For many years, my favorite Beethoven 9 set was the Karajan set from the early 1960s. While it has some moments of Karajan slickness, and I don't like the 6th at all, the playing in general is so magnificent that I have gotten a great deal of pleasure from it over the years.
That set has been displaced by Haitink's recent LSO 9. I like Haitink's interpretations better, and the playing is, to me, as good as the BPO's in the 60s. But as I was listening to the set, a question occurred to me.
One thing that is quite noticible is the placement of the violins: the first violins are on the left, and the second on the right. Violas are left center and cellos are right center. Apparently, this was also the seating arrangement Toscanini used more than 60 years ago. In between, orchestras were usually seated from high strings to low as one moved from left to right. As it happens, I like the spatial arrangement used by Haitink now, and it leads me to be curious about what leads to changes in tradations about seating arrangements.
That set has been displaced by Haitink's recent LSO 9. I like Haitink's interpretations better, and the playing is, to me, as good as the BPO's in the 60s. But as I was listening to the set, a question occurred to me.
One thing that is quite noticible is the placement of the violins: the first violins are on the left, and the second on the right. Violas are left center and cellos are right center. Apparently, this was also the seating arrangement Toscanini used more than 60 years ago. In between, orchestras were usually seated from high strings to low as one moved from left to right. As it happens, I like the spatial arrangement used by Haitink now, and it leads me to be curious about what leads to changes in tradations about seating arrangements.
