Schubert Symphony No. 9 In C Major "The Great" - Skrowaczewski - Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra

Schubert Ninth

One of my favorite readings of this symphony on LP now on hi-rez. Good detail, realistic instrumental harmonics. Relaxed pace lets you savor the notes. There's a strange pitch waver at the end of the second movement like someone had rubbed against the tape while it was running.

Skrowaczewski, Minnesotans, Witrak triumph

Skrowaczewski has a terrific grasp of the work, doing justice to the unusually wide gamut of emotions and styles that make this symphony "Great." He can lap and lilt like a sea becalmed; thunder like a sea in storm; dance (appropriately) like a Viennese; flash glimpses onto all of life itself a la Mahler; and charm without fawning a la Mozart. Throughout, he also conveys that undertone of dark menace that we Schubertians find so irresistible, and demand. The Minnesotans here (1962) are almost the Top Tier orchestra they have since grown to be. Except for some thinness in the violins they are impeccable and then some. Bob Witrak as we've come to expect gives us a DXD remaster that does justice to the Mercury Eberenz-Piros-Fine-Cozart recording -- which is saying a lot! The DXD sound is immaculate throughout, except for what sounds like a tape speed problem that ruins the end of a very fine, at times Mahler-like second movement, by seriously souring the pitch. HDTT cannot fix the original, so I don’t fault them. Still, it’s a shame, even if it’s not enough to ruin the overall symphony experience. Finally, I must mention that when I sat down to sample this offering I figured I'd listen to a movement, or at most two, and then go on to some Strauss songs I had just acquired. Well, I stayed with the Schubert 9 all the way through. And it wasn't self-discipline; more like self-indulgence :-) --George Witterschein, Editor, NJ Audio Society monthly magazine