Here’s an exercise in comparisons, and not necessarily the ones you might expect. Herbert Blomstedt makes his DG debut at the magnificent age of 94, conducting one of Europe’s grandest and oldest orchestras – the band that premiered the ‘Great’ C major under Mendelssohn in 1839. Meanwhile, René Jacobs completes his Schubert cycle with one of the youngest, on instruments closer to the ones Schubert and Mendelssohn might have recognised.

Differences in corporate sound are par for the course, the plushly upholstered Gewandhaus strings and woodwind blend contrasting with the heterogeneous nature of historical instruments. Podium approaches, though, are not perhaps quite so predictable. Far from simply taking the relaxed, patrician view, Blomstedt painstakingly observes markings in the latest editions, correcting errors in 19th-century scores that have acquired the patina of tradition. Both recordings take all repeats, resulting in recordings of the two symphonies lasting a handsome 87-88 minutes. Blomstedt outpaces Jacobs in both the first and third movements of the Ninth, however, and is only about a minute more expansive in the Andante and finale. Jacobs, however, seems to want to rein in the full range of expression in places: the structural changes of tempo in the first movement – at the transition into the main Allegro and again at the coda – don’t signal the release of tension they do in other performances, and in Blomstedt’s recording.

Jacobs’s tempo for the Scherzo is surprisingly moderate, even listless, although it’s noticeably faster at the reprise after the Trio. Blomstedt maintains a constant tempo in the first movement, not relaxing into the second subject à la Boult, whereas Jacobs decelerates up to the new theme before continuing a tempo. Those expecting provocative speeds and micromanaged detail from Jacobs might be surprised at the centrality of his reading.

In terms of the Unfinished, Blomstedt appears to view it as a two-movement whole, the Andante bringing the work to a serene conclusion, whereas Jacobs’s tempo choices make it sound as if he sees the work as half of a four-movement symphony. His Andante is considerably swifter (8'24" to Blomstedt’s 11'07"), as if expecting a scherzo and finale to follow. (He also precedes each movement with the recitation of a poem in German, which can be programmed out.) On the one hand, Blomstedt’s conception is expansive, distilling a breathtaking stillness: Schubert as visionary, dreaming the Romantic symphony into being. On the other, Jacobs’s approach is more businesslike, letting the notes do the talking on their own terms. Thus Jacob’s pairing is of a piece with the earlier recordings in his cycle and forms a fine and fitting conclusion to it. Blomstedt’s Eighth and Ninth, on the other hand, like the Schubert recordings of Heinz Holliger (a mere youngster of 83) and the late Ninth of the octogenarian Boult, infuse a lifetime’s collected wisdom, experience and affection into a rather special recording.