Schubert: Symphonies Nos. 4 & 6

Album review

Having been one of the most dazzling oboists of the 20th century, Heinz Holliger has decided to pursue a career as a conductor alongside his active role as a composer. He now continues his complete series of Schubert Symphonies here, paying great attention to detail and showcasing their composition and structure. There is no sadness in his version of Symphony No. 4 in C minor, despite having been given the title of “Tragic” by the young composer. It’s unknown why he did so, but it was probably because of its similarity to the main key in the Fifth Symphony and Beethoven’s “Corolian” Overture, which he greatly admired. Rather, the incredible openness and luminosity of the music reflects a care-free and light-hearted youth.

Two years later at just twenty years of age, Schubert composed Symphony No. 6, which is the least played and the most ambitious of the symphonies from his youth. It has the same dynamism but a greater command of form and structure, with an Italian-style finale similar to the music of Rossini that was very popular in Vienna at the time. Heinz Holliger also had the excellent idea of preceding this symphony with one of the two Overtures in the Italian style that date from the same period and are composed in the same pleasant style. © François Hudry/Qobuz