One of the great benefits of performing Classical and Romantic works in period style is the transformation that lean textures, agile rhythms, and fleet tempos can bring to an overly familiar work. Franz Schubert's Symphony No. 9 in C major, "The Great," is a much-loved classic that almost everybody knows in modern guise, with full orchestral sections, rich colors, and stately pacing. So the idea that a worthwhile performance could be transparent and quite brisk, with reduced forces and a more focused ensemble sound, may ...
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One of the great benefits of performing Classical and Romantic works in period style is the transformation that lean textures, agile rhythms, and fleet tempos can bring to an overly familiar work. Franz Schubert's Symphony No. 9 in C major, "The Great," is a much-loved classic that almost everybody knows in modern guise, with full orchestral sections, rich colors, and stately pacing. So the idea that a worthwhile performance could be transparent and quite brisk, with reduced forces and a more focused ensemble sound, may seem a bit far-fetched. But Philippe Herreweghe and the Royal Flemish Philharmonic have performed the symphony this way for PentaTone Classics, and the hybrid multichannel SACD is an ear-opener. The tempos may be a bit faster than is comfortable (for instance, Herreweghe takes the first movement at Allegro molto vivace, rather than Allegro ma non troppo), and the orchestra seems pared down, with something of the quality of a chamber orchestra, with the woodwinds predominating. But...
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