These are probably the best-known lines from Beethoven’s 9th Symphony, which in its arrangement by Karajan is also known as the “European Anthem.” Ludwig van Beethoven was born 250 years ago. We wanted to celebrate this anniversary accordingly.
Our original plan was to record a tribute to the composer as early as the beginning of 2020. However, the coronavirus and the restrictions that came with it threw a spanner in the works. So it took us a little longer than we’d planned to produce these videos, but they’re ready to share with you now.
We invited three artists/groups to the 4tune studio in the heart of Vienna to interpret and record three Beethoven pieces for us. We are very happy they accepted our invitation and made their musical talents available to us. The artists include:
- A quintet featuring Edda Breit, Melissa Coleman, Margarethe Herbert, Gudula Urban and Peter Herbert
- Severin Trogbacher
- Christian Hummer
On stage, as in the studio, the quintet are a well-rehearsed team: They performed Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy” with accuracy and a devotion that lived up to the piece’s name. No wonder, given the experience that unites the five musicians. By the way, as a little musical tip: The four ladies can also be heard under the name “eXtracello,” where they present their classical instruments in a modern way.
Severin Trogbacher, Hubert von Goisern’s long-time guitarist, surprised us with an excerpt from the 7th Symphony, which he performed on electric guitar. He used a looper and other effects to capture the basis of the symphony and then played over this carpet of sound.
Wanda keyboardist Christian Hummer proved his professionalism, requiring only two takes to capture a great performance of the “Moonlight Sonata,” a piece that demands a lot of feeling and dynamics from the performer.
Austrian Audio OC818 and OC18 microphones and Hi-X55 and Hi-X50 headphones were used for all the recordings.
Sound engineer Martin Kleban’s thoughts on the experience of recording with Austrian Audio microphones:
“For me, true microphone quality is often characterized by transparency, with the benefits becoming more apparent with each use. The OC818 and OC18 definitely belong in this category. So far, they have been sonically convincing in every recording situation, calmly and effortlessly. Thanks to the expandability via Bluetooth module or second output [with the OC818], the joy of such good microphones can only increase in the future.”
