Soul Revealing

On Sarah Hey's recommendation I bought Mikhail Pletnev's conducting of the Russian National Orchestra of all nine of Beethoven's symphonies. I have just finished listening to all of them.

I can honestly say, I've never heard Beethoven like this before. That is both good and bad. The reviewers over at Amazon pretty much hit the nail on the head.

But, for me, the defining bit for Beethoven is the last movement of his last symphony. I've always never really cared for Karajan's version. He is technically perfect, but I've always thought it lacked something, somehow. Pletnev lacks nothing. He brings to the Ninth the soul, the fire, the passion that such a piece demands.

I'm exhausted, devastated, alive and at peace all at once. Give it a listen. You will either love it or hate it. I can guarantee you will not be indifferent.