Schubert: Symphony No.9, Wagner: Siegfried-Idyll / VPO, Georg Solti (1999)

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Schubert: Symphony No.9, Wagner: Siegfried-Idyll / VPO, Georg Solti (1999)

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Like those other great symphonists-Beethoven before him and Mahler after him-Schubert completed no symphonies after his ninth. This has come to be known as the "Great C Major," not only because it is an altogether grander work than his Sixth Symphony in the same key, but also because it is one of the truly majestic pillars of the whole symphonic canon. The celebrated orchestra of the composer's native Vienna is led here by the masterful Sir Georg Solti in a recording unsurpassed among many competitors for its warmth, presence, and detail.

his is one of my top favourites and surely the finest modern recording of this symphony, which is not easy to bring off. For a start, it benefits from Decca's finest sound in the ideal acoustic of the Sofiensaal, Vienna, and the Vienna Philharmonic play with their ripest, richest tone. Sir Georg's performance has all the excitement one would expect of him but it is also a deeply warm and committed performance. He manages the many transitions of tempo better than most rivals and brings out many details due to his careful balancing of the orchestra: there is a particularly magical moment in the slow movement when a violin pizzicato accompaniment runs across the orchestra, for all the world like drops of rain against a rainbow background.
There is a considerable bonus in the form of Wagner's "Siegfried Idyll", a heartfelt performance all the more cherishable because it is given in the original version for small orchestra, as played to Cosima on her birthday.
Very highly recommended: snap it up in case it should go out of the catalogue!
== Amazon