My initial enthusiasm for Muti's Beethoven has cooled several degrees since I reviewed the First and Fifth Symphonies on LP (EL270449-1, 10/86), so it seemed a good idea to approach his Schubert with caution. Even so I was impressed. Muti's interpretation is very personal, though he shows unusual respect for the letter of the score, even to the point of maintaining some of Schubert's less than adequate orchestrations (e.g. the theme/accompaniment balance, bars 661 ff of the first movement). He observes all the repeats, and with obvious conviction: the crescendo lead-back to the opening of the finale is a wonderful surprise; how could anyone have thought this contrived?
But it is, as I said, a characteristic performance. Would it be possible to identify the conductor by the sound? Perhaps not, but one could make a fair stab at nationality or musical background. The orchestra still sounds like the Vienna Philharmonic, nevertheless one can pick out a southern influence here and there, most strikingly in the Verdian bounce and swagger Muti brings to some of the accompanying figures—and it's very effective too (rhythmic bite has rarely been the strong point of romantic Schubertians). One can even detect a hint of Rossini in the Andante's oboe theme. What bothers me is what sounds like an occasional intrusion of Italianate theatricality: the emotional bulges in the strings' initial phrases, the brief but highly rhetorical allargandos that disfigure the Trio and parts of the finale; or the lusingando cello phrases after the climax of the Andante. The energy is remarkable: none of the versions listed above can match Muti's sustained forward drive. Listening to Boult (EMI) however and particularly to Haitink (Philips), I begin to sense something that the Muti lacks: it's that typically Schubertian quality of ambivalence—on the one hand awe, mystery, even dread; on the other, superb vitality, delight in movement—a ''brisking about the life''. The creation of subtly ambiguous emotional states is not, I suspect, high on Muti's list of priorities. He manages to generate quite a lot of excitement during the finale's long pianissimo stretches, but it's the excitement of the theatre a preparation for the arrival of the Stone Guest at bar 1057, rather than a Schubertian intimation of mortality.
Comparisons? Well, I prefer Muti to either Levine (DG) or Solti (Decca), despite the refinement and architectural strength of the former, and the more obviously Viennese sound of the latter. His reading is more consistently compelling than any of the listed competitors, but Haitink, I feel shows a far broader understanding of the Schubertian musical personality. I wish he had more of Muti's muscular power, and I wish the recording hadn't muffled the impact of the orchestral attack; even so, his is the performance I'd choose to live with. Heard once or twice, Muti is arresting and thought-provoking; after that the interest begins to dwindle.R1 '8801023'