Track Listing

1. Symphony No 38 in D major (`Prague'), K.504 Symphony
2. No 39 in E flat major, K.543
3. Symphony No 40 in G minor, K.550
4. Symphony No 41 in C major (`Jupiter'), K.551

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3494 in Music
• Released on: 2008-02-25
• Number of discs: 2
• Format: Hybrid SACD
• Dimensions: .26 pounds
• Running time: 139 minutes

Review
Classical CD of the Week: Possibly their finest record to date...I don't know more enthralling accounts of the G minor and the Jupiter on disc. --The Sunday Times (5 Stars)

Review
Mozart's last four symphonies...have rarely shone as luminously as in these uplifting accounts. --The Observer

Review
Orchestral Disc of the Month: 'exhilarating ... ravishing' --BBC Music Magazine (5 Stars)

Customer Reviews

Superb hybrid HIP performances of Mozart's "big" symphonies
Sir Charles's performances recorded here cover the last four symphonies by Mozart, and these are very good indeed in their category of hybrid (mixture of modern and period (brass) instruments) historically informed performances. Phrasings are articulate and smooth at the same time and textures are utterly clear if not quite as colourful as in all-period instruments recordings. Most importantly, taking all repeats, Sir Charles has successfully kept his listeners in view both these symphonies overall monumental dimensions and the unique finess and beauty in each of their numerous details. SCO plays gloriously and Linn's engineering is equally outstanding. All lovers of Mozart symphonies should take a listen at this.

Benchmark Mozart
It is the mark of a fine conductor that s/he treat Mozart and Haydn symphonies with he same reverence as, say, Beethoven or Bruckner. In his last four symphonies Mozart establishes a standard for symphonic writing that later composers, Beethoven included, were to respond to and build on. Mackerras has long been a Mozartian par excellence, although his earlier recordings of these symphonies are not, in this reviewer's opinion, of the best. These new recordings with the SCO certainly are.

Mackerras adopts a modern approach to these works that is informed by 'period instrument' performances, while still allowing the sort of spaciousness one tends to find in the performances of more 'old school' conductors - Bohm and Bernstein, for example, are both worth hearing in this repertoire, but Mackerras has the edge on both; he is somehow that bit more 'Mozartian'. The SCO is outstanding as always, responding stylishly and gracefully to Mackerras's meticulous detail.

I've been looking for some time for a modern instrument recording of these works that can stand repeated listening and I found it in these; in fact, for me, Mackerras offers the most rounded and consistently pleasing account of these great works and I would recommend them whole-heartedly.

Very good, but a few notes of caution
This set has garnered near-universal praise from the critics, and most of it is well-deserved. Mackerras is an experienced Mozartian, and these lively and beautifully shaped performances have a life-affirming quality that is hard to resist. He uses a hybrid orchestra with modern woodwind and strings, albeit using vibrato sparingly, and period brass. His tempi are generally swift, and they work well on the whole (with the possible exception of the minuet in the G Minor, where the fast pace seems to deprive the movement of some of its darker quality).

There are, however, a couple of points you might like to consider before buying. First, Mackerras takes all of the repeats. Whether that's really necessary these days is debatable. The original purpose of repeating a section of music was so that listeners could absorb it fully when hearing it for the first time. Now that we can replay the music again and again, part of the purpose of these repeats has gone. Whether or not it's worth playing a repeat arguably depends more now on whether it helps to create a sense of balance within and between movements. Playing the repeats in the finale of the Jupiter symphony somehow seems absolutely right to me, given the complexity of the piece and the importance of the finale to the work as a whole, but in other places I'm not so sure.

If this sounds like nit-picking, you're probably right. I wouldn't let the inclusion or exclusion of repeats be a deciding factor in buying this set. But I am more put off by the balance between the SCO's period brass and the rest of the orchestra. Put simply, the brass tend to dominate on occasions, with a blaring sound that swamps everything else. It's particularly apparent in the first movements of the Prague and Jupiter symphonies. Some listeners may find that it spoils the experience. It's not even as if it's a natural consequence of using period brass. Trevor Pinnock, in his all-period-instrument recordings with the English Concert, achieves what seems to me to be a much better balance, and his interpretations match these in communicating the joy of Mozart's inspiration.

In short, if you're happy to hear a raucous-sounding brass section, this is an excellent set. Otherwise, you might prefer to look elsewhere.