Composer: Franz Peter Schubert
Orchestra: Staatskapelle Dresden
Conductor: Herbert Blomstedt
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Brilliant Classics
Catalogue: 94693
Release: 2013
Size: 1.09 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: cover
Symphony No. 1 in D major, D82
01. I. Adagio – Allegro vivace
02. II. Andante
03. III. Menuetto: Allegretto
04. IV. Allegro vivace
Symphony No. 2 in B flat major, D125
05. I. Largo – Allegro vivace
06. II. Andante
07. III. Menuetto: Allegro vivace
08. IV. Presto vivace
Symphony No. 3 in D major, D200
09. I. Adagio maestoso – Allegro con brio
10. II. Allegretto
11. III. Menuetto: Vivace
12. IV. Presto vivace
Symphony No. 4 in C minor, D417 ‘Tragic’
13. I. Adagio molto – Allegro vivace
14. II. Andante
15. III. Menuetto: Allegro vivace
16. IV. Allegro
Symphony No. 5 in B flat major, D485
17. I. Allegro
18. II. Andante con moto
19. III. Menuetto: Allegro molto
20. IV. Allegro vivace
Symphony No. 6 in C major, D589
21. I. Adagio – Allegro
22. II. Andante
23. III. Scherzo: Presto
24. IV. Allegro moderato
Symphony No. 8 in B minor, D759 ‘Unfinished’
25. I. Allegro moderato
26. II. Andante con moto
Symphony No. 9 in C major, D944 ‘The Great’
27. I. Andante – Allegro ma non troppo
28. II. Andante con moto
29. III. Scherzo: Allegro vivace
30. IV. Allegro vivace
Bringing together all seven of Schubert’s completed symphonies, as well as the much loved B minor ‘Unfinished’, this set charts the development of Schubert’s voice as a symphonist. His first six symphonies were composed between 1813 and 1818 for the orchestra at the religious school that he attended in Vienna. Although they could be considered to be apprentice works, and are clearly influenced by Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, and – in the case of the Sixth Symphony – Rossini, they are remarkable achievements for such a young composer, and the listener can hear some of the hallmarks of Schubert’s more forwardlooking, romantic style, such as a bolder and richer harmonic language, beginning to emerge.
After a serious illness in 1822, from which he only partially recovered, Schubert composed his final symphonic masterpieces, the ‘Unfinished’ (1822) and the ‘Great’ (1825–6). From the haunting slow introduction and the extraordinary sense of pathos of the ‘Unfinished’ to the joyful and rhythmically vital ‘Great’ symphony, both works showcase Schubert the symphonist at the peak of his powers and are some of the most popular and enduring pieces in the orchestral canon.
Schubert’s complete symphonies are performed here by the legendary Staatskapelle Dresden under the inspired direction of celebrated conductor Herbert Blomstedt, praised by Gramophone for his ‘incomparably refined sensitivity and canny interpretative prowess’.