Schubert: Symphony No. 8 "Unfinished" – Dvořák: Symphony No. 9 "From the New World"

Sergiu Celibidache enjoys something of a cult following thanks to a conducting style that was derived from long, meticulous rehearsal, and often characterized by eccentric choices of tempo. He never made any commercial recordings so his legacy comprises live recordings or broadcasts, and his 17-year reign at the helm of the Munich Philharmonic gave us some fine, sometimes highly idiosyncratic performances. These two – the Schubert Unfinished, from 1988, and the Dvořák New World, from 1985—both impress for their attention to detail and some beautiful playing by the Munich orchestra.