BaL 9.03.24 - Schubert: Symphony No 9, Great

[visualnickmos]

Biggest surprise no HIPP contenders and no mention of the recent Savall.

After last week's 'winner' which sounded thin and whiny, lacking in body - like a glass of Blue Nun, I for one, was rather pleased to have only proper orchestras to contend with.
An aside: try as I might, I cannot abide the interview format; so much wasted time. I yearn for a return to the reviewer having the slot all to themselves, and being able to move up the gears, instead of being stuck in traffic, and stopping every few metres.

[south west ear]

What an odd thing to say. We got Toscanini, Furtwangler, Walter. She demonstrated knowledge of the complete history of recordings of this work.

It may seem strange, but I had my reasons. Yes, she was great on the fifties examples, but she seemed to me to jump from those to recent ones, omitting many in between. This was why I felt that a reviewer a little closer to Blomstedt's age, who had lived through releases from the sixties or seventies to now, might have given us a greater sense of the final contenders having emerged from a familiarity with more of the options. As it was those early recordings were very interesting but clearly never serious contenders for an overall recommendation, so I felt we were choosing from a relatively small set, whose pre-eminence had not been argued / demonstrated. Still, I am delighted to have been introduced to Abbado's Orch Mozart recoridng (I have only his classic COE one) and the Blomstedt (whose qualities did not surprise me).

[CallMePaul]

I have about 50 recordings of this, many of which are excellent and a few are great. What is worrying about the BAL reviewer is that she skated through the first movement without mentioning the expo repeat, which, like the one in the last movement and the ones in the Scherzo & Trio, was until recently ignored and when all the Scherzo repeats are played the movement can end up the longest.

A lot disappointed me about this BAL. As well as no discussion of repeats, there was no discussion of the andante-allegro transition in the first movement - a crucial issue for me and I suspect many others. I was also concerned that there was an over-emphasis on historic recordings and no mention at all of period instruments or HIPP-influenced recordings such as the Dausgard. Of those discussed I did find Harnoncourt the nearest to my taste; unlike many members of the forum I found Blomsted far too slow and stately.

On another issue, the Savall has been mentioned in a few posts. I notice that Presto does not list this at all, whereas Amazon does: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Schubert-Sy...ar%2C64&sr=1-1

[Barbirollians]

I thought she did discuss that transition in her first example from Harnoncourt - it’s the sort of thing that the twofer format leads to being glossed over.

[kernelbogey]

IIRC it was Jayne Lee Wilson who heartily recommended the BAL selection - COE / Harnoncourt set of Symphonies on ICA classics. )

I bought the set on Jayne's recommendation and found the earlier symphonies in particular a revelation. Delighted that I own the top recommendation - I think that might be a first....

[rauschwerk]

The final excerpt from Harnoncourt showed us how he read Schubert's final sforzato hairpin as a diminuendo. I remember Adrian Boult pouring scorn on this misreading (as he considered it). Solti did the same, which was the reason why, having bought Solti's version, i got rid of it after a couple of hearings.

What an impossible task for a reviewer, to choose the best of 300 versions, many of which are surely extremely satisfying. In these days of streaming services, the whole exercise has become bonkers.It might be more realistic if there were only 20 or 30 versions of a piece.

[oliver sudden]

The final excerpt from Harnoncourt showed us how he read Schubert's final sforzato hairpin as a diminuendo. I remember Adrian Boult pouring scorn on this misreading (as he considered it). Solti did the same, which was the reason why, having bought Solti's version, i got rid of it after a couple of hearings.

Misreading or not (I certainly think it is!), it's probably the reason the New World symphony ends the way it does...

[Retune]

7digital has a 320k download of the complete Harnoncourt/COE Schubert Symphonies for £7.49 at the moment:

https://uk.7digital.com/artist/chamber-orchestra-of-europe-and-nikolaus-harnoncourt/release/schubert-the-symphonies-17983221

As is too often the case with multi-disc sets, the tagging could be better and the file names aren't very helpful - depending on how your player interprets the disc and track fields, you might need to do a little editing to adjust the play order.

The COE also has a 2-part 'Making of the Schubert Symphonies box-set' programme, episodes 3 & 4 of their podcast:

https://www.coeurope.org/coe-podcast/

[Pulcinella]

7digital has a 320k download of the complete Harnoncourt/COE Schubert Symphonies for £7.49 at the moment:

https://uk.7digital.com/artist/chamber-orchestra-of-europe-and-nikolaus-harnoncourt/release/schubert-the-symphonies-17983221

As is too often the case with multi-disc sets, the tagging could be better and the file names aren't very helpful - depending on how your player interprets the disc and track fields, you might need to do a little editing to adjust the play order.

The COE also has a 2-part 'Making of the Schubert Symphonies box-set' programme, episodes 3 & 4 of their podcast:

https://www.coeurope.org/coe-podcast/

Just over £8 per CD isn't bad for the box set:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/SCHUBERT-CHAMBER-ORCHESTRA-NIKOLAUS-HARNONCOURT/dp/B08J5934NT/ref=sr_1_1?crid=35BA95CU5YF29&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.ngsEGezfO9i-aZLYnF5GSMsOHPGaUD9dF-W5sAhyr_OhzZ4Z04sfUi6LEQFBoVmZcwXgMB586GE3ZuVx81VoiCI6PbJiybwWMS63k83iYmxenoiU_cfzInK8h-UVk1g8cEiEudvP_Ybi0mXDogvouIkOXFR09PXUjX6bH3-xhWG8NmVwi3B-O9p4Tuh9A9XzSfobeNTjNvloBL_hA5HJ6eaaC4pLRNNfacpImPVE8dU.mZbHBDNRK4mqMsoV4_Ppli3PKcfwqaad1RX0F_jgSd8&dib_tag=se&keywords=Harnoncourt+schubert&qid=1710082495&s=music&sprefix=harnoncourt+schubert%2Cpopular%2C111&sr=1-1

[HighlandDougie]

I've much enjoyed the Scottish Chamber Orchestra/Maxim Emelyanychev issue but it might be a bit quirky as a BaL choice. More recently, I bought the Leipzig Gewandhaus/Herbert Blomstedt in Hong Kong a couple of months ago (as a Japanese MQA-SHM CD). Mainstream, yes; old-fashioned, no. I think it's terrific.

I didn't listen to the programme so don't know which of the two Blomstedt recordings was recommended but the Leipzig/Blomstedt does it for me in a work which I've sometimes heard in performance and thought, "Just get on with it", as in, verging on the interminable. Not so in Leipzig - and excellent recording quality which highlights the playing of this wonderful orchestra.

[Barbirollians]

I didn't listen to the programme so don't know which of the two Blomstedt recordings was recommended but the Leipzig/Blomstedt does it for me in a work which I've sometimes heard in performance and thought, "Just get on with it", as in, verging on the interminable. Not so in Leipzig - and excellent recording quality which highlights the playing of this wonderful orchestra.

It was the very recent Leipzig DG recording.

[HighlandDougie]

It was the very recent Leipzig DG recording.

Many thanks for the update - almost a Barbirolli for the 2020s!

[oddoneout]

I didn't listen to the programme so don't know which of the two Blomstedt recordings was recommended but the Leipzig/Blomstedt does it for me in a work which I've sometimes heard in performance and thought, "Just get on with it", as in, verging on the interminable. Not so in Leipzig - and excellent recording quality which highlights the playing of this wonderful orchestra.

My first encounter with this work was about 50 years ago as a viola player and that was a thought that went through my mind on more than one occasion during rehearsals...

[Sir Velo]

For those who may be wondering about the omission of Savall, Katy Hamilton has tweeted (sic) the following explanation: "I liked the Savall too - but with nearly 300 recordings to consider there's limited space! I don't consider period instrument recordings as a separate category, it's all part of the recorded legacy. And alas, none made my shortlist this time. "

[Pulcinella]

For those who may be wondering about the omission of Savall, Katy Hamilton has tweeted (sic) the following explanation: "I liked the Savall too - but with nearly 300 recordings to consider there's limited space! I don't consider period instrument recordings as a separate category, it's all part of the recorded legacy. And alas, none made my shortlist this time. "

If you tweet, are you really a twitterer, or might you perhaps simply be a twit?
Or maybe she's taking us for twits, if we're supposed to believe that she seriously considered nearly 300 recordings!