Customer Reviews

Schubert: Symphonies Nos. 3, 5, & 6 (Great Recordings Of The Century)

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

I purchased this disc for three reason: Schubert's symphonies are my favorites, I wasn't familiar with the Beecham recordings, and I wanted to see what the "ART" remastering process was going to do the recording.

Beecham and the RPO: I have never heard music where the conductor and orchestra were this sympathetic (empathetic might be a better term) to the work. For the first time, I've heard these symphonies performed as if they were written by Schubert, for the conductor and orchestra recording. Simply stunning.

On a technical (recording) level, there is much less tape hiss present than any other orchestal recording I've heard from the period (1956 & 1960). No. 6 is the "noisiest" (1956), with slight hiss in No. 5 (1960), and almost none in No. 3 (1960). Overall, hiss present is not to the detriment of the listening experience. There doesn't appear to be any sacrifice of air. Decay sounds natural, and soundstage is good. I don't know if this is due to "ART" remastering, but you can here sticky valves, pages turn, and chairs squeak.

Simply a wonderful disc.

Hearing these wonderful performances in this excellent EMI transfer is an unalloyed delight. The sound here is FAR better than both EMI's earlier CD issue and the original LPs. I think Amazon critic Jed Distler is in error here - the sound may not be state of the art, but it is very pleasant indeed.

Distler also cites the Carlos Kleiber/VPO Third, and Reiner's "regimented precision" in the 5th as preferred alternatives. I disagree. The Kleiber strikes me as hard driven and charmless (his live Chicago account on Melodram was more sympathetic). Reiner is sure "regimented" all right: I think it sounds rather uptight and pushy. If you are looking for a more "classical" approach to the 5th, the Fritz Busch account was the "mot juste." Hopefully it will be on CD shortly: the Winterthur Symphony was a lesser ensemble than Reiner's Chicago, but they gave Busch a brisk but subtly nuanced Schubert 5th that I much prefer to Reiner's.

In the 6th, Beecham really has no competition: this is THE Schubert 6th. If I were to pick one CD to persuade a newcomer that Beecham was not only the greatest British conductor, but one of the greatest of ALL conductors, it would be this utterly delightful issue of early Schubert symphonies.

Took time from my Crumb and Beethoven and Mahler and Kronos and Henze and Shostakovich and was brilliantly and delightfully surprised. Sure the recordings are over 40 yrs old, and Beecham's biases are not lost on me, but this disc shines with bright, lively yet reserved spontaneity; the woodwinds are alone worth the price, and what Beecham does by way of shaping I only wish Schubert could have heard (seems they weren't even published till a half century after he died). You won't go wrong, especially on the originally twinned Third and Fifth.

Some recordings are just hors concours. It's not necessarily that they are the `best' version available - that's far too absolute and arrogant a judgement to pass. It's rather that there will never be anything quite like them again. Yes, they are superlative performances - by definition. But there's something more, something perhaps indefinable, but instantly recognisable. We will not see their like again - though we may see something else equally as impressive. The first Callas Tosca is probably one; Furtwangler's Tristan another. I'd include Beecham's Boheme and perhaps his Carmen, too. Toscanini's Otello, definitely; Giulini's Verdi Requiem and Britten's own War Requiem, yes; Solti's Ring possibly. And so on. Readers will have other additions of their own, no doubt. But chances are they will tend to be large-scale works.

Here's a very strong candidate for that honour roll which is on a smaller scale. These are perfect gems of performances of these early Schubert symphonies, all three. Beecham brings to bear all his renowned wit, subtlety, rhythmic élan and inimitable melodic phrasing to lift them way above their usual allotted position as minor works in the Schubert canon. I defy you to restrain a smile of unalloyed pleasure from spreading across your face as you listen to this disc as Sir Thomas exercises the magic to which, at times like this, one believes only he holds the key. These days there are many other estimable performances of these symphonies, many of them far more authentic, but not one of them is quite in Beecham's `class'.

A Great Recording of the Century? Most definitely.

The special allure of these performances is that they keep a smile on the listener's face. Beecham was rough and ready technically, and the sonics are showing their age--though not badly at all in this excellent new remastering--yet none of that matters. Beecham elicits such naturalness and good humor in these performances, you realize that behind the simplicty Beecham has lived with Schubert for many years.

Go back to the Sym. #5 and 6 he recorded on 78s in 1938 and 1944 (they are available in terrific transfers on Dutton) and you'll hear the same elan, the same deft touch with melody. Beecham connoisseurs prefer those earlier versions for their extra dash of dramatic contrast, but these sunnier recordings in stereo are exemplary in their own right--they bring the kind of joy one never hears, alas, in even the best modern readings.

P.S.--Making the original LPs used up many recording dates, odd considering how spontaneous eveyrthing sounds. Sym. #3 and 5 come from several sessions in Paris and London across a year's span in 1958-59, while Sym. #6 took two separate London sessions in 1955.

These performances are informed by a late 19th Century view of Schubert. Today, with perfromances available by Abbado and Halasz, we are used to the early symphonies of Schubert going by briskly with a lot of snap and elan. Beecham had a more expansive view of Schubert, even in works he wrote in his teens. The tempos in the middle movements of No. 3 and the last movement of No. 6 are quite slow, although, in fairness to Beecham, I have heard Sir Colin Davis and the N.Y. Philharmonic choose a similar tempo in No. 6 in a 1993 performance. Nevertheless, I never feel that Beecham's tempos drag. He always has a delectable touch with the woodwind phrasing or the violins' bowing that makes his interpretations delightful. Indeed, some people might not be accustomed anymore to hearing these works played by a full orchestra. All I can say is that their ensemble is stunning, and they play with verve and panache. Beecham always insisted that his Royal Philharmonic was the finest orchestra in the world, and on the basis of this CD it would be hard to disagree with him. The sound engineering in Symphonies Nos. 3 and 5 is superb, full, with lovely tone, and beautiful presence. No. 6 is an earlier recording, and the sound here is more passable than ingratiating. Still, whatever Schubert symphony CDs you have in your collection, you must consider adding Beecham's to them. His Fifth is even better than Bruno Walter's, which is the recording I grew up on and which I never expected to be surpassed.

Sir Thomas Beecham's recordings of Schubert's Symphonies 3, 5, and 6 is one of the great recordings of the stereo era: no doubt about it! Recorded in the late 1950s with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in warm, glowing stereo sound, this has already earned a place and will go down in history as one of the great recordings, and should be in every Classical music lover's collection. Sir Thomas had the qualities which really match Schubert's soul: warmth, grace, wit, and a natural unfolding which is never eccentric or harsh. Beecham's Schubert is the best recording of these three works, along with Bohm/Berlin (DG), Barenboim/Berlin (CBS), and Walter/Columbia (Sony, Sym. 5 only).

Beecham also recorded Schubert Symphonies 1 and 2 with the Royal Philharmonic in mono, but very good sound in the early 1950s, now available on Sony UK. This should also be in every Schubert lover's collection, as these are superb performances with the same qualities as this EMI recording.

This is a beautiful and engaging traversal of early Franz Schubert symphonies by Thomas Beecham and his orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic.

I've been comparing the Beecham interpretation to a couple of rival recordings and think this disc is just excellent. The best work on this disc is without a doubt the 5th symphony, a mini-masterpiece from 1816, when Schubert was just 19. It's a relatively easygoing work, fluid, with pleasant melodies and expert thematic development. I have also been listening to the Pablo Casals version with his Prada orchestra from the early 50s and, while Casals is very good, of course, this Beecham version is bit better paced and more graceful. The 3rd symphony is also given a very nice performance, with a lot of oomph. The 6th symphony is not a favorite work of mine but I'd compare Beecham's interpretation favorably to the version by Riccardo Muti and the Vienna Philharmonic, which is also good. So Beecham constrasts well with quality alternative offerings.

The sound quality is very good. It doesn't have the detail of more modern recordings, of course, but is smooth and attractive, so I agree with the other reviewers who have praised this release. Beecham's label, EMI, was really the foremost label circa 1960 and the results show here, like they do with the exceptionally recorded two big Mozart operas conducted by Carlo Maria Giulini.

Highly recommended. Beautiful stuff.

Sir Thomas was known for his ribald sense of humor, but all is decorum here. This could easily pass for 19th century salon playing of the proper, but tepid, order; except for a couple of moments in the 5th symphony, there's nothing to ruffle the doilies here. Beecham could do wonderful things (I think his 'Carmen' is still the best), but this isn't one of them. This is the kind of conducting that sends me running for Szell, Reiner, or Kubelik.

Beecham was always at his best where lyricism and light touch were needed.
In these works his ability to impart such qualitites to an entire orchestra is readily apparent. Schubert's music sparkles and dances under Beecham's leadership. I have several excellent modern versions, but these under Beecham remain my favorites, especially the performance of the 6th symphony.
Note: Mr. Distler, a reviewer frequently cited by Amazon, always seems to feel it necessary to bring in other performers by way of comparison. And he never writes a review without flip-floping, going back and forth. He's always writing "on the one hand" and then writing "then again, on the other hand...". In this review he starts out attacking the sound, then he compliments the conductor, then he knocks the conductor's hold on ensemble by praising two of music's most notorious martinets, then ends by saying it's a wonderful performance. Good grief. Just once I wish he would stick to the recording at hand, say yeah or nay, and be done with it.