Another Ninth is always an unforgiving test: the sheer abundance of recordings has raised the threshold of listening so high that the work has become, paradoxically, more canonical than any canon. Joseph Swensen chooses a path of structural energy and timbral transparency, steering away from theatrics not justified by form. His reading aims to redefine the perspective and focus of the piece — not another monumental enlargement, but a vision of variable depth of field, where the relationship between gesture and harmonic syntax remains constantly intelligible.

I. Allegro ma non troppo, un poco maestoso

The first movement immediately states the primacy of architectural breathing. The micro-articulation of the motivic cells (strings with elastic attack, weight distributed on the middle of the bow, winds outlining phrases with crystalline consonance) produces distinct sound planes even within the densest textures. The Orchestre National Bordeaux Aquitaine reveals a cohesive and well-tuned middle register, cellos sustaining the motoric flow of harmony without heaviness. Particularly striking is the control of junction points — those prolonged dominant-to-tonic transitions — conducted without indulgent rallentandos: Swensen engraves rather than underlines them, letting the grammar of tension generate grandeur, not rubato. The contrapuntal writing remains legible thanks to a coloration of the winds that is never intrusive (oboes and clarinets phrasing syllabically, flutes that avoid bleaching the blend).

II. Molto vivace

Here the risk is always the hammer rhetoric. Swensen sets an elastic propulsion privileging articulation and rebound (timpani compact-grained, no excessive pedaling; brass focused yet devoid of pompous showmanship). The handling of dynamic contrast is non-binary: Beethoven’s terribilità emerges from gradients rather than shocks. The result is a dense but close-focused Scherzo, where the exchange rhythms (strings–winds, downbeat–upbeat) obey a logic of orchestral collective breathing. In the Trio one admires the refinement of the legato in the winds and a first horn that chisels intervals with firm intonation, avoiding ornamental vibrato.

III. Adagio molto e cantabile

The heart of the interpretation. Swensen asserts a steady internal tempo, with a broad but never viscous arch. The variations breathe according to a clear harmonic periodization: the inner ornamentation of the parts (divisi of the second violins, arpeggiated figures of the winds) is heard as polyphony of affects, not mere decoration. The string tone of the ONBA — warm yet limpid — allows an instrumental messa di voce that sustains the phrase’s design; climaxes are prosodic rather than decibel-driven. This is where the interpretation reaches poetic fullness, consistent with early international notices pointing to the Adagio as the recording’s high point.

IV. Finale: Presto – Allegro assai

The orchestral recitative at the opening is shaped with speaking accentuation and a lucidity of cause-and-effect relation (the motivic recalls from previous movements are not enumerated but functionally integrated into the drama). The vocal entry displays powerful cohesion.

• Florian Boesch avoids the trap of pompous declamation: a full timbre, vertical attack, and “mask” resonance, with a well-supported line sustaining the orchestral fabric without strain.

• Mauro Peter projects the upper register with controlled ring and intelligent cover through the passaggio: the emission remains clear yet never exposed, the German diction precise in sibilants and consonant clusters.

• Angélique Boudeville contributes controlled head-tone luminosity, of fine grain, emerging in the ensembles without cutting the texture; above all, her intonation across wide leaps and accurate handling of Umlaut vowels deserve praise.

• Anna Bonitatibus — a mezzo-soprano of musical intelligence marked by lucid coherence — is exemplary here for focus of the middle register, breath support, and polished diction (the potential hardness of -cht- and -st- clusters is naturally softened). Her covering technique is finely modeled: sustained mezzo-voce in connective phrases, legato of minimal friction on descending profiles, register uniformity without audible seams. Her contribution does not merely “color” the ensemble: it organizes it, since her prosodic intelligence renders the overall choral texture cohesive.

The choruses (Opéra National de Bordeaux and Angers-Nantes) offer vertical compactness and carved diction; consonant synchronization is excellent (“Seid umschlungen” attacks crisp but not dry), the tenor section maintains brightness without nasality, and the altos provide body to the center. In the fugue and the closing peroration Swensen avoids the communal shout: the crescendo is built through orchestral layers and harmonic functions, so that the “Ode” breathes as architecture rather than uproar.

Sound quality and recording perspective

The hi-res take (96 kHz/24-bit; original PCM 96k) delivers a stable soundstage and good scene depth; the middle planes (horns/clarinets) remain audible where more “close-miked” recordings often compress them. The strings retain natural grain; in the great tutti of the Finale there is a slight congestion in the central field, yet the micro-dynamics remain intact and the choral weave never saturates. The release is available in several high-resolution formats (including DSD/DXD conversions from the PCM master).

Critical balance