Audition: Schubert Symphony No. 9 - early gramophone options - a brief survey

 It seems obvious now that great conductors like to test their mettle with Schubert’s ‘Great’ symphony,  as a result pre 1956 listeners had a great choice of versions.

This list was compiled from recommendations in Record Guides published in UK and the United States

1938 - London Symphony Orchestra/Bruno Walter

1939/40 - Amsterdam Concertgebouw Orchestra/Wilhelm Mengelberg

1940 - Chicago Orchestra/Fredrick Stock

1941 - Philadelphia Orchestra/Arturo Toscanini

1943 - BBCSO/Adrian Boult

1949 - Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra/Herbert von Karajan

1952 - Amsterdam Concertgebouw Orchestra/Josef Krips

1953 - NBC Symphony Orchestra/Arturo Toscanini

1956 - New York Philharmonic Orchestra/Bruno Walter

PS - it’s quite a list but missing any of the 3 Furtwangler recordings (one in 1942 and two in the early Fifties). Note no Klemperer either as far as I know...