Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Symphonies Nos. 38-41 (Charles Mackerras)

Information

Composer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

CD1:

• (01-03) Symphony No. 38 in D major "Prague", K. 504
• (04-07) Symphony No. 39 in E flat major, K. 543

CD2:

• (01-04) Symphony No. 40 in G minor, K. 550
• (05-08) Symphony No. 41 in C major "Jupiter", K. 551

Scottish Chamber Orchestra
Charles Mackerras, conductor

Date: 2008
Label: Linn
http://www.linnrecords.com/recording-mozart-symphonies.aspx

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Review

Thoroughly modern Mozart – cheerful playing under a great interpreter

There is no need to argue the credentials of Sir Charles Mackerras as a Mozart interpreter, so let us just say that this double CD of the composer’s last four symphonies contains no surprises – it is every bit as good as you would expect. Like many modern-instrument performances these days it shows the period-orchestra influence in its lean sound, agile dynamic contrasts, sparing string vibrato, rasping brass, sharp-edged timpani and prominent woodwind, though given Mackerras’s long revisionist track-record it seems an insult to suggest that he would not have arrived at such a sound of his own accord. And in any case his handling of it – joyously supported by the playing of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra – is supremely skilled; rarely will you hear such well judged orchestral balance, such effective marrying of textural transparency and substance. The Jupiter in particular has a wonderful bright grandeur, yet reveals details in the brilliant contrapuntal kaleidoscope of the finale that too often go unheard.

Seldom, either, will you hear such expertly chosen tempi; generally these performances are on the quick side, but rather than seeming hard-driven they exude forward momentum effortlessly worn. Nowhere is this better shown in the slow movements (even with all their repeats they never flag, yet their shifting expressive moods are still tenderly drawn), but also conspicuously successful are the slow introductions to Symphonies Nos 38 and 39 (the former ominous but alert, the latter full of intelligent anticipation with shivery violin lines falling like cold rain down the back of the neck) and the Minuet movements of Nos 40 and 39 (whose cheeky one-in-a-bar lilt does wonders for its tootly clarinet Trio).

These are not Mozart performances for the romantics out there, but neither are they in the least lacking in humanity. No, this is thoroughly modern-day Mozart, full of wisdom and leaving the listener in no doubt of the music’s ineffable greatness.

-- Lindsay Kemp, Gramophone

More reviews:
http://www.classical-music.com/review/mozart-507
http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/gxjw
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2008/Apr08/Mozart_Mackerras_ckd308.htm
http://classicalsource.com/db_control/db_cd_review.php?id=5484
http://www.theguardian.com/music/2008/feb/01/classicalmusicandopera.shopping5
http://www.musicalcriticism.com/recordings/cd-mackerras-mozart-0308.shtml
http://www.allmusic.com/album/mozart-symphonies-nos-38-41-mw0001869842
http://www.amazon.com/Mozart-Symphonies-38-Through-41/dp/B0011J2R0K

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 in Salzburg – 5 December 1791 in Vienna) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. Mozart showed prodigious ability from his earliest childhood. Already competent on keyboard and violin, he composed from the age of five and performed before European royalty. Till his death in Vienna, he composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, operatic, and choral music. Mozart is among the most enduringly popular of classical composers, and his influence is profound on subsequent Western art music.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolfgang_Amadeus_Mozart

***

Charles Mackerras (17 November 1925 – 14 July 2010) was an Australian conductor. He was an authority on the operas of Janáček and Mozart, and the comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan. Mackerras was known for his broad repertoire, expertise in Czech music, and use of period performance practices with modern orchestras. Mackerras recorded three Mahler symphonies and all of the symphonies of Mozart, Brahms and Beethoven. His final recording was Suk's Asrael Symphony in 2007. His final public performance saw him conduct Così fan tutte at Glyndebourne in the summer of 2010.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Mackerras

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

FLAC, tracks

Links in comment

Enjoy!