Schubert: The Symphonies

Harnoncourt’s revolutionary Schubert from Graz

Nikolaus Harnoncourt was closely associated with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe throughout his life. The ensemble was formed by former musicians of the European Community Youth Orchestra and was committed to the pan-European idea from the very beginning. Harnoncourt recorded his award-winning Beethoven symphony cycle with the orchestra.

In July 1988, Harnoncourt and the COE performed a spectacular Schubert cycle at the Styriarte Festival in Graz, which he had founded, and which was to revolutionize the perception of symphonies to date, especially Schubert’s early symphonies. The concerts were recorded by the ORF at the time and are now being released for the first time: Harnoncourt continues to prove himself an ideal interpreter of Schubert’s music. A cycle that has lost none of its revolutionary explosive power.