The first performance of this work in 1813 was a spectacular event. The
long awaited Seventh was completed in May 1812 when the Austrian capital
was recovering from the French occupation. The defeat of Napoleon's armies
made the concert an occasion for celebration, and this historical event
helped ensure the work's enormous popularity and the composer's lasting
fame. The Seventh Symphony is one of the best examples of how Beethoven
used simple harmonies and filled them with energetic, repetitive rhythms,
which never become monotonous because of the fresh harmonic progressions
that accompany them. This recording is part of Bernstein's complete cycle
of Beethoven symphonies recorded with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
live in Vienna. The series won the Ace Award, the U.S. Cable TV
Association's top award for outstanding quality and entertainment value.
Bernstein's impassioned renderings of Beethoven move audiences in a unique
way. "Beethoven has always meant universality to me, ever since my early
adolescence, when I first heard that unforgettable cry of 'Brüder!'. From
that moment on, every... symphony came to mean heart-to-heart
communication, travelling satellite-fashion via the cosmos itself. I offer
[this cycle] to all music-loving ears as a testament of faith and of my
most profound reactions to this greatest of all composers."
(Leonard Bernstein, 1980)
The DVD is also released within the complete "Beethoven / Bernstein" DVD package which is available in selected stores worldwide and through Amazon or JPC.