There’s a puzzling idea buzzing around among certain older German conductors these days: Franz Schubert’s musical kinship with Anton Webern. Like Michael Gielen on a previous Hänssler release, Hans Zender presents a program that alternates the bucolic and lyrical early 19th century ruminations of Schubert with the austere and elusive early 20th century constructions of Webern, in an attempt to illustrate the two composers’ alleged points of commonality. I suppose you could devote a great deal of time arguing the merits of this contention, but why bother? Instead, listen to Zender’s warm rendition of Schubert’s Symphony No. 1, played with gorgeously balanced winds and sweet sounding strings by the Baden-Baden orchestra. Lively tempos in the first and last movements give the music a lighthearted quality that is endearing–assuming that’s what you want, when there’s Harnoncourt’s far more energetic and biting performance with the Concertgebouw to consider.
But wait, since you’ve eaten your dessert first, you’re going to have to eat your spinach next. The astringent textures of Webern’s Variations perfectly suit that bitter vegetable, as do the SWR winds and brass, which aptly recreate this music’s cold, otherworldly sounds. We are treated to a second dessert with the Schubert Fourth, but this time it’s a bit underbaked. This “Tragic” symphony receives a reading that’s far too relaxed to live up to its title. Accents don’t bite the way they should (as they do with Harnoncourt), and the scherzo, taken at such a slow tempo, loses that sense of the risqué found in faster performances. Still, there is much beauty in the orchestra’s sound, especially the strings. And it’s quite possible that for some listeners the Harnoncourt way might be too “20th century”. In sum, this beautifully recorded disc will certainly serve to shock more than a few listeners out of their complacency, and in this respect it’s certainly quite successful when taken as a whole.
