Search - Franz [Vienna] Schubert, Herbert Blomstedt, Dresden Staatskapelle :: Schubert: Symphonies 5 & 8

Centrist interpretations, but what a lovely orchestra

Santa Fe Listener | Santa Fe, NM USA | 04/21/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I have a lingering fondness for Blomstedt from his San Francisco years, despite his quotient of dull readings, because of some spectacular Strauss recordings (Zarathustra, Alpine Sym., etc), and then I lost track of him during his years in Dresden and Leipzig. On reacquaintance, his technique is as solid as ever and his instincts just as cautious. This "Unfinished" could use a good deal more drama and contrast, yet my ears were captivated by the sheer beauty of sound produced by the Dresden orchestra. They play with such a refined line and gorgeously plush sonority that I could listen past Blomstedt's centrist ideas. bot the Fifth and the "unfinished" are good readings---one always returns to the word "solid"--but if you want to hear the Dresdeners at their most alluring, this CD is a reat.



P.S. -- Coming back to this CD, I find myself more impressed. The Dresdeners raise the "Unfinished" far above the level of a routine subscription concert, and Blomstedt conducts with more dramatic impact than the rivals I compared him to (Bernstein and Giulini on DG, Szell on Sony). Five stars."