All Baroque roads lead to Romanticism, and Jordi Savall knows this all too well. His rendition of the Beethoven Symphonies revisits the original manuscripts, dynamics, tempos and instruments, and Savall enacts this same approach with Franz Schubert, who died a few months after the great German composer. With this recording, made in September 2021 in the collegiate church of Cardona in Catalonia, the valiant octogenarian brings his own spiritual vision to Schubert. This is further affirmed by the album’s title: Transfiguration.
The Catalan violinist is, above all, a humanist and a lyricist, two qualities that resonate particularly well with the music and spirit of Franz. Savall graces us with a vision of the Unfinished Symphony that contemplates the infinite without ever feeling heavy, instead turning towards the inner light.
Music served as a vessel for Schubert, an outlet for his existential pain. Throughout his work, which culminates in the Ninth Symphony in C major, the Viennese composer expresses his aspiration for a youth freed from the inexorable presence of illness. This zest for life finds a particular resonance here in Jordi Savall’s poignant vision of the last two symphonies. Savall provides much more than just another version, creating an interpretation that penetrates deep into the depths of Schubert's distress, whilst still maintaining the lively desire for brotherhood that also fills the composer's great creations. © François Hudry/Qobuz