This isn’t Karl Böhm’s well-known Schubert Ninth with the Berlin Philharmonic, but a live version broadcast by (then) East German radio in 1979. It’s similar to the studio version, with remarkably consistent tempos, but it’s also notably more exciting and for that reason a lot more fun. Böhm always did well by this symphony: his fleet, energetic interpretation belies the image of him as a stodgy conductor in the core classical repertoire. All three quick movements have real animal high-spirits, particularly given the uninhibited brass playing of the Staatskapelle Dresden. The Andante also rises to one whopper of a climax, and moves along smartly too. If there’s any drawback, it’s simply that the engineering is a bit congested, and not as fine as many other East German productions of the period. But if you like your Schubert Ninth raw and edgy, this certainly is a performance worth owning, and just the sort of collector’s item deserving of “on demand” availability from Arkivmusic.com.
