Schubert: Symphony No. 9 in C major, D944 'The Great' - CD

Schubert’s last two symphonies are ambitious in scale and brimming with striking ideas, though only two movements of the Symphony No. 8 were finished and the score rediscovered and first performed 43 years after the composer’s death. The ‘Great’ C major Symphony marks the summit of Schubert’s achievement in the form, combining his unforgettable lyrical gift with the spirit of Beethoven. Michael Halász has been acclaimed for his “delightful performances” of Schubert. (Penguin Guide on 8553094, Symphonies 3 and 6)

Philippe Herreweghe conducts the Royal Flemish Philharmonic in this recording of Schubert’s majestic and final symphony. Herreweghe is well known for his interpretations of early music and brings a special dimension to this performance.

Recorded live at the Philharmonie, Berlin, January 1977

Between 1976 and 1978, Zubin Mehta and the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra made recordings of the complete Schubert symphonies for Decca, as well as some of the incidental music for Rosamunde. Other than the Schumann symphonies, it was the only symphony cycle this tremendous Decca artist made for the label. The recordings were all made in the Mann Auditorium and were all produced by Ray Minshull, who, together with John Culshaw and Christopher Raeburn, worked extensively with Mehta during his exclusive Decca years. 29 April 2011 marks the 75th birthday of Zubin Mehta and this cycle is being issued as a homage to this great musician in his birthday year. In addition to the Rosamunde incidental music, Volume 2 contains the breezy Fifth symphony as well as the two C major works – Nos. 6 and 9, ‘Little’ and ‘Great’.

A new dimension is added to the marvellous transition from the simple horn melody to a symphony when it is played on natural horns. Why did Schubert choose horns? Three notes sound open, the next stopped, the next stopped in a different way, like a melody roughly hewn from marble. Only when the oboe takes over is the unevenness polished away, removing limitations and barriers and transporting us into a magical realm of eternity. I must say that I find this transition most touching if the natural horn players do their best to equalize, to overcome their natural unevenness – like handicapped athletes do. Small C-clarinets and narrow trombones give this symphony a special colour. The woodwinds have a leading role, playing all the Viennese songs, serenades, popular tunes and dances. Even if it is an orchestral work, here and there it feels like the seventh volume of Schubert’s Lieder. Iván Fischer

Iván Fischer The partnership between Iván Fischer and his Budapest Festival Orchestra has proved to be one of the greatest success stories in the past 25 years of classical music. Fischer introduced several reforms, developed intense rehearsal methods for the musicians, emphasizing chamber music and creative work for each orchestra member. Intense international touring and a series of acclaimed recordings for Channel Classics have contributed to Iván Fischer's reputation as one of the worlds most visionary and successful orchestra leaders.

Born in Vienna in April 1902, the cheery-looking Josef Krips seems to have been pre-destined to achieve eminence in the Viennese classics. He recorded with both, the Wiener Philharmoniker and the key London orchestras for Decca in the 1940s, 50s and 60s and the interpretations have genuine expressive power while remaining devoid of exaggeration or affectation.

Here we have two extremely rare recordings, both receiving their first international release on CD. They are the only two recordings Krips made with the Concertgebouw Orchestra for Decca. The Beethoven is beautifully paced and energetic, the Schubert painted on an expansive canvas, never exaggerated and offering fascinating comparison with his later recording of this work, also for Decca, but with the London Symphony Orchestra (Decca Eloquence 4804725).

This issue forms part of a series of five reissues devoted to the art of Josef Krips.

Recording producers: Victor Olof (Beethoven); John Culshaw (Schubert)

Recording engineer: Kenneth Wilkinson

Recording location: Concertgebouw, Amsterdam, September 1953 (Beethoven), May 1952 (Schubert)

Born in Vienna in April 1902, the cheery-looking Josef Krips seems to have been pre-destined to achieve eminence in the Viennese classics. He recorded with both, the Wiener Philharmoniker and the key London orchestras for Decca in the 1940s, 50s and 60s and the interpretations have genuine expressive power while remaining devoid of exaggeration or affectation.

Two of Schubert’s best-loved and most-played symphonies are here coupled and both have been considered benchmarks in their recorded history. The Eighth with the Wiener Philharmoniker was Krips’s last recording for Decca. This issue forms part of a series of five reissues devoted to the art of Josef Krips.

Recording producers: Ray Minshull (Symphony No. 9); Christopher Raeburn (Symphony No. 8)

Recording engineers: Kenneth Wilkinson (Symphony No. 9); Colin Moorfoot (Symphony No. 8)

Recording locations: Kingsway Hall, London, May 1958 (Symphony No. 9); Sofiensaal, Vienna, Austria, March 1969 (Symphony No. 8)

There were two surprises in the April 1983 concerts, namely the young violinist Peter Zazofsky and Tennstedt’s reading of Schubert’s Great C major Symphony. Born in Boston, Zazovsky studied with Dorothy Delay, Jaime Laredo and Ivan Galamian at the Curtis Institute of Music. Starting in 1974 he won a number of prizes in competitions, including the 1980 silver medal at the Concours Musical International Reine Elisabeth in Brussels. In his Berlin début he demonstrated "the marks of the true virtuoso – the ability to take the interpretative lead in a theme" (Sybill Mahlke, Tagesspiegel). Wolfgang Schultze wrote in the Berliner Morgenpost of how the violinist "drew out the musical line in strong, bold strokes, with exemplary purity of intonation, exquisite taste and admirable sensitivity; he ably sustained the great sweep of the first two movements, the one leading into the other without a break, and the final movement, with its folk-music references, was presented with sparkling vitality – altogether a musician wholly dedicated to the work with no hint of the self-promoting virtuoso." Reactions to Tennstedt’s interpretation of the Schubert C major Symphony were uneven. His dynamic choice of tempo no doubt troubled some listeners; in the Andantes, both in the introduction to the first movement and in the second movement, most commonly heard at a more measured and unhurried pace, Tennstedt opted for faster, bolder tempi. Wolfgang Schultze (Berliner Morgenpost) wrote that the conductor had resorted to "a fairly brisk movement with ample momentum and powerful élan". But the result was "a somewhat agitated Schubert, notably coarse-grained, with exaggerated accentuation and too little romantic colouring’. According to Sybill Mahlke in the Tagesspiegel Tennstedt seemed unwilling to allow the score to "sing for itself", wanting everywhere to interpret, to read too much into every bar. "He works feverishly for every possible effect, to bring out every inner part, without allowing long phrases to breathe adequately in the slow introduction or in the Andante’s song-like line in the oboe and clarinet and second violins. In the third movement the return of the trio was strangely low-key; the Schubert that emerged was mannered and inauthentic, neglectful of innate features and spiritual qualities in the score." But reactions are hard to understand when we now listen to this recording in all its energy, dramatic intelligence and melodic fervour.

from the booklet note © Helge Grünewald, 2010