I'll Get Around To Finishing It

Although I didn't realise it when I bought this disk back in the early days, it is another example of DG milking their Herbert von Karajan back catalogue. To me, it was just an opportunity for another reliable Berlin Philharmonic performance of standard repertoire at a budget price, containing as it does two Schubert symphonies No 8 ( Unfinished ) and No 9 ( The Great ). It's probably true that the symphony isn't what Schubert is mainly remembered for but it can be argued that these two symphonies were early pointers to the Romantic style that was to follow through the remainder of the 19th century and but for his early death, he may well have been at the forefront of that movement. They were certainly advanced enough to obtain that universal seal of approval of being initially deemed too diffficult by the orchestral players of Vienna. There are also certain confusions and mysteries surrounding the numbering and chronology of these late Schubert symphonies. The number nine was affixed much later when it had obtained the superstitious significance of being a fateful number after Beethoven, Bruckner, Dvorak and Mahler. And was the Unfinished really unfinished ? It certainly wasn't lack of time prior to his death that caused Schubert not to add further movements. This is a relatively elderly recording by the Berlin Phil from 1965 and the sound quality shows its' age. But as I said above, it is a reliable enough performance.