Beethoven: Symphony No. 3 - Méhul: Les Amazones Overture

Continuing their exploration of Beethoven’s symphonies, François-Xavier Roth and Les Siècles give us an opportunity to rediscover the Eroica in all its modernity and power. Thanks to the magic of period timbres, Beethoven’s intended instrumental balances and effects are restored in revelatory fashion. The overture to Méhul’s opera Les Amazones, written eight years later, will be a discovery for many listeners.

REVIEW:

Roth’s performance of Beethoven’s Eroica symphony…immediately startles the ear, a generously spread opening chord replacing the normally more abrupt call to order and signalling a fresh approach. What follows is clear textured, brisk, vividly coloured, yet still searching.

– Sunday Times (UK)