Schubert Symphonies

Heinz Holliger, Meisteroboist, Komponist, Dirigent und eine der charismatischen Musikerpersönlichkeiten unserer Tage, kann am 21. Mai seinen 80. Geburtstag feiern. Passend zum Event erscheint Vol. II der kompletten Sinfonien von Franz Schubert, die das künstlerische Multitalent mit dem Kammerorchester Basel aufgenommen hat.

In 2015, our Schubert Edition with the Berliner Philharmoniker and Nikolaus Harnoncourt received high praise from critics all over the world. The BBC Music Magazine celebrated the recordings as a “feast of Schubert”, and in France they were awarded the prestigious Diapason d’Or. The edition is now being released in a budget version. It presents the composer’s eight symphonies on five CDs/SACDs which can be played on any CD/SACD player. The edition includes a top-quality slipcase and a comprehensive booklet. The qualities of the performances which were recorded between 2003 and 2006 are also revealed in the CD/SACD edition. This Schubert is colourful and dramatic – and represents a unique synthesis in which the famous sound of the Berliner Philharmoniker is as evident as Nikolaus Harnoncourt’s familiarity with the transparency and sound speech of historical performance practice.

Der legendäre Schweizer Oboist, Komponist und Dirigent Heinz Holliger setzt seine Aufnahmen der Schubert-Sinfonien mit dem Kammerorchester Basel fort. Bereits Volume 1 und 2 dieser Zyklen wurden für die Interpretation und die ergänzenden, selten zu hörenden Instrumentalwerke hoch gelobt: "CD des Monats, 5 Sterne für Musik und Klang" in AUDIO; "Mit den ersten Akkorden entfaltet sich eine ungeheure Wucht. Hinreißend das Finale!" 5 Sterne in FONOFORUM; und das wichtigste englische Fachmagazin, Gramophone, schrieb: "lucky Schubert - and lucky us… one of the finest recordings!".

Like most of the great European conductors,' wrote the critic Harold C. Schonberg, '(Schmidt-Isserstedt) has been brought up in a tradition that insists on selflessness before great music. The aim of conducting, as he sees it, is to bring out the message of the composer and not the skill.' These virtues distinguish his Mozart conducting above all, including the recordings he made for the Mercury label with the London Symphony Orchestra in 1958. Schmidt-Isserstedt conducted Mozart with deep scholarly understanding, having written a doctoral dissertation about the Italian influence on Mozart, but reverence never impeded vitality, as the present recording of the 'Jupiter' Symphony amply demonstrates. His colleague Wilhelm Brückner-Rüggeberg paid a tribute as acute as it was generous to Schmidt-Isserstedt's way with Mozart, 'quite different from the usual apple-crumble cake (Streuselkuchen) or Mozartkugeln.

Otto Klemperer made many great recordings, especially conducting the Philharmonia Orchestra for EMI. This disc combines recordings made in 1960 (nine) and 1963 (eight). The remastering has deepened the tonal range and sound-stage and generally warmed the sound and they can be described as being very creditable for their vintage. The performances have authority and are both strong statements and are among the highlights of the later Klemperer discography.

Carlos Kleiber's recordings are rare events, almost invariably worth the wait. This performance of the Unfinished is typical: direct, unfussy, superbly played, and unflaggingly intense.

Heinz Holliger, Meisteroboist, Komponist, Dirigent und eine der charismatischen Musikerpersönlichkeiten unserer Tage, kann am 21. Mai seinen 80. Geburtstag feiern. Passend zum Event erscheint Vol. II der kompletten Sinfonien von Franz Schubert, die das künstlerische Multitalent mit dem Kammerorchester Basel aufgenommen hat. Der Dirigent strebt bewusst einen eigenen Zugang zur Musik des österreichischen Romantikers an, eine Interpretation, die vermeintlich Angenehmes aufrauht und den Sinn für die gewagten Neuerungen in der Musik schärft. Die Presse war bei der Live-Aufführung der «großen» C-Dur-Sinfonie schon einmal begeistert: "Das Spiel der Noten geht in ein Spiel der Klangfarben über," meinte die Basler Zeitung, und AZ-Online schrieb: "Heinz Holliger vermittelt am Dirigierpult seine Begeisterung für Schubert, und durch sein sehr genaues Quellenstudium gelingt es ihm, diese Musik mit einer ansteckenden Präsenz zu vermitteln".

Edward Gardner’s Schubert cycle concludes with the ‘Great’ Symphony No. 9 in C major. Having (remarkably) composed a symphony a year between 1813 and 1818, the onset of syphilis and its intrusive treatment seemed to shake the composer’s confidence as a symphonist – the Ninth is the only symphony after those first six that he actually completed. This is attributed by many to a wonderful holiday with friends in the high Austrian Alps that seems to have re-ignited his enthusiasm. The nickname ‘Great’ may originally have arisen to distinguish it from the ‘little’ C major Symphony (No. 6), but is apt, as the Ninth is on so much greater a scale than any symphony before it, which can run to almost an hour in some performances. The soprano Mary Bevan joins Edward Gardner and the CBSO in a selection of orchestral songs that complete the album. One was orchestrated by Schubert himself, the others are settings by Britten, Berlioz, Brahms, and Reger.