Schubert Symphony No 5 & 8 - Bruno Walter Columbia Symphony Orchestra & NY Philharmonic

Irresistible

This is the kind of musical offering I can't resist. For starters, Schubert's symphonies, written while Beethoven's were being premiered to astonished Viennese audiences by the young Viennese Schubert, are beautiful works I can't resist. If you ever wished Beethoven had written more symphonies, try Schubert's. Bruno Walter, also an Austrian by adoption after leaving his native Germany, inhaled the tradition of those two composers every day of his life. His way with these two symphonies is secure, knowing, and romantic with a capital R. Maybe old-fashioned in style; and what's wrong with that? The sound, as is the way with HDTT's DXD, is certainly at least acceptable to audiophiles with high-end equipment, i.e. people like myself. I rated several grades above "acceptable." Listening, I am enchanted and totally drawn into the music, because the recording is good enough to let me forget that there is technology involved here. I recommend we all stop resisting gems like this and avail ourselves of them. Even if you're not an audiophile and don't have top-tier hardware, there are other options, including Bob Witrak's CDs, which sound excellent. Loved it!

A beautiful recording

Both symphonies were wonderfully interpreted with feeling and passionately. As far as the quality of the recording is concerned, I also think it is better than good in the overall, merely the trebles appear slightly pale, missing a little the silky gloss of the strings. Nevertheless I would not like to miss these recordings in my collection.

Schubert Symphony No 5 & 8 - Bruno Walter

One of the reasons I buy these old recordings is that the conductors seems to be in a bit less of a hurry to get through the pieces and were, to my ear, a bit more subtle. There were exceptions, but this recording, is a good example of the qualities I like of some of the last generation of conductors and the orchestras they led. In terms of technical quality, this did not have the widest sound stage with my equipment, but it was more than adequate. There was surprisingly little tape noise which made for a great listen.