It’s a welcome recording that reminds us of the many virtues of a great work, making it sound perpetually fresh and new. Zubin Mehta infuses Schubert’s “Great” C major symphony with so much sunshine that we easily revel in sheer sensual delight. The Israel Philharmonic winds, while not as colorful as the Royal Concertgebouw’s, play with the requisite bucolic joy that so characterizes this work– especially in the first and third movements. The brass are an imposing presence, but not rudely overwhelming in the second movement’s climax (as were the Chicago Symphony’s on Carlo Maria Giulini’s Deutsche Grammophon recording). Instead Mehta’s careful balancing allows the strings’ critical rhythmic argument to be heard. His brisk tempos and light textures keep the music flowing along steadily so that we really don’t mind the rarely heard first movement exposition repeat. The finale’s moderately quick pace poses no problem for the strings as they cleanly execute their repeated triplet figures. And yes, Mehta thankfully reads Schubert’s final chord as an accent, not a diminuendo. Decca realized an unusually warm and lush sound for this orchestra, far more enjoyable than the typical Mann Auditorium production.
