SCHUBERT, F.: Symphony No. 9, "Great" (C. Davis) (Staatskape

It's interesting that many artists will do things on recordings that they would seldom do live. Colin Davis recorded this same symphony with this same orchestra for RCA. That performance was unfailingly musical, but perhaps a touch stodgy, an effect exaggerated by the widespread adoption of repeats that are universally omitted in this live rendition. The result: no stodginess, even though in most respects the interpretation itself is almost identical. Davis still strikes me as a touch too relaxed in the scherzo (compare with Munch, or Böhm's thrilling DG recording with this same orchestra), but I'm willing to grant that he captures a surely idiomatic Gemütlichkeit that avoids dullness when the movement isn't half again as long as it ought to be--at least at this tempo. One thing is certain: the playing of the orchestra is beyond glorious, even better than it was for RCA. The woodwinds are invariably sweet-toned and characterful, with a superb oboe soloist in the Andante. Horns, trump