SCHUBERT: Symphony No. 8 (9) in C, D 944 “The Great” – Bamberger Symphony/ Jonathan Nott, conductor – Tudor Multichannel SACD 7144, 61:47 **** [Distr. by Naxos]:
I am listing the way Tudor lists it on the cover, as No. 8 and not 9 (Harnoncourt does the same), though this will no doubt confuse some readers. Make no mistake, this is the glorious C-major, discovered after the composer’s death, and considered unplayable for many years by orchestral musicians of the Romantic period afraid of a challenge. Nowadays it is second nature, surely one of the most played symphonies in concert halls worldwide, yet strangely still subject to interpretative maladies for one reason or another. Karajan, for instance, whose recording is oddly lauded by many—but not me, for I always thought it curiously deadpan—admitted in a late interview that he had problems with this symphony, and never really understood it. The list of truly recommendable great recordings is not that long, despite the number of conductors who try it. To me there are only a handful that I find truly satisfying—Bernstein/ Concertgebouw (DGG), Furtwangler/Berlin (DGG), Szell/Cleveland (EMI), Bohm/Berlin (DGG), and Harnoncourt/COE (Teldec).
My previous reaction to the rest of the Schubert symphonies that Nott and the Bambergers have been traversing has been mixed—they are quite professional, great sounding and sterling readings without the little “umph” that separates the truly great recordings, like Harnoncourt’s exploration of Schubert’s dark side or Bohm’s reveling in the absolute joy found in this music. But here, in the swansong, Nott and company come fully into their own, and they create a reading that is wholly competitive with any of the greats I have listed, with perhaps the exception of Furtwangler and maybe Bernstein.
Movement one is absent the “Furtwangler accelerando” that the conductor was so fond of, and which has come to define the standard interpretations of this piece. Once out of the introduction Nott jumps into a faster tempo, and it seems to work well, despite what Furtwangler obviously thought. Movement two is full of those quirky Prokofievian oboe melodies that often confuse music students on listening tests (could this really be by Schubert?), and Nott proceeds with a deliberateness and steadiness that allows the melodic dimension to come to the front. The third movement lacks the Viennese “lilt” that we usually expect in this piece, but the tempo is broad and the trio section quite “landler” like in concept. The last movement shows why people once thought this work impossible, but Nott’s tempo is not unduly taxing or excessively condescending to the orchestra either, but managed with excellent balances and an exciting finish.
The surround sound is terrific, and this is a fine crowning achievement to the first Super Audio release of all these works, and while not perhaps desert island material, still respectable and quite moving. I am sure I will return to all of them frequently. [I like to think of this symphony as Schubert’s Bruckner Symphony. And don’t forget Toscanini’s stirring interpretation of it…Ed.]
— Steven Ritter
