Energetic performances on original instruments of the traditional Schubert symphony canon
Original instrument performances of the standard Schubert symphony cycle are rather rare. The obvious alternatives are the Hanover Band cycle on Nimbus, released 30 years ago, and the Les Musiciens du Louvre cycle on Naïve (NLA). The cycles from the Residentie Orkest The Hague on Challenge Classics and B'rock Orchestra / René Jacobs on Pentatone are not yet complete.
The English title of the box states Complete Symphonies and Fragments, as does the German title on the JPC web site. The booklet, correctly, omits the word "sämtliche" in the German version. As the owner of the 1984 ASMF / Marriner recording on Philips (NLA), I was unfortunately misled by the description of this new release. The booklet strangely and unnecessarily renumbers the Unfinished as No. 7 and the Great as No. 8.
This new release contains fragments, with no attempt at completion, of D2A, D2B, D2G, D71C, D74A, D94A, nearly 6 minutes of Symphony 7 and 30" of the incomplete 3rd movement of Symphony 8. The ASMF recording has completions of Symphonies 7 (four movements) and 10 (three movements), 6'30" of the 3rd movement of Symphony 8, as well as the fragments D615 (two movements) and D708 (four movements), again with Brian Newbould's completions. Interestingly, CPO has issued Weingartner's completion of the 7th in the Weingartner edition (999 424-2).
The performances are often brisk and always boisterous and exciting, the recording transparent and the musicians fully in control of their instruments. Some may be disturbed by a balance that slightly favours wind instruments over strings, but I rather wonder if that is more a result of our being used to the balance of a modern orchestra. I very much enjoyed the set.
Is it too much to hope that L'Orfeo Barockorchester / Michi Gaigg could record supplementary volumes? The overtures listed in the booklet, but also the "missing" fragments from the Philips box?
