BEETHOVEN'S LAST NIGHT

I've just had a listen to this album and I'm sorry to say I was totally underwhelmed by it. Now I know my Beethoven (he is one of my all-time favourite composers) but I reckon if he could have heard this sorry effort he'd have disowned it completely. The best parts of the album were, of course, the parts that used Beethoven's actual music (plus the Mozart overture which was excellently played), but as for the original music, I found it simplistic, repetitive and pompous. Too much of it was comprised of simple tonic- dominant-tonic see-sawing which any composer worth his salt would have no truck with, never mind Ludwig Van. All the way through I kept thinking, "Well this track is starting to get on my nerves, perhaps the next one is where it really gets going" but unfortunately it never did - in fact it just seemed to get more and more vapid and empty as the album progressed.

If you want to hear Beethoven then listen to his original music played the way he intended, not like this. I give it two stars for effort. I'll give the singers credit; they were excellent. It's just what they were singing that really grated on my ears. iIf you want to hear how a rock opera should be done then try Chess.