Were it not for a memory bank crammed full of stronger options, I probably would have enjoyed these worthy performances a good deal more than I did (they mark the completion of Muti’s second Schumann cycle on disc – Nos. 1 and 4 were reviewed in January 1995). Tempos are nicely gauged, the playing is mostly spot-on (violin desks do valiantly in the Second Symphony’s Scherzo) and Philips’s sound quality is warm, immediate and cleanly defined. However, attentive listening prompts impassioned visitations from a whole host of superior forerunners, all of whom proffer more compelling interpretative points of view than Muti does here.
Take, for example, Rafael Kubelik, twice recorded – first in Berlin for DG in the mid 1960s, then in Munich for CBS/Sony in the late 1970s – and with a rich fund of poetic commentary unmatched by any stereo rival. The first set scores by dint of its fuller orchestral textures and firmer body of tone, the latter by its greater refinement, cleaner string lines and extra phrasal flexibility. Both seem to me far more sympathetic to Schumann’s cause than Muti’s keen though blustery performances, especially where key transitions are concerned. The first movement of the Second is a fair case in point, with Muti rushing his fences and Kubelik pushing just hard enough to suggest a subtly quickened pulse-rate. True, Kubelik’s BPO recording omits the important first-movement exposition repeat (he reinstated it in Munich) and Muti takes the tiered development in his stride, but turn then to another rival – one that JS liked rather less than I do – by the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra under David Zinman, and a Mendelssohnian transparency helps to shed fresh light on Schumann’s much-maligned orchestration, even though the brass sound tends to harden at climaxes. Incidentally, Muti’s disc features a momentary dip in pitch at 0'07'' into the Second Symphony’s introduction (presumably a fault of the Vienna brass rather than of the Philips engineers).
The Rhenish seems to me the more memorable of the two performances, again vigorous and neatly phrased, with plenty of lively interplay between sections and a sweetly yielding violin tone. The “Cologne Cathedral” Feierlich sports nicely blended brass and the finale avoids excessive emphases. There is much to admire, but not enough to raise Muti above Kubelik, Sawallisch, Hans Vonk (an excellent digital contender, now imminent on EMI Forte), Sinopoli or Goodman (on period instruments).'