Gewandhausorchester Leipzig & Herbert Blomstedt - Schubert: Symphonies Nos. 8 "Unfinished" & 9 "The Great" (2022) [Hi-Res]

The choice of repertoire for his late debut with Deutsche Grammophon was quickly made: Herbert Blomstedt, at 94 the "longest-serving" conductor in the world and still one of the most vital, chose Franz Schubert's last two symphonies, the "Unfinished" in B minor and the "Great" in C major. With the Gewandhaus Orchestra, which he presided over as Gewandhauskapellmeister from 1998 to 2005 and to which he has been closely associated as honorary conductor since then, he had an orchestra at his disposal that is very familiar with Schubert's music. The conductor had already recorded the Schubert symphony cycle with the Staatskapelle Dresden in the 1980s, but he wanted to dedicate himself to these two works once again - and with an orchestra that has a lively tradition with Schubert. This tape goes back almost to the composer's lifetime. The Gewandhaus Orchestra premiered the Ninth Symphony in 1839 under the direction of Felix Mendelssohn. On "Schubert - Symphonies", recorded last November at the Gewandhaus, the intimate affection that unites conductor and orchestra is evident.

Gewandhausorchester Leipzig
Herbert Blomstedt, conductor