Composer: Franz Peter Schubert
Orchestra: Symphonie-Orchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks
Conductor: Mariss Jansons
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: BR Klassik
Catalogue: 900169
Release: 2018
Size: 565 MB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
Symphony No. 9 in C major, D944 ‘The Great’
01. I. Andante – Allegro ma non troppo
02. II. Andante con moto
03. III. Scherzo. Allegro vivace
04. IV. Allegro vivace
The “Great” C major Symphony was the last symphony that Schubert composed – a “Finished” to follow his “Unfinished”, the first two movements of which he had just completed before discontinuing work on it (for reasons unknown). Schubert began this composition in August 1824, or possibly even as late as March 1825. Most of the work on it took place in the summer of 1825, during the longest journey of his life. It took him from Vienna via Linz, Steyr, Gmunden (where he found the scenery “truly heavenly”), Salzburg and then up to Bad Gastein, where he saw some magnificent alpine peaks. The first page of the score manuscript is dated “March 1828” – possibly the month in which he finally completed the work. On November 19 of that same year, Schubert died at the age of only thirty-one. The symphony was premiered posthumously on March 21, 1839 in the Leipzig Gewandhaus, and conducted by the Gewandhaus Kapellmeister at that time – the 30-year-old Felix Mendelssohn. This is a star-studded and outstanding interpretation of one of the most important compositions of the Romantic symphonic repertoire.
As a champion of late Romantic and early 20th century repertoire, Mariss Jansons has established a fine reputation for his lucid interpretations and strong performances with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, expertly recorded by BR Klassik. Yet his dedication to works of this period has led to a dearth of recordings of Classical and early Romantic symphonies, apart from a Beethoven cycle that was released in 2013, so the 2018 release of Franz Schubert’s Symphony No. 9 in C major, “The Great,” may signify a major shift in this direction. In his live reading, recorded in February 2018, Jansons treats Schubert’s final symphony with a mix of mainstream and historically informed ideas, employing a modern orchestra and maintaining a big ensemble sound, but observing brisk tempos, clean textures, and taking all repeats, thereby pushing the timing to just over an hour. Of course, Jansons might have been justified in skipping those repeats if his framing of the work countered its expansiveness, which almost approaches the running time of late Romantic symphonies. Yet when one considers Robert Schumann’s famous praise for the symphony’s “heavenly length,” drawing it out to its fullest possible duration might be viewed as an aesthetic necessity. Schubert’s Ninth should be regarded as a monumental work, cast in the large sonata forms he explored toward the end of his life, and Jansons’ concern for the work’s trajectory, momentum, and balance requires the suspension of conventional time constraints. While this recording may not strike every listener as revelatory, others may consider it to be one of Jansons’ most exciting and even transcendent performances and look forward to more Schubert from him, delivered with the same care and passion. Highly recommended.