Not the spirited, open-air woodwind detailing in the Symphony's outer movements of Abbado, or his pointing of accents, but a more boisterous, determined, Beethovenian thrust and body. And why not? The Symphony is in the same key as Beethoven's Fourth, and Schubert's outer movements share with Beethoven's finale an exhilarating moto perpetuo drive. There is the faintest hint that, at Muti's speed for the first movement, the Vienna strings don't negotiate all those quavers with the precision of their COE counterparts; but, in the second movement's Haydnesque theme, next to Muti's Vienna strings' aristocratic elegance, the COE strings sound relatively plain. Muti is a degree sturdier than Abbado in the third movement Minuet, but the result is strong rather than heavy; Goodman may point to the Minuet's Allegro vivace marking as justification for his much swifter pace, but the Trio's cheeky answer to the Minuet's serious C minor manner is more effective if the Minuet, as a whole, is slower. Muti's finale is, along with the new Harnoncourt (12/93), the most exciting I've heard—incidentally, there seems to be a small redistribution of woodwind parts in the second subject here (e.g. bar 118, 0'55'', clarinet instead of bassoon).
More C minor at the start of the Rosamunde Overture and Muti finds a greater range of expression than most in this piece. Just when you thought, for example, that the C major allegro was surprisingly gemutlich, the first forte brings a dramatic increase in pace; this is, after all, music for the theatre, and I see no reason to bring out Beckmesser's slate. Besides, in complete contrast, the Andante from the ensuing Ballet Music—a sort of lullaby duet for pairs of woodwind and a haze of strings—is potential Viennese gold; and, as gently unfolded and shaped by Muti, that potential is fully realized. EMI's sound, from the Vienna Konzerthaus, offers an ideal balance between all sections of the orchestra and between blend and separation of textures.'