• As a conductor, Iván Fischer, inspirational founder of the Budapest Festival Orchestra, has never hesitated to wear his heart on his sleeve, or to encourage his musicians to do likewise. Why else listen to yet another account of one of the most recorded symphonies in the repertoire? Their account of Beethoven’s Symphony No 3 “Eroica” (Channel Classics), along with the Coriolan Overture, is fresh and vigorous. Attack is clean, strings crisp, brass and woodwind full of personality, horns properly heroic.
From the offset, the music’s revolutionary zeal is to the fore, but the essence of the work lies in the tragic second movement. At the start of the finale, pizzicatos are fat and witty, before the taut whirl of counterpoint begins. In the album notes, Fischer writes: “May the world follow Beethoven’s vision and may all conflicts lead to gentleness and harmony. I wish all world leaders should listen to Beethoven’s Eroica symphony and be inspired by its wisdom.” We can only agree.
