Woe betide the music writer who alludes to "valedictory" recordings by conductor
Herbert Blomstedt, who at age 95 makes his debut on the
Deutsche Grammophon label (perhaps he didn't want to peak too soon there) with the orchestra that premiered
Schubert's
Symphony No. 9 in C major, D. 944, the
Gewandhaus Orchestra of Leipzig. The man is unstoppable, and though he has recorded these works before, these are not retreads of the earlier recordings.
Blomstedt takes all the repeats (which he has not done in the past), posing a significant physical challenge to the players.
Bernard Haitink famously said it would kill his musicians, and he wasn't going to do that, but with a 95-year-old on the podium, chugging along, who was going to ask for a break? In
Blomstedt's big-boned interpretation, it works. Things get off to a quick start, partly because
Blomstedt follows the now generally accepted cut time for the symphony's opening bars. He sustains the momentum through all the repeats, emphasizing the brass and looking toward the big hinges on which
Schubert's structure rests. It's not that
Blomstedt avoids lyricism; the second theme of the first movement in the
"Unfinished" symphony yields to none in Viennese tunefulness, but the
Symphony No. 9 in
Blomstedt's hands is a vast canvas that looks toward the future. The sound from the Gewandhaus is another major attraction in a recording that fully takes its place in the orchestra's storied history. ~ James Manheim
