Which Schubert symphony set?

[eyeresist]

(poll: you can pick two choices, and you can change your vote)

After feeling overloaded and avoiding most music for a couple of months, I am easing my way back with the symphonies of RVW and Schubert. I'm particularly interested in finding good performances of the early symphonies of Schubert, but so far the best I've found is the Scholz performance of 3-4 on ultra-bargain Point Classics! The three complete sets I have are Bohm, Karajan, and Marriner. Bohm is too stern in the early symphonies, and tonally astringent; Marriner is surprisingly unengaged in woolly sound; Karajan is actually my favourite so far, though too grandiose and rather reverberant.

So - are there any experts to help me here? I am leaning towards Sawallisch and Menuhin, who both sound convincing in samples.

[Gurn Blanston]

I'm no expert, but I've listened to a lot of Schubert symphonies. Had a thread a short while ago on the 9th in particular, and got a lot of good suggestions there if you care to look.

I greatly enjoy the Harnoncourt set, I could say it's my favorite. I also voted for the Blomstedt, believing it is with the Staatskapelle Dresden, yes? (I don't know of another). The SD have a great sound for Schubert, and even though I don't have the whole cycle, I really like what they do with the 9th.



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Listening to:
Kodaly Quartet - Haydn Quartet in f# for Strings No 39 Op 50 4 1st mvmt

[eyeresist]

Blomstedt is with the SKD, as is Davis.

(Currently trying to locate the Schubert 9 thread you spoke of.)

[Gurn Blanston]

It's this one here:

http://www.good-music-guide.com/community/index.php/topic,7679.0.html


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Listening to:
Kodaly Quartet - Haydn Quartet in C for Strings No 43 Op 54 2 2nd mvmt

[DavidW]

Szell for the Unfinished and The Great, the rest of the symphonies can be thrown away.

[Gurn Blanston]

Szell for the Unfinished and The Great, the rest of the symphonies can be thrown away.

Not 4, 5 or 6. Too good for that, I'm afraid...  0:)



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Listening to:
Kodaly Quartet - Haydn Quartet in E for Strings No 44 Op 54 3 1st mvmt

[DavidW]

Not 4, 5 or 6. Too good for that, I'm afraid...  0:)



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Listening to:
Kodaly Quartet - Haydn Quartet in E for Strings No 44 Op 54 3 1st mvmt

Now we'll start getting confused about the symphony #s and 55 pages of debate later, sprinkled in with some idiots claiming that Schubert is trash compared to Beethoven or Bach, and then we'll realize that somehow we ended up talking about Schumann symphonies instead.

[Brian]

Szell for the Unfinished and The Great, the rest of the symphonies can be thrown away.

Boo! Nos. 2, 3, 4, and 5 are quite wonderful indeed (though I don't like 6).

Chose Harnoncourt. Probably would add Immerseel, based on his fab Fourth, if I ever hear the rest of the cycle.

[Lethevich]

I also love the Sawallisch, which seems an underrated set to me - great mix of power and flexibility. Not sure how it compares to Böhm, who could be in a similar mould.

[eyeresist]

Boo! Nos. 2, 3, 4, and 5 are quite wonderful indeed (though I don't like 6).

I agree. I particularly love 3, which doesn't suffer from any sort of length problem.

Harnoncourt ahead of Abbado by a nose so far. The suspense is killing me.

[The new erato]

I only know the Abbado (as a set) so I voted for that. Seems fine, though I would probably like others as well. I have found memories of a couple of Bøhm LPs lurking somewhere in the house.

[jwinter]

For the record, I own the sets from Blomstedt, Bohm, Davis, Goodman, Karajan, and Marriner (not even getting into all those single 8s & 9s...).

I surprised myself by voting for Karajan and Blomstedt.  My taste has been evolving away from Karajan in lots of repetoire, but I really like his Schubert -- it has more energy than the Bohm, and a lightness of spirit coupled with the big Berlin sound.  Bohm is certainly a very solid choice here, though -- it's a tough call.  I'm not thrilled with either HvK's or Bohm's 9th, though Bohm's live one with the SD on his EMI Great Conductors set is excellent and a good supplement to his DG symphonies.

I'd definitely recommend Blomstedt over Davis if you want the SD (and who wouldn't?).  They're both beautifully played and recorded, but Davis gets a bit heavy at times, and his 9th in particular tends to drag.  Blomstedt stresses the classical aspects of Schubert, to the music's benefit, while retaining the gorgeous SD sound.

The Marriner is pretty good, particularly if you are interested in the various orchestral fragments and completions that he includes.  Well worth checking out if you see it for a good price.

[Ric]

My vote is for Muti. I only own this one, but I have enjoyed it very much.

[Todd]

Not 4, 5 or 6. Too good for that, I'm afraid...  0:)

Or the third especially if Beecham or Kubelik are conducting.

[marvinbrown]

  This is the only complete set I own...how come Gunter Wand is not on the list  ??  These performances are passionate, the 4th symphony blows me away every time I hear it.

 

  marvin

[mn dave]

I love Wand. I bet that set is good, Marvin.

[flyingdutchman]

None that you have listed.

This one:



It beats all of the ones you have listed.

[Lilas Pastia]

I've never heards any from the Stein, Viotti or Suitner sets, but I certainly wish I had. The Viotti has had some very good reviews, and I've heard great stuff from the other two conductors.

I'm not in favour of sets as a rule. Most conductors fail to differentiate between the early, middle or late styles of his symphonies - much the same usually occurs with Beethoven or Sibelius. That being said, I much prefer symphonies 1-3 to 4-6. The last two are obviously on another plane altogether and that's where the 'complete set' concept fails miserably. Most of the greatest interpretations will be found on single discs. And when it comes to the 8th and 9th, style and competence are insufficient. Indeed, being content with just that is an insult to Schubert's genius.

I voted for just one (guess which ). But even then it's faute de mieux.

[Sergeant Rock]

I own Goodman, Harnoncourt, Wand, Immerseel, Davis and Blomstedt. Voted for Harnoncourt and Blomstedt (my most recent purchase and very impressive).

Sarge

[Heather Harrison]

The Marriner is pretty good, particularly if you are interested in the various orchestral fragments and completions that he includes.  Well worth checking out if you see it for a good price.

I like the Marriner set for this reason.  In general, I find the performances to be very good, and it is interesting to hear the fragments and completions that are seldom performed.

Symphony No. 7 has a lot going for it; it is a good example of the transition between his early and late styles, and had Schubert finished it, I'm sure it would be quite popular now.  It is structurally complete, but Schubert wrote mostly melody lines and then abandoned the project; it is up to the modern musicologist to fill in the harmonies to create a performing version.  Schubert completed two movements of No. 8 (the best known of the unfinished symphonies), but he came close to finishing the third, and this set features a completion.  (It uses a piece from "Rosamunde", which may have some connection with No. 8, as the finale.)  Perhaps the most interesting of the unfinished symphonies is No. 10.  I've never heard anything quite like it; right at the end of Schubert's life he was moving off in a radical new direction.  The first movement is fairly typical late Schubert, and the second (slow movement) sounds ahead of its time - perhaps a bit like a Mahler funeral march.  The third (apparently an experimental scherzo/finale) is bizarre, with a structure that is hard to figure out and featuring some dense counterpoint (a rarity for Schubert).  This symphony is definitely a work in progress but might well have been a masterpiece if Schubert had lived to complete it.

Heather