Mozart - Symphonies Nos. 29, 31, 32, 35 & 36

This pair of discs follows on from the extremely successful recording with the same conductor and orchestra of Mozart’s last four symphonies, so completing this survey of all Mozart’s finest works in this genre, with the exception of No. 25, his first outstanding work of this form.

Our rating

4

Michael Beek

Published: January 20, 2012 at 4:29 pm

COMPOSERS: Mozart
LABELS: Linn
WORKS: Symphony No. 29 in A, K201; No. 31 in D, K291 (Paris); No. 32 in G, K318; No. 35 in D, K385 (Haffner); No. 36 in C, K425 (Linz)
PERFORMER: Scottish CO/Charles Mackerras
CATALOGUE NO: Linn CKD 350 (hybrid CD/SACD)

This pair of discs follows on from the extremely successful recording with the same conductor and orchestra of Mozart’s last four symphonies, so completing this survey of all Mozart’s finest works in this genre, with the exception of No. 25, his first outstanding work of this form.

This new set has all the virtues of the previous one: with a small orchestra of excellent players, adept at using ‘period’ techniques on modern instruments, the results are most often exhilarating. Clarity prevails, and animation. These are the kind of performances that make it difficult for the listener to sit still. One is impelled to pace or even dance around, to gesture and nod. For Mackerras, these are clearly, as clearly as Bach’s Suites, works that derive from the dance.

The actual sounds, though, tend to be raw, sometimes rasping, and the lively tempos mean there isn’t a lot of relaxation, even in slow movements. There came a point when I got up and played Bruno Walter conducting the Columbia Symphony Orchestra in the early 1960s, and felt that he gave virtually everything that Mackerras and his players do, but with a glow and warmth which is not to be found here.With works as protean as this I’m inclined to think that no one approach will always satisfy.

If you want some amplitude, without sacrifice of clarity or energy, then of currently available recordings I find Colin Davis conducting the Staatskapelle Dresden offers a more complete experience. But when you are in a get-up-and-go frame of mind, Mackerras is the man, with rhythm and vigour to the fore. Michael Tanner

Michael Beek

Reviews Editor, BBC Music Magazine

Michael is the Reviews Editor of BBC Music Magazine. He looks after the 26 pages of recording and book reviews in the magazine each month, deciding what will be reviewed – no easy task with so much being sent in for consideration! Michael joined the team in 2018, following ten years as a freelance film music journalist and fifteen years at St George's Bristol. Film and television music is his favourite thing, and when he’s not listening to things to be reviewed in the mag, Michael loves nothing more than to listen to the music of John Williams and James Horner – his favourite film composers. He was the Editor of MusicfromtheMovies.com and has written for the BBC Proms, BBC Concert Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Albert Hall, Hollywood in Vienna and Silva Screen Records. His favourite writing gigs so far have been programmes for each of the Doctor Who Proms, soundtrack album notes for Doctor Who – Series 4 and Torchwood – Children of Earth, plus programmes and features for live concert screenings of Jurassic Park, Gladiator, Back to the Future and Raiders of the Lost Ark. While he never got the chance to interview the late James Horner, Michael was delighted to spend an hour on the phone with John Williams for the 2020 Christmas issue of BBC Music Magazine. Also a presenter, Michael has hosted concerts and live events for Bristol Film Festival and St George's Bristol, plus Debbie Wiseman's ‘Music and Words from Wolf Hall’ shows at venues across the UK. Michael has worked regularly with Debbie Wiseman over the years, writing concert programmes and scripts (for Terry Wogan and Simon Bates) and producing her 2011 album Piano Stories.
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