Orchestral Favourites, Vol. 25: Schubert

Hanover Band; Goodman, Roy

This new release features the most popular of Schubert’s orchestral repertoire, performed on original instruments by The Hanover Band led by Roy Goodman. Schubert wrote two overtures ‘in the Italian style,’ in November 1817. No doubt they were inspired by the Rossini craze that was sweeping Vienna. In the C major overture an Adagio with Rossinian wind solos precedes the main Allegro which concludes with a lively coda. Throughout the overture the jaunty Italianate rhythms and robust harmonic patterns of Schubert’s model are apparent, but the composer’s own gifts are also in evidence. From an early age Schubert was interested in composing for the theatre. He was commissioned to compose incidental music for Helmina von Chezy’s four-act play Rosamunde, which premiered in December 1823 and was withdrawn after only one performance. Schubert’s music, however, was edited and republished, and has retained popularity. Finally, the album presents his Symphony No 8 in B minor, ‘Unfinished.’ The most remarkable of his aborted compositions, the work stands in powerful contrast to his other unfinished symphonies, as the first two movements, which he completed to the detail, were among the finest he ever wrote.

Price: $20.98

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