Customer Reviews

Schubert: Symphonies 8 & 9 / Krips

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Decca issued this recording on CD in 1990 (Amazon asin # B00000E46U). I eagerly scouped up that CD, having lovingly listened to an LP of the recording for many years. I was severely disappointed with the CD. The engineering showed the flaws of many 1980s CDs : scratchy violins, twangy woodwinds, crackily horns. I scrapped the CD quickly and returned to the LP repeatedly to enjoy this masterful recording.

When this CD was issued in 1997, I was very hesitant to try it out, being fearful of another letdown after Decca's earlier miserable failure. After a few trusty reviewers gave this CD good ratings I took the risk, and was amply rewarded. Decca did a total flip flop, and with this CD they did one of their best analog-to-digital transfers ever.

I won't go into any details about the merits of Krips reading or the orchestra's performance. Many before me, both at Amazon.com and in publications, have thoroughly covered the artistic achievements represented here. Krips will never become a household word like Karajan, Furtwangler, Szell, Bohm, or the many others who are associted with noteworthy recordings of the symphony many consider Schubert's crowning glory. Good as they may be, none of them can hold a candle to this reading. Few works of the stature of this Schubert Great C Major Symphony are represented in the recording archives by a single item that stands out clearly above ALL others; but that can certainly be said of this recording (in this particular Decca reissue that is).

Decca quickly dropped this series of CDs, so I would not be surprised if it disappears from the catalog soon. So, get it while you can.

Bottom line:

Composition : Masterpiece.
Performance : Masterpiece.
Engineering : Masterpiece.

Enough said?

Let's not mince words. This is an awesome performance of Schubert's 9th Symphony. Everything is nigh perfect, from the conducting to the orchestral execution to the engineering.

I first knew this performance as a teenager on a cheapie LP. It was a good $7 to spend, and I fell in love with the piece with Krips great conducting. The performance has a warmth that is sorely missing from other performances of the ninths, some of them hardly negligable (including the terrific EMI Barbirolli, the Vox Schippers with Cincinnati, and so on). The most amazing part of the performance is the trio, which seems to go on forever in lesser hands; here it is a delight.

I had the CD pressing before this reissue. Alas, the first CD reissue transfer lost a lot in warmth that my well-worn LP had; while I can't personally comment on the transfer of this particular reissue as I yet do not have it in hand, everything I've read and heard would lead me to believe that the transfers are superior to that first CD try

However, even if it was a bad transfer, I'd recommend that anyone who might even consider that they might perchance like Schubert's symphonic works, should add Krips' ninth to their libraries.

A half-century has passed since the ultimate Viennese kapellmeister, Josef Krips, recorded this remarkable version of Schubert's "Great" C Major symphony (No. 9) and still he has no competitors not named Furtwangler for a place at the top of the heap. While this issue may be NLA at the time being, you can still acquire this magical performance coupled with Schubert's Symphony No. 4 on London/Decca.

I once read a review of this when it was an LP where a critic wondered,. after hearing the Krips-Vienna collaboration, how so many other conductors keep this music so earthbound. Indeed, the same question is worth asking in 2008: how do so many conductors keep this music -- light and airy while simultaneously powerful and profound under Krips baton -- so earthbound?

To test that theory, I tried out the famous Karl Bohm-Berlin Philharmonic version, shopping on Amazon.com UK to find a version. It was nice and all...but earthbound. I returned to the Krips and was floated to the clouds by the music. As if this isn't enough, the 1958 recording still sounds fresh and eminently balanced 50 years later. What a miracle, this recording!

This issue includes a marvelous extra, Krips version of the "Unfinished" 8th Symphony with Vienna Philharmonic. Krips style is not like Kleiber, Solti or those who drive the music unmercilessly or use it to dredge the depths of human expression and emotions. Yet he has no apology to offer for his relatively literal interpretation, again performed with utmost taste and balance.

The music is so great, so humane, that it stands on its own oustide of personal interpretation. And with the Vienna Philharmonic doing the playing...well, can Heaven be far off when this disk is spinning? I think not.

Krips is often considered to have been a kapellmeister, and not always in the most flattering of ways; personally, I don't see why this is necessarily such a bad thing. Kapellmeisters have the advantage of knowing the music so well that they can occassionally catch fire. It just so happens that he caught fire with the greatest frequently in Schubert and Mozart. I think it's safe to say that Krips catches fire in the Schubert Ninth on this disc. Tempos are perfectly judged, and Krips succeeds in getting just the sort of sound he wanted from the LSO, which plays with an unmistakable joy and ebullience, in particular the marvelously buoyant string section. This is one of the very best stereo Ninths, along with Bohm/BPO, Szell/CO, Walter/Col SO and Klemperer/PO. The Unfinished here, while not quite on the same lofty plane as the Ninth, is very well played by the polished VPO ensemble. And while it lacks that last bit of pathos to make it truly transcendent, it's still an excellent performance worth hearing.
The sound is very good here, a warm and full analog, displaying the best characteristics of the late 1960s Decca sound. All parts are easily heard and there's good frequency response across the board. The liner notes are very good as well, providing information on the composer and the works at hand.
In all, this is a pretty irresistable disc if it can be found at a reasonable price. Fans of Schubert's Great owe it to themselves to hear this recording. Unreserved recommendation.

These symphonies have been recorded many times; Ive heard a lot and own several and I can say without reservation that this reading of the 9th by Krips stands alone.From the first note it just "sings"out and its not long before you realize that you're in on something very special.Kudos to performers and engineers alike.Coupled with a fine 8th you will return to this CD over and over again.

The "Unfinished" has fared well in recording studios, over the years, but there have been few successful Schubert Ninths. For many years this Krips version of the Ninth held the field, and it still is amongst the best in its latest digital remastering. A Viennese himself, Krips somehow was able to glimpse the souls of that city's great composers and to find the precise heart beat that pulsed throughout their works. I well remember hearing him conduct a Strauss waltz, and being exhilarated by the power of a simple, healthy and natural flow within a piece of music.

The excessive length of Schubert's Ninth can often overwhelm one with restlessness and boredom, but this performance will invigorate you. Recorded in London in 1958, it is coupled with an eminently satisfying "Unfinished" recorded in Vienna a decade later, providing altogether 77 minutes of great listening.