Allegretto is generally considered to be slower than allegro but faster than andante. This may be partly because the recording I grew up with and from which I learned the music, Toscanini's with the New York Philharmonic, though generally fast, adopts a tempo for the slow movement very close to Klemperer's.īeethoven's tempos especially for his slow movements can be a vexed question. Personally, I'm with Klemperer on this - at his tempo the emotional expression is deeper and I find it more moving. Kleiber's pace doesn't feel as rushed as Harnoncourt's but it's similarly 'objective,' that is, an allegretto with no association with a funeral procession. For this view, Klemperer's tempo is appropriate, while Harnoncourt's is a quick march such as would never be taken in a procession bearing a coffin he ignores the tradition and takes the instruction 'allegretto' literally. The movement is often described as a funeral march, though Beethoven didn't explicitly call it that as he did the 2nd movement of the Eroica.

This is a really interesting topic, and while I disagree with you (what else is new? ), I understand you and don't think you're wrong.įirst about the tempo, which can have two bases: the verbal instruction at the head of the movement, and the character of the music. (Only, it's not really all that 'simple' is it?). My friends at Music Appreciation were bemused about my 'excellent detective work' until I explained to them that it's simply a matter of playing what's written in the score. Here's the Allegretto with accompanying score so you can see what I mean by the notation - orchestra unknown: Kleiber's version is a little faster, more febrile and dramatic IMO: He favours the 'grace note' approach, as you can hear. Then there's Carlos Kleiber (who else?!). Now, those double appoggiaturas can and are interpreted differently if they're leaning on notes of longer value clearly Klemperer thought a dotted crotchet was a longer note in his lugubrious version! Here's Harnoncourt - faster and more convincing IMO!! (Klemperer sucks the life and energy out of his Beethoven #7 by making it ponderous.) These are most definitely not triplets in Harnoncourt's version but are played correctly as rapid notes leading up to the note itself.

Then a favourite, the Chamber Orchestra of Europe/Harnoncourt. Firstly, the Klemperer: it could be argued that in slowing down the movement to a dirge the conductor was left with no alternative but to use the slower triplets!! Now, you can hear the difference with these versions. Klemperer is playing them as triplets, but they are not triplets. I thought the performance much too slow, but my 'beef' was those double appoggiaturas from Bar 29. Last week at music appreciation one of my colleagues played this Beethoven 7th symphony, recorded in 1955 with Klemperer.

Beethoven 7th symphony wiki