“Freshly made DSD recordings always make me feel like a thin scrim of noise has been lifted from the signal. This one offered a remarkable sense of ease and relaxation at the top end of the string section. It was well defined but sweet, not acerbic, and I could more easily hear the violas and the cellos layered in between the violins and basses. Lucid, elegant sonorities hinted at hidden emotional depths. This is how Schubert must have intended this music to be heard.”
Mark Fleischmann
Home Theater
“In performances characterized by panache, vitality, and just enough rhythmic variety to keep our attention focused, Gordan Nikolic leads the venerable Netherlands Chamber Orchestra in Franz Schubert’s Symphonies Nos. 4 in C Minor, the socalled “Tragic,” and 5 in Bflat Major. They also emphasize the lyrical element that runs through the composer’s early symphonies.”
Dr Phil Muse
Atlanta Audio Society
“Gordan Nikolic and the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra play with both intensity and charm; there is the sense of live music making in the results, and there are excellent wind and horn solos to be heard. PentaTone’s high resolution recording is very fine.”
Peter Joelson
Audiophile Audition
“Early Schubert symphonies tend to be neglected, but however indebted to Haydn and Mozart they may be, they are still serious, substantial pieces, and it’s always good to have the opportunity to hear them in performances that make exactly this point. Warm, clean sonics in all formats add to the disc’s appeal.”
David Hurwitz
ClassicsToday.com
Editor’s Choice
“Early Schubert masterpieces played with the clarity of chamber music. ….An excellent issue of distinctive performances in a relatively rare coupling. Vivid recording in Super Audio.”
Edward Greenfield
Gramophone