Beethoven: Symphonies Nos. 4 & 8 / Akademie Fur Alte Musik Berlin [2 CDs]

The least famous of Beethoven's symphonies? Yet these two works are genuine tours de force: the composer takes the listener on a journey whose destination never seems to be known in advance, one brimming over with structural innovations subtly brought out in this interpretation by the musicians of the Akademie f�r Alte Musik Berlin. This recording is also an opportunity to discover just how clearly Cherubini's music prefigured that of Beethoven, whereas M�hul's symphony is a response � la fran�aise to the German composer.