Customer Reviews

Schubert: Symphony No. 4, Symphony in C

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
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Franz Schubert's Symphony No. 4 "Tragic" and Symphony in C major "Grand Duo" are superbly performed by the Failioni Orchestra of Budapest, under the direction of Michael Halasz. Both are part of a complete cycle of symphonies recorded for the Naxos label by this lesser known but excellent eastern European chamber orchestra. The Symphony No. 4, composed by Schubert in 1816, is performed with great warmth, passion, and dramatic gravitas. Schubert originally composed the "Grand Duo" in 1824 as a piano sonata for four hands. The Symphony in C is a mid-nineteenth century orchestration of the "Grand Duo" sonata by the great 19th century violinist Josef Joachim. Again, Halasz and the Failioni Orchestra completely and flawlessly capture the grand scale and sense of drama of this Schubert masterpiece. The CD's sound quality is excellent, greatly aided by the warm acoustics of the Italian Institute of Budapest, where the symphonies were recorded. Highly recommended!

I highly recommend this Naxos CD!! Not only is Schubert's 4th hauntingly beautiful and intense, but the Failoni Orchestra (I'd never heard of it) performs the pieces so well. The recording quality is for the most part, excellent (occasionaly however I can hear some clicks or something during the 4th movement of the 4th symphony). Buy this CD. You won't be disappointed - the music is absoultely wonderful and it's such a bargain.
Again, highly recommended.

Michael Halasz's Schubert Symphony 4 has been called stiff by some, but I recommend it. If Halasz isn't over the top with emotion, nuances and ritards at cadences, he is not insensitive and conducts Schubert's Symphony 4 with the Failoni Orchestra very sensibly. All the tempos are correct, and III, the Minuet, does not turn into a blur at a lightning speed, as do some recordings of this movement.

The "Grand Duo" Symphony in C is another reason to consider this disc, as it is equally well played, and recordings of the "Grand Duo" are hardly thick on the ground. Again, the Failoni play very well at Halasz's speeds. The "Grand Duo", however, is not really from Schubert's "top drawer" but is quite good; there is some repeated thematic material some listeners may find dull, but the orchestral version of this 2 piano work does work most of the time. I've heard alot worse with transcriptions, and enjoyed it alot.

The only other "Grand Duo" recording by an orchestra I know of is the Abbado/Chamber Orchestra of Europe (DG), which may be hard to find. I have not heard Abbado's "Grand Duo", so cannot recommend it. For Schubert 4, there is the excellent Ormandy/Phialdelphia (Sony "Essential Classics"), Bohm/Berlin (DG, in a set of 8 Schubert Symphonies), Baremboim/Berlin (CBS), and Kubelik/Vienna (EMI, on a Seraphim 2 disc reissue with Barbirolli's Schubert Ninth, but may be hard to find now.)

Given this information, I recommend Halasz, for price,
excellent sound, and playing by the Failoni Orchestra.

Michael Halasz has proven himself to be an effective conductor of the 19th Century German repertoire, and this disc is no exception. The Tragic is perhaps the trickiest of Schubert's symphonies to conduct. Halasz manages it with flying colors. Tempos are brisk but never rushed, and the orchestra blends its sections beautifully with fine attention to the changes in dynamics. This is perhaps the best Schubert 4th I've heard. Joachim's orchestration of the Grand Duo is a relative rarity in the concert hall and on disc. This performance makes a beautiful case for it, although you will not mistake it for an extra Symphony of Schubert. The sound of the orchestration is almost Brahmsian, and the orchestra plays it lovingly. For the Grand Duo alone, this is a disc that belongs in every Schubertian's collection.

This was not a work that I was attracted to, but this performance gives it special meaning, with its lively pace and clean production.