Beethoven Symphonies: Barenboim—Dolby Atmos Music on Tidal HiFi

As Julius Baker would say when hearing of 600 applications for the next top flute job, ‘there’s always room for a great player’. I feel the same about Beethoven symphony cycles. James Norris’ review of the Steinberg/Pittsburgh/DG Beethoven cycle was published here only a few weeks ago.

This very fine Barenboim set with his Staatskapelle Berlin (the opera orchestra rejuvenated from the pit of East Berlin’s Unter den Linden opera house, equally rebuilt umpteen times since commissioned by Frederick the Great in 1741) was originally released on Teldec CDs twenty year ago. Warner re-released them in 2017. 

I review the set here as heard in its latest iteration, streamed on Tidal from its Dolby Atmos collection. 

Tidal explains:

Dolby Atmos Music is an immersive audio experience. Dolby Atmos Music allows sounds to be precisely placed, adding dimensionality to create a full audio atmosphere.

Dolby Atmos Music allows people to connect with their favorite music in a whole new way. Listeners can discover hidden details and subtleties with unparalleled clarity. Whether it’s a complex harmony of instruments placed around a listener, a legendary guitar solo that fills a room, a massive bass drop that washes over the audience, or the subtle breath a singer takes, Dolby Atmos gives music more space and the freedom to unleash every detail and emotion as the artist intended.

Interpreting all this 5.1 sonic goodness was my new Sonos Arc ‘Premium Soundbar’, which I reviewed a few weeks ago (a three month follow up will be published in October). A review of a component so anticipated, the many thousands who accessed the review upon its publication created ‘spike warnings’ aplenty from my website host. Much of the anticipation was because the Arc is the successor to Sonos’ hugely popular Playbar. There’s no doubt the Arc is a superior sounding product with the benefit of upward firing Atmos drivers adding to the musical immersion. My Arc is in concert with the superb Sonos SUB and two Surrounds. I use this as my ‘lifestyle’ system in my large, open plan living space. It works very well for music and TV.

Performances 

The performances are typical of Barenboim and inspired by his lifelong following of the great German conductor Wilhelm Furtwängler. Much like his musical mentor, Barenboim engages the listener in hitherto unexpected musical moments, broad tempi and superior orchestral execution. As such, the Berlin Staatskapelle is a very fine orchestra, even better now after twenty years of ‘conductor for life’ Barenboim’s musical training. 

From the 1st Symphony to the Choral, you’ll be hard pressed to find better orchestral playing.

Highlights include my two favorites, 3 and 7. Both offer standard interpretations, but the solo work and ensemble is top class. Equally delightful is the superb performance of the 1st Symphony and beautiful playing in the Pastorale. I believe listeners immersed in the 1963 Karajan DG set, with its sound design and brilliant orchestral playing, will be very satisfied with this. Happily, Barenboim’s Pastorale is better and the listener is treated to some sensitive interpretive touches, all in keeping with Beethoven style. And speaking of the composer’s style, both the very important and numerous fp and sfz are differentiated and executed beautifully. Barenboim, like Furtwängler, likes to emphasize different balances in the harmony, sometimes emphasizing the dominant of chords to interesting and musical effect.

The press has been pretty gaga over Barenboim and his ex-GDR band, especially their musical marriage and Barenboim’s insistence that it matches or exceeds the quality of the other Berlin orchestra. You know, the one who snubbed him for MD. Let’s say they ‘approach’ that exalted level. However, in general, these are superb performances that bear repeated listening. 

Dolby Atmos Sound

So, what we’re really here for. Does Dolby Atmos allow sound ‘... to be precisely placed, adding dimensionality to create a full audio atmosphere’? And, does the Arc convey that dimensionality. 

Thus, we need four ingredients for success, performers, recording, Dolby Atmos technology and Sonos’ implementation. 

One and two are spot on. The original Teldec recording had a lot of fans; warm and detailed, but studio based. As the money and fame have grown, the orchestra probably re arranges the seats to record in their opera house for the most recent recordings. No matter, as the studio-based engineering is very good and serves as a solid base for some current Atmos pyrotechnics.

Be sure to read our Arc review for a deeper dive and look out for the three month follow up, which will include more about the sound, technology and some recently discovered idiosyncrasies. However, the Arc added bloom and beautiful sound to the set.

The Atmos drivers (the unit needs at least 4 inches of clearance from the TV if wall mounted to allow the upward firing Atmos drivers to sound their best) added much to the sound as engineered with Dolby. With a 5.1 sound (really big after Quadraphonic—remember that?—and at times, too ‘swimmy’ to get a handle on the finer points of classical recordings), the sound was all enveloping in my large space with ten foot ceilings, helped in no small part by Sonos’ superior DSP. Hearing it in a smaller cinema room, I’m not sure it would have been so musically effective. The drivers gave a grandeur to the orchestral sound that was very enjoyable. In this case, a technology that worked splendidly.

Tidal’s classical Atmos selection is quite small, but I’m hoping that will grow, especially well curated choices that lend themselves to this excellent technology.