Robert Schumann is about as interesting you can get when it comes to historical musical figures. From his courtship with Clara Wieck and their subsequent marriage, his relationship with the likes of Mendelssohn and Brahms, the bizarre contraptions he built that eventually destroyed his ability to play the piano, and finally his mental instability that ultimately ended his career, Schumann never fails to disappoint. The same can be said of his symphonies, which provide a relatively good cross-section of his compositional output and delineate his growth and his treatment of the medium. Having all four of the symphonies together in a collection such as this one makes such a comparison easier, although the liner notes are somewhat lacking in providing sufficient historical background.
The
Philharmonia Orchestra (or the
New Philharmonia Orchestra for the Fourth Symphony) under the direction of
Riccardo Muti does a suitable job of representing Schumann's search for something new to offer the symphony. While the overall execution in these recordings from the late 1970s intonation, articulation, and ensemble -- is good, their sound quality is not always ideal. The lower end of the orchestra is often muddy and indistinct; this is especially true of the Fourth Symphony, whose sound is overly reverberant throughout. In symphonies No. 1 and No. 3, the tympani is extremely aggressive and sticks out inappropriately. While this collection is generally an acceptable introduction to these four great symphonies, listeners may also wish to consider the
Cleveland Orchestra's recordings under
Szell for a more well-balanced rendition.