The acclaimed Schubert symphonies recordings by B’Rock Orchestra and René Jacobs now appear in a complete boxset. Finally recording Schubert offered Jacobs the opportunity to return to his first great musical love. His interpretation is rooted in profound research into early nineteenth-century developments and ideas, as well as a thorough exploration of Schubert’s music and persona. Jacobs perceives this cycle as a series of multiple contrasting tandems of symphonies, oscillating between Italianate lightness and darker currents of Romanticism, between elegant forms and expansive endeavours, all in line with Schubert’s dynamic, multi-faceted personality. Schubert’s symphonies never acquired the paradigmatic status of his contemporary Beethoven, but with these recordings, Jacobs makes a compelling case to value and understand them on their own terms. He performs these works together with B’Rock Orchestra, one of the most adventurous period instrument ensembles of our times, with whom he has built up a congenial working relationship.

In addition to his Schubert symphonies, multi-award-winning conductor René Jacobs released Haydn’s Stabat Mater (2023) on PENTATONE, together with the Kammerorchester Basel and Zürcher Sing-Akademie. B’Rock Orchestra returned to the label with Antwerp Requiem (2022) and Handel: Water & Fire (2023).