Symphonies No. 8 "Unfinished" and No. 9 "Great"

"Furtwangler's December 1951 reading of Schubert's Ninth Symphony remains an inspired classic of its kind, lyrical and tragic at once. Having recorded the Unfinished with his "mistress," the Vienna Philharmonic, Furtwangler turned to his "wife," the BPO, for this sensitive, rhythmically protean realization of this massive work. Electrifying Schubert from the legendary Wilhelm Furtwangler, remastered to astonishing effect - perhaps the best Schubert you will hear this year."
(***** Five Stars March 2010)

This disc couples two of the finest recordings of Schubert's two best-known symphonies. In Furtwängler's hands the Unfinished is etched with aching intensity as he conjures sadness, resignation, rage and, finally, solace. In the Great C Major Furtwängler exploits to the full Schubert's emotionally explosive music. In the slow movement, the heart of the symphony and of this performance, he opens up vistas of power, passion and communicative expressiveness that other accounts come nowhere near.The Finale is a tour de force of sustained momentum.