Album: Schubert, Symphony No 9 / Five German Dances – BFO / Fischer (Channel Classics)

Iván Fischer's reading of Schubert's Great Symphony in C Major with the Budapest Festival Orchestra lends this glorious extrapolation of Beethovenian style an audaciously rich flavour with no loss of crispness.

The timbre is almost that of Dvorák – dark and herbal – while the sense of anticipation in the longest, broadest phrases is palpable. The architecture is magnificent, the detailing absurdly delightful. Silky and playful, the German Dances are best heard as an aperitif.