Beethoven symphonies.
Vänskä and the Orchestra recorded the Third (Eroica) and Eighth Symphonies at Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis in recording sessions during June 2005 and January 2006 using surround sound recording technology.
The album debuted on the Billboard classical chart at number 16.
What the Critics Are Saying
"And, boy, does the Minnesota Orchestra impress as a world-class symphonic institution ... This Beethoven cycle is shaping up to be as good as any from an American orchestra since Bernstein."
—Andrew Quint, Fanfare Magazine, January/February 2007
"The second in Vanska's cycle of the symphonies is a revelation because it makes you listen to these masterpieces with fresh ears. The best since Carlos Kleiber 's Beethoven a generation ago with the Vienna Philharmonic ... My record of the year." —Andrew Clark, Financial Times, December 2006
"It's becoming clear, two discs into the Osmo Vänskä/Minnesota Orchestra cycle, that anyone going up against the Finn and his Minnesotans will suffer a distinct disadvantage ... Vänskä's [Eroica] on BIS is stunning." —James Reel, Fanfare, November/December 2006