Schmidt: Symphony No. 4; Variations on a Hussar's Song (1995)

Not half bad, but only half good, Franz Welser-Möst's recording of the Symphony No. 4 and the Hussar Variations of Franz Schmidt with the London Philharmonic is better than expected, but not as good as it could be. At its worst, Welser-Möst's Fourth is too fast, too light, and too maladroit -- the opening section's tempo should be Allegro molto moderato, not Welser-Möst's Allegro con brio; the Scherzo should collapse into chaos, not dither away into Welser-Möst's emptiness; and the closing section's close should echo in the ... Read More

Not half bad, but only half good, Franz Welser-Möst's recording of the Symphony No. 4 and the Hussar Variations of Franz Schmidt with the London Philharmonic is better than expected, but not as good as it could be. At its worst, Welser-Möst's Fourth is too fast, too light, and too maladroit -- the opening section's tempo should be Allegro molto moderato, not Welser-Möst's Allegro con brio; the Scherzo should collapse into chaos, not dither away into Welser-Möst's emptiness; and the closing section's close should echo in the void and not simply fade out into Welser-Möst's echo chamber. At its best, Welser-Möst's Fourth is deeply moving -- the central slow section of the work is a threnody of terrible grief and Welser-Möst's threnody has the intensity of the most terrible grief. And throughout the Hussar Variations, Welser-Möst delivers what may be the most structurally cogent and emotionally convincing performance of the work ever recorded. The London Philharmonic plays with more than enough power, if... Read Less