Chicago Symphony Orchestra & Carlo Maria Giulini - Schubert: Symphony No.4 in C minor, D.417 / Symphony No.8 in B minor, D.759 (Remastered) (2019) [Hi-Res]

Except that the playing is nowhere near at the same level as the conducting and the recording is nowhere near at the same level as the playing, this disc of early recordings of the great Italian conductor Carlo Maria Giulini would be a success. And despite the orchestras' extremely limited capacities, Giulini's charismatic personality, intrinsic sense of drama, and sheer strength of will achieve much: his 1954 Schubert B minor Symphony is almost entirely convincing and his 1956 Brahms E minor nearly totally persuasive. But the Milan Radio Symphony's scratchy strings and breathless winds do compromise the radiant lyricism of Giulini's Schubert and the Rome Radio Symphony's braying horns and keening flutes do wound the heroism of Giulini's Brahms, and not even the conductor's faith in the music and in his musicians can overcome the orchestras' "every man for himself" approach to ensemble. And if the Italian radio playing wasn't enough of an impairment, the live Italian radio sound is painfully antique with brief but agonizing bursts of static to remind the listener of its broadcast origins. (AMG)

Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Carlo Maria Giulini, conductor

Digitally remastered