Szell: Schumann’s Symphonies And Manfred Overture Op.115 (2 CD, APE)

Composer: Robert Schumann
Orchestra: Cleveland Orchestra
Conductor: George Szell
Audio CD
SPARS Code: DDD
Number of Discs: 2
Format: APE (image+cue)
Label: Sony Classical
Size: 692 MB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: no

CD 1
01. Schumann – Manfred Overture Op.115
Symphony No. 1 (Spring) in B flat
02. Symphony No. 1 (Spring) in B flat – Andante unpoco maestoso
03. Symphony No. 1 (Spring) in B flat – Larghetto
04. Symphony No. 1 (Spring) in B flat – Scherzo
05. Symphony No. 1 (Spring) in B flat – Allegro animato e grazioso
Symphony No. 2 in C minor
06. Symphony No. 2 in C minor – Sostenuto assai
07. Symphony No. 2 in C minor – Scherzo, Trio I & II, Coda
08. Symphony No. 2 in C minor – Adagio espressivo
09. Symphony No. 2 in C minor – Allgero molto vivace

CD 2
Symphony No. 3 in E flat major (Rhenish)
01. Symphony No. 3 in E flat major (Rhenish) – Lebhaft
02. Symphony No. 3 in E flat major (Rhenish) – Scherzo
03. Symphony No. 3 in E flat major (Rhenish) – Nicht schnell
04. Symphony No. 3 in E flat major (Rhenish) – Feierlich
05. Sym no 3 in E flat major (Rhenish) – Lebhaft -Schneller
Symphony No. 4 in D minor
06. Symphony No. 4 in D minor – Ziemlich langsam
07. Symphony No. 4 in D minor – Romanze
08. Symphony No. 4 in D minor – Scherzo & Trio
09. Symphony No. 4 in D minor – Langsam – Presto

Perfection!

Szell’s Schumann is a MUST for any serious listener of nineteenth-century music. These discs are not merely an essential addition to a collection: this is the only account of the Schumann symphonies you should have. So why Schumann? And why Szell?

Schumann is widely known for his piano music, but his four symphonies are masterpieces deserving to be better known and appreciated. They evoke later Beethoven, particularly his 7th and 8th symphonies, but are entirely original, composed in an idiom uniquely Schumann’s own. They are filled with joyful melodies, thrilling prestissimo runs, and aching shifts between major and minor keys. Schumann is the true embodiment of the Romantic sensibility; in fact, Szell claimed that Schumann was the most perfect exemplar of Romanticism within classical music.

Szell’s commitment to performances of Schumann is well known; having programmed a Schumann symphony at least once in almost every season he conducted the Cleveland Orchestra, his knowledge of Schumann is unsurpassed. He appreciated the nice nuances of Schumann better than any other conductor, even demonstrating the temerity to alter subtly Schumann’s scores in order to achieve a more refined balance of orchestral sounds. His Cleveland Orchestra here is playing at its finest. By the late 1950s, Cleveland could claim to be as strong as any orchestra playing anywhere in the world. As an example, just listen to the 2nd movement (the scherzo) of the 2nd symphony; you will stunned by the perfect unison of the strings. If there is a weakness at all, it is in the “Manfred Overture,” which comes off a bit lifeless or lacklustre, at least in contrast with the symphonies.

These are some of the finest symphonies ever composed, performed here by arguably the greatest orchestra not simply of its time, but ever.