Search - Franz Schubert, Herbert Blomstedt, San Francisco Symphony :: Symphony No. 9 / Overture in C

A very fine and overlooked Schubert 9

Matthew Vaughan | Palo Alto, CA United States | 05/16/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is a favorite recording of mine. Wonderfully played by the SFS and conducted with not only logic but also great liveliness by Blomstedt, this recording can stand up to the best interpretations available. All repeats are taken, but the inexorable forward energy keeps it exciting from beginning to end and it never seems too long.While the SFS is better known for recordings of other composers (Nielsen, Hindemith, Grieg, Strauss, Orff, Sibelius, etc.), I think this (along with their Beethoven 1 & 3) is one of their finest recordings--and most underrated.The overture in C ("In the Italian Style") is also wonderful--beautiful and lively."

Schubert From The West Coast (Review No. 2)

Erik North | San Gabriel, CA USA | 11/04/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Herbert Blomstedt's tenure as the music director of the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, which lasted from 1985 to 1995, was a hugely successful one; continuing what his predecessor Edo DeWaart had started, maestro Blomstedt helped build this ensemble into one of the premiere orchestras both in America and the world at large, almost on par with their compatriots to the south in Los Angeles. And this particular recording, their second of the orchestral output of Franz Schubert, is proof of this.



The first work is the second of two overtures that Schubert composed in 1817 as being in the manner of Rossini, or "in the Italian Style" (the first, in D Major, provided material for the composer's later "Magic Harp/Rosamunde Overture"). This overture, in the key of C Major, has much of the characteristics of Rossini, but also an orchestral flair all its own, and not a mere imitation.



The second work is Schubert's towering opus, the "Great C Major" Ninth Symphony. The first large-scale symphony to follow in the wake of Beethoven's Ninth, this work, composed sometime in 1825 but not a part of the orchestral repertoire until well into the 20th century, is a fine example of the composer paying homage to his great predecessor, while at the same time remaining individualistic as well; moments of great poignancy alternate with moments of epic splendor in a work that, as with the Beethoven Ninth, set the stage for what was to come for the rest of the 19th century and even into the 20th century.



Under Blomstedt's direction, the San Francisco Symphony handles these pieces with incredible panache. The Italian-style overture's tricky shifts in pace and volume are taken in stride; and the orchestra's recording of the Ninth equals other great recordings of this work, such as Szell's 1957 Cleveland Orchestra recording (on Sony), and Bernstein's mid-1980s Concertgebouw recording (on Deutsche Grammophon).



I whole-heartedly concur with the previous reviewer that the S.F.S.O. came up with a tremendous recording here, and has consistently shown itself to be among the best of its kind. This is a recording more than a little worth seeking out."