Schumann, Robert - Hans Rosbaud conducts Schumann - Sinfonieorchester des Südwestfunks Baden-Baden

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The SWR Rosbaud series presents most of Rosbaud’s recordings with the former symphony orchestra of the broadcasting corporation Südwestfunk in Baden-Baden. It was the orchestra he collaborated with the most, from 1948 until his death. His meticulous rehearsal practice ensured that it became one of the best European orchestras of the 1950s. Fifty years after his death, this edition is intended to make Hans Rosbaud's exceptional artistic qualities recognised beyond a limited circle of music experts as those of one the great maestros. Most of Rosbaud’s numerous recordings for the radio were known only to listeners of the radio station Südwestfunk in South-West Germany; as a result some myths about his music that were already popular in his lifetime have become firmly established. He was considered a conductor of the “new objectivity”, and stylised as an anti-romantic icon. His undoubted authority and integrity were used as an urgently needed counterbalance to Herbert von Karajan’s commercial sound fetishism and the routine glorification of Karl Böhm. Hans Rosbaud, however, combined enormous musical skills with a totally unassuming manner and never became a victim of grossly exaggerated vanity. Schumann's two symphonies are heard here in late recordings: the Spring Symphony was recorded in September 1960 and the Fourth Symphony in December 1961. Every detail is brought out precisely and unpretentiously, full of warmth and deep sensitivity. The recordings of the three solo concertos are markedly different, their most striking feature being Rosbaud’s ability to adapt to the respective soloists without going against his principles.