Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 "Choral"

"No passage from darkness to light here, but a pervasive exaltation even in the first movement...However many Ninths you own, add this to your treasury." (Five Stars BBC Music)

"The highlight: a spectacularly well-judged second movement Scherzo, punctuated by insanely hard-hitting timpani eruptions, kept persistently edgy and thrillingly unstable throughout. Mackerras's vocalists are top-notch too, and the long finale is brisk but plugged into seemingly inexhaustible momentum...Mackerras's account has drive and integrity in spades" ClassicFm

"Mackerras's 1994 Edinburgh festival performance with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment is one of the most thrilling Beethoven interpretations I have ever heard. It bristles with revolutionary spirit...yet Mackerras's way with this symphony is all part of a coherent vision. The OAE play like gods and demons, with pure string timbres one moment, raw woodwinds the next" Financial Times

"This is a performance on period instruments by a chamber orchestra, but that is not to say that the sound lacks body...The OAE's playing is lean and muscular but there's plenty of espressivo and lyricism too...Sir Charles takes a brisk approach to the score...The four soloists are excellent. In particular, the purity of Amanda Roocroft's soprano makes Beethoven's weird vocal writing much less of a trial than usual." Gramophone