The Mozart Thread
Posted by: Tam on 22 February 2006
To quote Tom Lehrer "It's a sobering thought that by the time Mozart was my age he'd been dead for three years." I know how he felt, though I not yet quite old enough to have outlived him, I did nearly choke on whatever it was I was drinking when I listened to the first symphony (K16) for the first time whilst reading in the booklet that he was but 8 years old when he wrote it.
Anyway, given it's the anniversary year, and we don't seem to have had a huge amount of Mozart (well, apart for Ian's thread), I thought I might try and alter that by mentioning some of my favourite works and interpreters.
We'll start with the concerti. I have a soft spot for the horn concerti which were, I think, the first mozart concerti that I ever owned. I should admit that I came to them via the the Flanders and Swan song which uses the finale from the K495. I have two recordings, the Koster/Tafelmusik/Weil reading and the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra and I think my preference is probably for the latter. I'm also rather fond of the clarinet concerto, though I only have the Orpheus's recording and wonder whether there are better out there.
Of course, no mention of the Mozart concerti would be complete without turning to the piano, particularly when I'm writing the thread, as I find the piano somehow the most satisfying instrument in a concerto. That said, my relationship with Mozart's didn't get off to a terribly good start. Following the penguin guide, I decided that I couldn't go wrong by buying Perahia's cycle (their rosettes having never steered me wrong in the past). That said, my only previous encounter with Perahia had been dreadful Edinburgh festival concert with the Academy of St Martin in the Fields where he proved (for me) why you shouldn't use a piano in a brandenburg concerto and that if, as a conductor, you're going to sing along with the music, you could at least do it in tune. But I digress. It's not that the Perahia cycle is bad, more I think that I had terribly high hopes for it and, as a result, it proved to be something of letdown and just left me a little unmoved much of the time. That said, I'm currently engaged in surveying all my Mozart piano concerti to decide which are going on my ipod (upon which space is fast becoming a premium) and his 4th and 5th have made it, so he isn't all bad. On of my favourites, though, technically not by Mozart, like all the first four, is the 2nd concerto (K39) from which I find the middle movement painfully beautiful, and Barenboim's reading with ECO particularly fine. Indeed, I would commend the whole of Barenboim's cycle, and indeed his latter, and much more refined (which has both its pros and cons) with the BPO, both of which can be had for an absolute song. Indeed, the Berlin cycle also has a rather wonderful bonus DVD with the concerti for two and 3 pianos with Solti and Schiff. Mozart's first really great piano concerto is probably the 9th (the Jeunehomme), which was recently featured on radio 3s building a library. There is rather fine mono account (though I don't know if it's available separately) with Kempff/Munchinger and the Stuttgarter Kammerorchester. Of more recent accounts Barenboim's with the BPO is rather fine, though I'm keenly awaiting the arrival of the Brendel/Mackerras/SCO version which I have on order. This latter team has so far done four discs, and I think, sadly, no more are planned, and I was much impressed when I saw the concert that followed the recording of their last effort (numbers 12 and 17). So far, however, I have only got their 20 and 24, both of which are very fine indeed. I have, somewhat deliberately, missed out a great many fine concerti, this is mainly because I want to steer clear of talking about the ones that I don't know so well, hopefully others will fill in.
I used to think that once you got below about about 25, the symphonies were rather a pale shadow of the later ones (indeed, there was recently a thread along those lines over on the radio 3 boards). Then, a few years ago, I picked up the Mackerras, Prague Chamber Orchestra complete cycle (on Telarc, most of which is, I think, available as individual discs too). - Incidentally, like most of my classical threads, with the exception of my Ring cycle and Mahler ones, this one is probably going to be a little heavy on Mackerras - Anyway, the vitality with which they play the early works is really quite something, indeed, the first few discs are among the most recommendable in the entire cycle, and now some of my favourite listening. That's not to detract from the later symphonies, which he plays very well too, but just that they lack something of the magic he brings to the youngest ones. I'm not going to mention all the fine symphonies, that would take too long and I will leave my glaring omissions to others to fill in (though I do feel a little bad skipping over 34-36). Instead, the only other ones I shall mention are two of my favourites, and the first two Mozart symphonies I ever owned: 40 and 41, the latter being one of my favourite symphonies of all time. There are doubtless many fine recordings of these two (including the rather nice Erich Kleiber/LPO 40th that I'm listening to as I write this) but I haven't heard anything, at least in the Jupiter, that touches Bernstein's account with the VPO.
A number of times and on a number of threads, Uchida's survey of Mozart's piano work has been mentioned and, to be honest, I don't think there is much to add to what has already been written. This is superb playing and should really be on every self-respecting Mozartian's shelf. I'll only point out my favourite moment, which comes in the Turkish March finale of the K331 sonata which features some of the most beautiful piano playing anywhere on disc and would almost certainly make it with me to my desert island. That said, the Solomon readings of the 331 and 576 (which couple with his unsurpassed Beethoven 5th concerto on Testament) are not bad.
Lastly I'll turn to opera. I'm about to enjoy Mackerras's (there I go again
) new release of La Clemenza di Tito, which was recorded just prior to a rather fine concert performance at the Edinburgh festival last summer and marks the latest instalment of his SCO cycle which has now jumped labels for the second time (by my count: it started on Telarc, went to EMI for Idomeneo, and this new issue comes from DG with Magdelena Kozena and Rainer Trost). That said, Clemenza is hardly Mozart's finest opera, even in the hands of Sir Charles. Le Nozze di Figaro on the other hand arguable is. Indeed it is one of my favourite operas and I have three recordings (none of which, you will doubtless be pleased to read is by Mackerras....yet). Part of the reason for my soft spot for Figaro stems from the fact that the Giulini/Philharmonia recording with Taddei and Schwarzkopf was the first opera I owned and I still prefer this recording above all other that I've heard. That said, purists may well object because in order to get it onto two discs Marcellina and Basilio's arias from act 4 have been lost. However, for my money that helps solve a problem in Figaro which is that most of the best music is in the first half, and the pace can sag accordingly. The only complete reading I have is Boehm with the likes of Prey, Mathis and Fischer-Dieskau, which in fact, only gets better as the opera progresses (after something of a shaky, and, to my ears, poorly recorded start). Still, it doesn't quite do it for me in the way Giulini does. The other account I have, which I can thoroughly recommend is Gui's mid 50s Glyndebourne account (which I believe is the favourite of Gramophone's good CD guide). I only purchased it because it's two sans libretto discs (cut in the same manner as Giulini) were on sale for just £6 in HMV the other day, and it would have been rude to pass them up (even when not on sale I think it only goes for around a ten pounds). This is a very fine account too, and though sound is a little 'early stereo' it is remarkably good for its time. If you're new to Figaro and/or on a budget (or even if you're not) it's well worth picking up. At this point I should probably leave a little space so that Graham can demand to know why I haven't yet tried Erich Kleiber's account - it's on my list! The only other operas I'll mention are Don Giovanni, which I have in the form of Giulini's very fine account, though I wonder whether it's a opera that really needs to be seen as well as heard, since it doesn't quite seem to capture the wit and sparkle of the Opera North production I saw last year. Lastly, there is the Magic Flute, I only have one recording, and it comes from Charles Mackerras (who else) and the LPO and is the only account in English and is very fine indeed.
I have doubtless missed many great works and interpreters off this list and, there was a certain degree of intent in that direction, the hope being that others will want to fill in the awful gaps my shameless Mackerras bias may have left. So, the floor is open!
regards, Tam
Anyway, given it's the anniversary year, and we don't seem to have had a huge amount of Mozart (well, apart for Ian's thread), I thought I might try and alter that by mentioning some of my favourite works and interpreters.
We'll start with the concerti. I have a soft spot for the horn concerti which were, I think, the first mozart concerti that I ever owned. I should admit that I came to them via the the Flanders and Swan song which uses the finale from the K495. I have two recordings, the Koster/Tafelmusik/Weil reading and the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra and I think my preference is probably for the latter. I'm also rather fond of the clarinet concerto, though I only have the Orpheus's recording and wonder whether there are better out there.
Of course, no mention of the Mozart concerti would be complete without turning to the piano, particularly when I'm writing the thread, as I find the piano somehow the most satisfying instrument in a concerto. That said, my relationship with Mozart's didn't get off to a terribly good start. Following the penguin guide, I decided that I couldn't go wrong by buying Perahia's cycle (their rosettes having never steered me wrong in the past). That said, my only previous encounter with Perahia had been dreadful Edinburgh festival concert with the Academy of St Martin in the Fields where he proved (for me) why you shouldn't use a piano in a brandenburg concerto and that if, as a conductor, you're going to sing along with the music, you could at least do it in tune. But I digress. It's not that the Perahia cycle is bad, more I think that I had terribly high hopes for it and, as a result, it proved to be something of letdown and just left me a little unmoved much of the time. That said, I'm currently engaged in surveying all my Mozart piano concerti to decide which are going on my ipod (upon which space is fast becoming a premium) and his 4th and 5th have made it, so he isn't all bad. On of my favourites, though, technically not by Mozart, like all the first four, is the 2nd concerto (K39) from which I find the middle movement painfully beautiful, and Barenboim's reading with ECO particularly fine. Indeed, I would commend the whole of Barenboim's cycle, and indeed his latter, and much more refined (which has both its pros and cons) with the BPO, both of which can be had for an absolute song. Indeed, the Berlin cycle also has a rather wonderful bonus DVD with the concerti for two and 3 pianos with Solti and Schiff. Mozart's first really great piano concerto is probably the 9th (the Jeunehomme), which was recently featured on radio 3s building a library. There is rather fine mono account (though I don't know if it's available separately) with Kempff/Munchinger and the Stuttgarter Kammerorchester. Of more recent accounts Barenboim's with the BPO is rather fine, though I'm keenly awaiting the arrival of the Brendel/Mackerras/SCO version which I have on order. This latter team has so far done four discs, and I think, sadly, no more are planned, and I was much impressed when I saw the concert that followed the recording of their last effort (numbers 12 and 17). So far, however, I have only got their 20 and 24, both of which are very fine indeed. I have, somewhat deliberately, missed out a great many fine concerti, this is mainly because I want to steer clear of talking about the ones that I don't know so well, hopefully others will fill in.
I used to think that once you got below about about 25, the symphonies were rather a pale shadow of the later ones (indeed, there was recently a thread along those lines over on the radio 3 boards). Then, a few years ago, I picked up the Mackerras, Prague Chamber Orchestra complete cycle (on Telarc, most of which is, I think, available as individual discs too). - Incidentally, like most of my classical threads, with the exception of my Ring cycle and Mahler ones, this one is probably going to be a little heavy on Mackerras - Anyway, the vitality with which they play the early works is really quite something, indeed, the first few discs are among the most recommendable in the entire cycle, and now some of my favourite listening. That's not to detract from the later symphonies, which he plays very well too, but just that they lack something of the magic he brings to the youngest ones. I'm not going to mention all the fine symphonies, that would take too long and I will leave my glaring omissions to others to fill in (though I do feel a little bad skipping over 34-36). Instead, the only other ones I shall mention are two of my favourites, and the first two Mozart symphonies I ever owned: 40 and 41, the latter being one of my favourite symphonies of all time. There are doubtless many fine recordings of these two (including the rather nice Erich Kleiber/LPO 40th that I'm listening to as I write this) but I haven't heard anything, at least in the Jupiter, that touches Bernstein's account with the VPO.
A number of times and on a number of threads, Uchida's survey of Mozart's piano work has been mentioned and, to be honest, I don't think there is much to add to what has already been written. This is superb playing and should really be on every self-respecting Mozartian's shelf. I'll only point out my favourite moment, which comes in the Turkish March finale of the K331 sonata which features some of the most beautiful piano playing anywhere on disc and would almost certainly make it with me to my desert island. That said, the Solomon readings of the 331 and 576 (which couple with his unsurpassed Beethoven 5th concerto on Testament) are not bad.
Lastly I'll turn to opera. I'm about to enjoy Mackerras's (there I go again
) new release of La Clemenza di Tito, which was recorded just prior to a rather fine concert performance at the Edinburgh festival last summer and marks the latest instalment of his SCO cycle which has now jumped labels for the second time (by my count: it started on Telarc, went to EMI for Idomeneo, and this new issue comes from DG with Magdelena Kozena and Rainer Trost). That said, Clemenza is hardly Mozart's finest opera, even in the hands of Sir Charles. Le Nozze di Figaro on the other hand arguable is. Indeed it is one of my favourite operas and I have three recordings (none of which, you will doubtless be pleased to read is by Mackerras....yet). Part of the reason for my soft spot for Figaro stems from the fact that the Giulini/Philharmonia recording with Taddei and Schwarzkopf was the first opera I owned and I still prefer this recording above all other that I've heard. That said, purists may well object because in order to get it onto two discs Marcellina and Basilio's arias from act 4 have been lost. However, for my money that helps solve a problem in Figaro which is that most of the best music is in the first half, and the pace can sag accordingly. The only complete reading I have is Boehm with the likes of Prey, Mathis and Fischer-Dieskau, which in fact, only gets better as the opera progresses (after something of a shaky, and, to my ears, poorly recorded start). Still, it doesn't quite do it for me in the way Giulini does. The other account I have, which I can thoroughly recommend is Gui's mid 50s Glyndebourne account (which I believe is the favourite of Gramophone's good CD guide). I only purchased it because it's two sans libretto discs (cut in the same manner as Giulini) were on sale for just £6 in HMV the other day, and it would have been rude to pass them up (even when not on sale I think it only goes for around a ten pounds). This is a very fine account too, and though sound is a little 'early stereo' it is remarkably good for its time. If you're new to Figaro and/or on a budget (or even if you're not) it's well worth picking up. At this point I should probably leave a little space so that Graham can demand to know why I haven't yet tried Erich Kleiber's account - it's on my list! The only other operas I'll mention are Don Giovanni, which I have in the form of Giulini's very fine account, though I wonder whether it's a opera that really needs to be seen as well as heard, since it doesn't quite seem to capture the wit and sparkle of the Opera North production I saw last year. Lastly, there is the Magic Flute, I only have one recording, and it comes from Charles Mackerras (who else) and the LPO and is the only account in English and is very fine indeed.I have doubtless missed many great works and interpreters off this list and, there was a certain degree of intent in that direction, the hope being that others will want to fill in the awful gaps my shameless Mackerras bias may have left. So, the floor is open!
regards, Tam
Name-dropping mode on! 
I once turned the pages for Catherine Evans (Mrs Alan Hacker, pianist wife of the great clarinetist) in the Kegelstadt Trio with Hacker and a lovely viola player, whose name escapes me now! That was the most unpleasant experience I have had at a concert, and I was more nervous than if I had been actually playing something too hard for me! Mrs Hacker was delighted by my efforts, which of course were of a different order to turning at the desk in the orchestra, where you know the other player well, and how early to turn and so on.
Alan Hacker is a charming man, whom I had the pleasure to meet before the rehearsal, though I did not realise I had already been singled out for page turning duties! We talked for a couple of hours on matters musical. Apparently the impressario had told him about me and he was keen to talk to a mad boy from the countryside, who was described to him as 'musical.' People are nice aren't they! It was because of him I took up the bass!
Fredrik
I once turned the pages for Catherine Evans (Mrs Alan Hacker, pianist wife of the great clarinetist) in the Kegelstadt Trio with Hacker and a lovely viola player, whose name escapes me now! That was the most unpleasant experience I have had at a concert, and I was more nervous than if I had been actually playing something too hard for me! Mrs Hacker was delighted by my efforts, which of course were of a different order to turning at the desk in the orchestra, where you know the other player well, and how early to turn and so on.
Alan Hacker is a charming man, whom I had the pleasure to meet before the rehearsal, though I did not realise I had already been singled out for page turning duties! We talked for a couple of hours on matters musical. Apparently the impressario had told him about me and he was keen to talk to a mad boy from the countryside, who was described to him as 'musical.' People are nice aren't they! It was because of him I took up the bass!
Fredrik
Thought I'd bump this thread back up in order to post some more detailed thoughts on a couple of Mozart recordings that I've mentioned in other threads lately.
First up the Uchida/Tate/ECO cycle of Mozart piano concertos. Available for around £40 on 8 discs (which means, very annoyingly that several of the works, 16 and 19, are split between two discs). It doesn't (as is fairly normal) contain the first four concertos, which were only arranged by Mozart. I view this as something of a shame since I would dearly love to hear Uchida's playing in the slow movement of the second concerto. It doesn't include the concertos for two and three pianos nor the rondo KV386, though the latter is, in my view, no great loss.
So, how does it stack up. Well, those who read my post on Fredrik's library thread may have noted I kept it when pruning rest of my library for that list. Of the four complete cycles I now have (Perahia and both Barenboim's are the other three) it is by far the most consistently satisfying. It has the finest recorded sound of all of them and, I would argue, the finest orchestral playing (in general), about which more later. The downside, if such it be, is that the set has, with perhaps some justification, been criticised elsewhere as being 'over-pretty', and such a description would probably not be altogether surprising for those familiar with her piano sonatas. However, I think that such would be something of an unfair generalisation. In a number of cases she produces the finest accounts I own: the early concertos (5, 6 and 8) are especially fine, 12, 17, 19 and 25 are also highlights, though I also own fine Brendel/Mackerras recordings of many of those. Indeed, her 25 is wonderfully exciting and totally defies the adverse criticism I mentioned above.
I think it was Basil, in another thread, who asked me for my views on the 23rd. Sadly I found this to be a little disappointing. It wasn't bad, indeed it was very accomplished (as is all the playing), but in this case there was some degree of soul and sparkle missing. My guiding light for the 23rd is the stunning Horowitz/Giulini recording with the orchestra of La Scala; unbelievably it was made when he was in his 80s yet, especially in the finale, he seems more dextrous than Uchida and in the middle movement his playing more beautiful. Sadly (criminally, even) this recording is, as far as I'm aware, not available separately but only as part of DG's six disc set of Horowitz's complete recordings for them. However, this isn't so awful, because the whole set is very good and entirely worth having; fans of the 23rd ought to seek this out.
No complete survey is every going to completely satisfy or hold all the keys, but Uchida's will probably be my last (though I suspect I will still buy the odd individual recording). I suspect part of the reason I have enjoyed it so much is that I simply prefer her kind of style or pianism. While listening to this set I have occasionally turned back to the Perahia again (still at a loss to explain its popularity) and one of the things I have noticed is just how 'percussive' his pianism is, generating a sound that I simply do not find appealing. Barenboim, for the record, falls somewhere between the two.
Which leaves me one more thing to mention. I said at the start that this set had very fine orchestral playing. What is interesting is that three of my four complete cycles feature the same orchestra, the ECO and Uchida's recordings follow very closely after Perahia (so one assumes that many of the players were the same). On the one occasion I saw Perahia live it was deeply disappointing (he did a Brandenburg concerto, the Beethoven 1st concerto and I think the Mozart 38th symphony, it was certainly one of the late 30s, with the Academy of Saint Martin in the Fields), what was so awful about it was how badly he conducted the orchestra, there was absolutely no cohesion at all. However, looking at the relative quality of the orchestral playing, I am now wondering whether having the orchestra directed from the piano is detrimental (as on all my other cycles). Of course, I have seen Barenboim live, and he is a pretty good conductor, but the orchestral playing on his recordings is generally good, without being in any danger of being great. And, as I look through the list of concertos I have chosen for my iPod, I discover that almost always I have opted for combinations where there is a conductor (except in concertos 1-4 where I do not have any such recordings, if they even exist). It makes me wonder why it is such a commonplace practice in the first place. I know Mozart did it, but none of the artists on record is Mozart. I also wonder whether part of the reason he did it was either that he was using much smaller forces or simply that it was much cheaper. I wonder what others who know more think about this?
In summary, however, it is a great set, and well worth getting.
regards, Tam
First up the Uchida/Tate/ECO cycle of Mozart piano concertos. Available for around £40 on 8 discs (which means, very annoyingly that several of the works, 16 and 19, are split between two discs). It doesn't (as is fairly normal) contain the first four concertos, which were only arranged by Mozart. I view this as something of a shame since I would dearly love to hear Uchida's playing in the slow movement of the second concerto. It doesn't include the concertos for two and three pianos nor the rondo KV386, though the latter is, in my view, no great loss.
So, how does it stack up. Well, those who read my post on Fredrik's library thread may have noted I kept it when pruning rest of my library for that list. Of the four complete cycles I now have (Perahia and both Barenboim's are the other three) it is by far the most consistently satisfying. It has the finest recorded sound of all of them and, I would argue, the finest orchestral playing (in general), about which more later. The downside, if such it be, is that the set has, with perhaps some justification, been criticised elsewhere as being 'over-pretty', and such a description would probably not be altogether surprising for those familiar with her piano sonatas. However, I think that such would be something of an unfair generalisation. In a number of cases she produces the finest accounts I own: the early concertos (5, 6 and 8) are especially fine, 12, 17, 19 and 25 are also highlights, though I also own fine Brendel/Mackerras recordings of many of those. Indeed, her 25 is wonderfully exciting and totally defies the adverse criticism I mentioned above.
I think it was Basil, in another thread, who asked me for my views on the 23rd. Sadly I found this to be a little disappointing. It wasn't bad, indeed it was very accomplished (as is all the playing), but in this case there was some degree of soul and sparkle missing. My guiding light for the 23rd is the stunning Horowitz/Giulini recording with the orchestra of La Scala; unbelievably it was made when he was in his 80s yet, especially in the finale, he seems more dextrous than Uchida and in the middle movement his playing more beautiful. Sadly (criminally, even) this recording is, as far as I'm aware, not available separately but only as part of DG's six disc set of Horowitz's complete recordings for them. However, this isn't so awful, because the whole set is very good and entirely worth having; fans of the 23rd ought to seek this out.
No complete survey is every going to completely satisfy or hold all the keys, but Uchida's will probably be my last (though I suspect I will still buy the odd individual recording). I suspect part of the reason I have enjoyed it so much is that I simply prefer her kind of style or pianism. While listening to this set I have occasionally turned back to the Perahia again (still at a loss to explain its popularity) and one of the things I have noticed is just how 'percussive' his pianism is, generating a sound that I simply do not find appealing. Barenboim, for the record, falls somewhere between the two.
Which leaves me one more thing to mention. I said at the start that this set had very fine orchestral playing. What is interesting is that three of my four complete cycles feature the same orchestra, the ECO and Uchida's recordings follow very closely after Perahia (so one assumes that many of the players were the same). On the one occasion I saw Perahia live it was deeply disappointing (he did a Brandenburg concerto, the Beethoven 1st concerto and I think the Mozart 38th symphony, it was certainly one of the late 30s, with the Academy of Saint Martin in the Fields), what was so awful about it was how badly he conducted the orchestra, there was absolutely no cohesion at all. However, looking at the relative quality of the orchestral playing, I am now wondering whether having the orchestra directed from the piano is detrimental (as on all my other cycles). Of course, I have seen Barenboim live, and he is a pretty good conductor, but the orchestral playing on his recordings is generally good, without being in any danger of being great. And, as I look through the list of concertos I have chosen for my iPod, I discover that almost always I have opted for combinations where there is a conductor (except in concertos 1-4 where I do not have any such recordings, if they even exist). It makes me wonder why it is such a commonplace practice in the first place. I know Mozart did it, but none of the artists on record is Mozart. I also wonder whether part of the reason he did it was either that he was using much smaller forces or simply that it was much cheaper. I wonder what others who know more think about this?
In summary, however, it is a great set, and well worth getting.
regards, Tam
(Note - if you've clicked straight to the last page of this thread, this is the second of two posts I've made bringing it back to the front pate.)
The second set I want to review (more briefly this time) is the Mackerras Clemenza di Tito as I said to Fredrik that I would give it another listen before giving it an unqualified recommendation (this, in part, because I wanted to make sure my appreciation wasn't entirely coloured by having been at the excellent concert performance at last summer's festival).
I've said good things earlier in this thread about Mackerras as a Mozartian, and this set only helps to confirm that. As mentioned in reference to their piano concertos, Mackerras and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra are a wonderful combination, indeed, in many ways one wishes he had done the Mozart symphonies with them instead of the Prague CO. Anyway, I came home on Monday after something of a tiring day at work and felt the urge to spin some Mozart and this seemed as good a time as any for Clemenza. From the electrifying opening of the overture Mackerras had me hooked and feeling much better.
I'm told that the drawback with this work is that the continuo is not by Mozart, but Mackerras has apparently cut it back to the bare minimum for this recording. I must say that what is left doesn't seem to me to be debilitatingly poor, though it does feel second rate next to Mozart's own wonderful writing for the arias. And wonderful they are, and very well sung. Even Rainer Trost (about whom I had doubts in the concert) sounds very good. Kozena is wonderful in the title role, and Christine Rice is a superb Annio. We also have Lisa Milne and John Relyea.
I summary, I have no difficulty in recommending this to anyone who is new to the work. As to how it stacks up against the competition, it is impossible for me to judge since this is my only recording: there may well be more out there, but this disc doesn't leave me wanting to go looking for it.
regards, Tam
The second set I want to review (more briefly this time) is the Mackerras Clemenza di Tito as I said to Fredrik that I would give it another listen before giving it an unqualified recommendation (this, in part, because I wanted to make sure my appreciation wasn't entirely coloured by having been at the excellent concert performance at last summer's festival).
I've said good things earlier in this thread about Mackerras as a Mozartian, and this set only helps to confirm that. As mentioned in reference to their piano concertos, Mackerras and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra are a wonderful combination, indeed, in many ways one wishes he had done the Mozart symphonies with them instead of the Prague CO. Anyway, I came home on Monday after something of a tiring day at work and felt the urge to spin some Mozart and this seemed as good a time as any for Clemenza. From the electrifying opening of the overture Mackerras had me hooked and feeling much better.
I'm told that the drawback with this work is that the continuo is not by Mozart, but Mackerras has apparently cut it back to the bare minimum for this recording. I must say that what is left doesn't seem to me to be debilitatingly poor, though it does feel second rate next to Mozart's own wonderful writing for the arias. And wonderful they are, and very well sung. Even Rainer Trost (about whom I had doubts in the concert) sounds very good. Kozena is wonderful in the title role, and Christine Rice is a superb Annio. We also have Lisa Milne and John Relyea.
I summary, I have no difficulty in recommending this to anyone who is new to the work. As to how it stacks up against the competition, it is impossible for me to judge since this is my only recording: there may well be more out there, but this disc doesn't leave me wanting to go looking for it.
regards, Tam
Thanks, Tam, for bumping this thread back up; saves me having to search for it.
I have since received and listened to Anne-Sophie Mutter's Mozart violin concertos and I like the recordings very well. As has been said of her other offerings in recent years, her interpretations are often quite different from the main stream, and definitely different than her earlier performances with Herbert von Karajan. All in all, I find her new work refreshing. She may have laid it on a little heavy with the photos this time, however.
Norman
I have since received and listened to Anne-Sophie Mutter's Mozart violin concertos and I like the recordings very well. As has been said of her other offerings in recent years, her interpretations are often quite different from the main stream, and definitely different than her earlier performances with Herbert von Karajan. All in all, I find her new work refreshing. She may have laid it on a little heavy with the photos this time, however.
Norman
Darn, can't seem to get this link to photo URL thing down. 
Norman
Norman
I'm not a tech idiot, really.
Norman