Search - Schubert, Mackerras, Orch Age of Enlightenment :: Schubert: Symphony No. 9

Fine period performance

new music guy | NY, NY United States | 04/02/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is perhaps the clearest, purest performance of this piece on record. The non-vibrato gut strings combine with the period winds and brass for an excellent overall sound. In particular, the oboe solo at the start of the andante is absolutely stunning, and the brisk tempo in that movement is simply superior to the laggy sound that most modern conductors and orchestras produce there.
Unfortunately, the disc is not without its flaws. There are moments of slightly shoddy intonation, notable on occasional wind unisons, and the violins, though excellent, are not perfect. In addition, Mackerras seems to be making a conscious choice against using any rubato when there is none marked. Moments in the music that cry out for a ritard are rushed through somewhat pedantically, in all likelihood simply because Schubert didn't mark anything there. As a result, several climaxes in the music are not as satisfying as they could have been.
Overall though, this would have to be my pick for favorite recording of this piece. The purity of sound more than makes up for extremely minor bloopers and occasional dull conducting."

Too Academic

Leslie Richford | Selsingen, Lower Saxony | 02/06/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I am a great fan of period instruments and historical performance practice, and I have spent many an hour listening delightedly to recordings by the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, so I feel a little reluctant to admit that this performance of Schubert?s ?Great? Symphony, usually numbered 9 (although it is sometimes given the number 8), was, for me, not the eye-opening experience I had hoped it would be. The engineering of the disc is excellent, but the playing seems somewhat too academic, as though Sir Charles Mackerras is trying to demonstrate a theory rather than actually recreate a musical experience. I may be committing a solecism in saying this, but I only really began to appreciate and enjoy this symphony when I heard the 1994 Naxos recording by the Failoni Orchestra from Hungary under the baton of Michael Halász, played of course on modern instruments. The Hungarians seemed to have a certain verve, coupled with a very good sense of rubato, which really put the OAE recording with its simplistic rhythmic drive into the shadows. Of course, the Virgin disc is not a bad one, and the trombone playing is quite something else, but if you are coming to this repertoire as anything but an expert or a lover of the museum sound I can only recommend that you listen in to Michael Halász?s recording."