Süddeutsche Philharmonie, Alexander Von Pitamic & Alfred Scholz - Schubert: Symphony No. 4 in C Minor, Symphony No. 5 in B Flat Major (1976) [Hi-Res]

Audio Fidelity presents an incredibly unique story with this legacy recording. In the 60s and 70s, Alfred Scholz prolifically produced budget recordings using an "invented" ensemble, sometimes taking on the pseudonym Alberto Lizzio. The fantastical characters that performed in his "ensembles" were designed to add a sense of prestige to the releases. Nonetheless, the performances and the players were top-tier, and this high-quality audio restoration makes that clear.

The most common orchestra used by Scholz in his productions was the Süddeutsche Philharmonie or "South German Philharmonic". This was originally a short-lived pick-up ensemble assembled by Scholz from members of the Czech Philharmonic in Prague and the Bamberg Symphony around 1968.

Many labels throughout history used the recordings originally obtained from Alfred Scholz, who had a catalog of about 2000 titles. Most of these were analogue recordings made between 1968 and 1970 for Polyband and Primaton and by the Austrian Radio prior to 1977. The recordings by the Austrian Radio were sold in 1977 to PREMIS, a company owned or controlled by Scholz.

Here, the clever Scholz and his like-minded ensemble present the "Tragic" Symphony No. 4 by Franz Schubert. Given its nickname by its composer, the "Tragic" was completed in April 1816, a year after his Third Symphony, when he was 19 years old. It was not premiered publicly, however, until November 19, 1849, in Leipzig, more than two decades after Schubert's death.