COMPOSERS: Mozart
LABELS: Teldec
WORKS: Symphony No. 40 in G minor; Symphony No. 41 in C (Jupiter)
PERFORMER: Amsterdam Concertgebouw Orchestra/Nikolaus Harnoncourt
CATALOGUE NO: 4509-97490-2 DDD (1983)
The sound of this great orchestra playing Mozart with chaste, period decorum and stunning technical clarity under this most painstaking and enlightened of authenticists is never less than revelatory. Harnoncourt’s accounts of Mozart’s last two symphonies, part of a series of reissues from his boxed cycle, display an unwavering, naturally evolving logic and integrity typical of his exploratory approach to Viennese Classicism. The G minor Symphony is lithe and powerfully motoric, yet its pathos emerges undiminished.
The Jupiter, that most protean and noble of Mozart’s symphonies, unfolds miraculously here; the contrapuntal adventure which is its finale has seldom registered with more galvanic passion and assurance. A magnificent disc, although eagle-eyed collectors may be as yet unfamiliar with the Mozart work listed on the back inlay as Symphony No. 40 in D minor – matters are corrected in the booklet. Michael Jameson