SCHUBERT: SYMPHONY No. 9 "THE GREAT"; ROSAMUNDE OVERTURE

The Barbirolli Society and Dutton Laboratories have reissued more brilliant sessions by the great British conductor Sir John Barbirolli. The first CD of this two-disc set features his 1953 recording of Schubert's 9th Symphony, 1948 Rosamunde Overture, and 1949 Mendelssohn Octet-Scherzo, all originally made for HMV. The second disc is all Brahms -- a 1952 HMV recording of the 3rd Symphony and the Double Concerto, featuring cellist Andre Navarra and violinist Alfred Campoli (!), from 1959 and originally made for Pye. All selections are mono except for the Brahms Double which is in stereo. Like other releases in this series, the performances have been digitally remastered from the original masters superbly by Michael J. Dutton. My reason for withholding a fifth star is that these are not Barbirolli's definitive stereo accounts of the two Symphonies -- those were available in currently out-of-print EMI Seraphim titles, though the Schubert 9th has recently been reissued by B.S./Dutton (see my review). With that being said, Barbirolli Society CDs are certainly a treat, but they don't stay around very long. Buy this JB title while you can!--Michael B. Richman Listen to sample