Search - Antonin Dvorak, Franz [Vienna] Schubert, Herbert Blomstedt :: Dvorák: Symphony No. 8; Schubert: Symphony No. 6

Blomstedt, DresdenSKP, Dvorak 8, Schubert 6: One of the sure

Dan Fee | Berkeley, CA USA | 04/03/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"My first acquaintance with conductor Herbert Blomstedt was via his complete set of Carl Nielsen symphonies with the Danish Radio Orchestra on EMI. Then I discovered four late Mozart symphonies with the Dresden Staatskapelle (Denon), and just a few days later, the Bruckner fourth and seventh symphonies with DSKP. That next week, I came across the Denon recordings of Richard Strauss, again with the Dresden band.



It was starting to feel like musical Christmas even though we were months away from those holidays. Denon gave full frequency sound with lots of red book CD bloom; the band could hardly be bettered, playing as one of the very best - strings all deep and velvety and sweet like Vienna with an enhancing touch of shining silver edge, brass elegant and burnished and always just right, woodwinds just right too. I couldn't decide which disc was my favorite from this round of purchases. The Mozart was among the most musical readings I've heard so far committed to disc. Yes, big band Mozart; but chock full of old-fashioned big band Mozart values: nothing eccentric or even very much HIP - but warm, poised, lovingly shaped. The only thing missing was the remaining two of the six late Mozart Symphonies. The Richard Strauss was simply top notch, too; right up there with Rudolf Kempe's famous complete set (also in Dresden), lacking only completeness to make Blomstedt the reigning trump card of recorded comparisons. Then, the two Bruckner symphonies. Gee, what readings. The Dresden band was playing as well as ever; equaling if not perhaps slightly bettering themselves (compared to the complete Bruckner set on EMI led by Eugen Jochum). Again, Blomstedt's readings had nothing of the wayward or eccentric about them, just dumping oodles of warm, pure music out of the speakers, deep and wide and handsome. This list eventually contained the complete Beethoven symphonies under Blomstedt, again in Dresden.



Now, this disc. The Dvorak symphony eight is coupled with Schubert's symphony six. Both works come off warm and fine.



Blomstedt does adopt leisurely tempos and typically pursues his old-fashioned big band approach. But taking his time does not equate to boring. Within rock steady basic tempos, Blomstedt offers his players plenty of room to phrase with loving care, and show off their considerable, rich tonal chops. Given the marvelous woodwind writing in the Dvorak eighth, this could hardly be off-target in musical aims. The other departments of the DSKP are just as good as ever; and although the sound is not the super audio surround sound that is now set as a high mark, it will do in service of the music and this winning read of Dvorak's lovely, late symphony. Some commentators even consider the eighth to have higher musical values than the more familiar ninth symphony (From the New World). However that may or may not be, it is hard to sit through Blomstedt's reading with Dresden and not end up in love again with the symphony, fat with good will, charm, warmth, and open-air Bohemian pastoral good spirits.



I quickly add this Dvorak eighth to the fav shelf, right next to my old, dear companions - the Giulini (once with Philharmonia London on EMI, once with Concertgebouw on Sony CBS), Bruno Walter, Ivan Fischer in Budapest in super audio, Mackerras in Prague with the Czechs, Libor Pesek in Liverpool UK, Rafael Kubelik, Colin Davis in Amsterdam, and James Levine in Dresden.



What about the Schubert sixth?



Again, the basic tempo is rock solid, but leisurely unfolded. Again, the band players rise to warm, glowing heights of affection and commitment in their playing. Fortunately, Blomstedt has done all of the Schubert symphonies with Dresden, as it turns out. So this sixth symphony is harbinger of the whole Schubert nine, beautifully played. No, the big band strategy has not changed, nor can we hear very many touches of HIP phrasing or texture. When Dresden does inflect the textures under Blomstedt, a listener is much more likely to recall Schubert's best chamber music, rather than piquant gut strings or other period instruments dancing to fast, energetic tempos. The same intense attention to shapes and phrasings obtain in Schubert, as in Dvorak. The effect is lively, relaxed, congenial, and glad to be alive and playing such music.



Check out the rest of the Schubert symphonies from Dresden under Blomstedt. This one makes a great start, and is highly recommended. The price doesn't hurt, either. Five stars, Bohemia, Vienna."