Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
Symphony No 8 in B minor, D 759 ‘Unfinished’ (1822)
Symphony No 9 in C major, D 944 ‘The Great’ (1825)
Gewandhausorchester Leipzig/Herbert Blomstedt
rec. 2021, Gewandhaus, Leipzig
DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON 4863045 [2 CDs 88]
Throughout his career Blomstedt has made his finest records for Decca, EMI, Eterna, and less well-known labels from Scandinavia but that this gentle Swedish-American maestro conductor should make his debut recording for the ‘yellow label’ at the age of 95 says something about the record business. However, that he should be recognised as the outstanding interpreter he has become is nothing less than he deserves.
Blomstedt recorded his first acclaimed cycle of Schubert symphonies with the Dresden Staatskapelle Orchestra in the late 1970s-80s for Eterna, and it has been widely available on CD from different labels. During the lockdown, I acquired it on the original Eterna LPs, as I have always been impressed by this conductor’s ability to penetrate to the essence of the composer’s thoughts and the most expressive means of bringing them to life for the listener. He has perhaps been recognised as a great interpreter only in more recent times, after his spell in
San Francisco and later at the Leipzig Gewandhaus, where he made many valuable recordings of the central European repertoire. He is a master in the symphonic cycles of Beethoven, Brahms, Schubert and Bruckner.
In the CD notes, Blomstedt explains his view of the ‘Unfinished’ Symphony movement: ‘The first is full of problems, the second is like a glade or a vision of happiness. It’s possible that these two movements are the musical reflection of this dream. This is an interesting idea – but it’s only one of many theories.’ Blomstedt adopts a very truthful reading of Schubert’s tempos, allowing the music to breathe and flow in the beautifully rich melodies - he always seems to give his musicians the freedom to play with his minimal gestures and direction. The details that we can hear in this symphony are astonishingly clear in a superb capture of the huge acoustics of the Gewandhaus – one can only wonder about the difference in sound values when an audience is present.
In his reading of the ‘Great’ C major Symphony, Blomstedt comments, ‘This final completed symphony has everything that it takes to be truly great’! The ideas that it contains are ‘great- - and not just in the sense that the work lasts about an hour. Everything is interconnected here – as Robert Schumann euphorically exclaimed: “There is meaning everywhere.”’ Of course, it was Mendelssohn who found and premiered the
‘Great’ C major with the Gewandhaus Orchestra in 1839 leading to its becoming a great success and among the most popular Romantic symphonies.
A comparison between his first recordings on Eterna with the Dresden Staatskapelle reveals one significant difference, in that this DG release is using the New Schubert Edition. As Blomstedt states, ‘there are a couple of astonishing dissonances before the opening movement’s recapitulation and also at the end of it. Believing that Schubert was in error here, Brahms simply smoothed out these out. But these dissonances emerge logically from the work – and the new edition invests these passages with a completely different character. Even greater and more obvious are the differences in the C major symphony. On the very first page the time-signature is now an
alla breve rather than the 4/4 that it had been in Brahms edition. This naturally makes a tremendous difference. A 4/4 metre demands a slower tempo and results in a more spacious, monumental design.’
This is one of the finest readings and performances of the ‘Great’ C major that I have heard – and as in the
‘Unfinished’ symphony, Blomstedt conjures up a beautifully sensitive interpretation, allowing the music to develop without haste or any tension; he finds that delicate balance between reading the score after many years of performances and study. One certainly feels that these symphonies the new edition are being heard anew. Remarkably Blomstedt's interpretative powers show no sign of waning, and here produces great readings, adding to his remarkable recordings of three and four decades ago.
Gregor Tassie
Previous review: John Quinn
