- Artist:
- Herbert Blomstedt
Schubert: Symphonies No 8 Unfinished & 9 The Great (2CD)
The 94-year-old "elder statesman of classical music" (The New York Times) reunites with the Gewandhaus Orchestra for a Schubert program featuring Symphonies No. 8 ("The Unfinished") and No. 9 ("The Great"), released in time for his 95th birthday on July 11. The choice of repertoire for his late debut with Deutsche Grammophon was quickly made: Herbert Blomstedt, at 94 the world's "longest-serving" conductor and still one of the most vital, chose Franz Schubert's last two symphonies, the "Unfinished" in B minor and the "Great" in C major. With the Gewandhaus Orchestra, which he presided over as Gewandhauskapellmeister from 1998 to 2005 and to which he has been closely associated as honorary conductor ever since, he had an orchestra at his disposal that is very familiar with Schubert's music.