Schubert: Symphony No. 5 in B flat major, D485

This high-quality 4 CD set from Fab Four features Georg Solti conducting both the London and Israel Philharmonic Orchestras and the London Symphony Orchestra, between the years of 1949 and 1958. Solti holds the record for having received the most Grammy Awards, having personally won 31, including the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest conductors of the 20th Century. Here, he conducts symphonies by Haydn, Schubert, Mozart and Mendelssohn.

Four complete concerts from 1947/48, previously unissued.

The conductor and composer Hans Zender has had a long-standing relationship with the music of Franz Schubert - including his riveting re-composition of Schubert’s Winterreise. His understanding of Schubert’s symphonies continually reveal surprising sounds and create new ways of listening to this well-known material.

Abbado’s Schubert symphony-cycle is a benchmark recording — exhibiting a “freshness of approach and authentic Schubertian warmth and glow” (Gramophone).

Added bonus: Joseph Joachim’s great orchestration of the Grand Duo — originally for piano duet, now a virtual symphony in its own right.

“An outstanding set . . . naturally sunny and warm in expression” The Penguin Guide