Why do we need another recording of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony? Symphony No. 9 Benjamin Zander Discusses Beethoven's Ninth Symphony Rebecca Evans soprano, Patricia Bardon mezzo-soprano, Robert Murray tenor, Derek Welton bass-baritone Philharmonia Chorus & Orchestra, Stefan Bevier chorus master, Benjamin Zander cond. Brattle Media 610877733781 3 CDs: 58 minutes [music] + 159 minutes [discussion] Notes and discussion in English After more than 150 recordings of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, why do we need another? According to Benjamin Zander -who also recorded it with the Boston Philharmonic in 1992 1the answer is that 'none of the available versions I know actually follow Beethoven's instructions literally throughout. Neither in the matter of tempo, nor dynamics. (...) I believe that we are offering, as closely as we are able, Beethoven's stated intentions.' Accordingly, Zander takesBeethoven's metronome marks as holy writ, and every section starts exactly at the indicated speed and stays there, with very few departures from the tempo that are not explicitly indicated in the score, and a fairly rigid adherence to the printed dynamics. As a result, and with a few exceptions that will be discussed below, Zander's recording follows Beethoven's tempo indications and dynamics to an unprecedented extent. 2